You can clearly tell when my eight year old is walking through the house. He sounds like the cliche: a herd of elephants. He’s not the only one I’ve noticed either. When my sister was his age she walked heavily. Why are kids so heavy?
What’s up with that?
In: Other
Kids are disproportionate compared to adults. Their heads and torsos are larger proportionally to their limbs. You can see that with toddlers especially, and they don’t start coming into normal proportions until they’re nearing puberty. Their motor control is also not yet fully developed compared to adults, which also settles when they’re nearing puberty.
However that’s just one possible explanation out of several. Another is that they just walk like that because they think it’s fun. They don’t really consider how they’re being perceived or analysing whether there is a certain proper way to do things or not. They have no joint pain, and since they’re very light walking in a heavyset manner doesn’t cause them pain long term.
Lastly there could be an underlying condition causing their walk. Maybe their knees aren’t straight or their feet aren’t the proper shape. That’s something an orthopedic doctor can figure out with some simple tests and measurements in case someone needs corrective insoles or to change their gait because it might cause problems later down the line.
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