• Question: why cant young people AND old people not walk without help (walking stick or parent)?

    Asked by leah.wardle... to Richard on 17 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Richard Unwin

      Richard Unwin answered on 17 Nov 2015:

      Hi Leah,
      Hope you enjoyed our chat yesterday.
      babies need help to walk because they haven’t learnt yet – they need to learn how to balance, develop strength in their legs to be able to push themselves up and hold themselves there. Most babies will be able to walk by the age of 12 months, although they’ve only got little legs so they’ll still be in a pushchair if you’re walking a long way or need to get somewhere quickly.
      In old age, it’s the reverse, as we age and our body starts to work less well, the leg muscles get a bit weaker, joints can stiffen up and your balance and reaction speed isn’t what it was, so you might want to use a stick just for a bit of extra support.
      Hope that answers your question

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