Parenting expert suggests using fruit to train toddlers to walk —here's why

Yahoo

24-07-2025

Forget fancy walkers and pricey gear — all your baby might need to take those first steps is a pair of limes.
That's the peel deal, according to parenting pros who say the citrusy trick can help kickstart your kiddo's stride.
In a now-viral TikTok, developmental physical therapist Olivia Reyes shared footage of an 11-month-old boy named Mateo toddling forward while gripping a lime in each hand — and walking like he just got promoted to toddler-in-chief.
'This lime trick works and has really nothing to do with the limes and more so, everything to do with his ability to stand,' Reyes said in her video.
'In order to walk, we have to be able to stand by ourselves, independently like he is doing here, for at least 10 seconds.'
Turns out, the tart technique helps babies balance and stay focused.
'There is a huge age range for when babies take their first steps, because first steps are not the same as walking,' Reyes told TODAY.com in a recent interview.
She explained that small objects — like limes — provide 'counterbalance' and a sense of stability that can give hesitant tots a confidence boost.
'Walking is all about babies feeling confident,' said Reyes.
'It's why I like standing exercises, because standing is the first time babies balance their entire body weight in a vertical position — before then, they crawl and roll … horizontally, which distributes their weight over the body.'
Gripping limes — or anything fun-sized — can give tots the balance, boost and bravery they need to get moving, Reyes dished.
However, she stressed that parents 'shouldn't worry if babies drop to the floor or prefer crawling not long after taking their first steps.'
In other words: When life gives your baby limes… get the camera ready?
Turns out, Mateo's stunt isn't the only case of a baby skipping the rulebook on development.
As The Post previously reported, a pint-sized powerhouse stunned her mom back in 2023 when she was caught on camera crawling across her hospital bed — at just three days old.
Samantha Mitchell told Kennedy News at the time that her daughter, Nyilah Daise Tzabari, was already on the move and holding her head up mere days after delivery — making her feel like she'd 'never had a newborn' at all.
'The video was taken when Nyilah wasn't even a full three days old. She was two and a half days old,' she explained.
Most babies don't start crawling until they're around 6 to 9 months old — and they're usually on their feet not long after that, according to Healthline.
But little Nyilah Daise wasn't wasting any time. The tiny tot started flipping from her belly to her back at just 18 days old — and by 2 months, she was rolling over like a pro.
Who needs baby steps when these tots are practically born ready to bolt?
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