Carrying or playing with a grandchild after knee replacement combines lifting, balance, walking, turning, and responding to movement that may be difficult to predict.
By Michelle, PT, DPT, The Total Knee Success Podcast
Time with grandchildren may include holding a toddler, walking across a room with a child, sitting on the floor, or getting back up after a game. Each activity places different demands on your knee and the rest of your body. Looking at those tasks separately can help explain why one may feel manageable while another still requires more strength, balance, or preparation.
Prefer to listen? Play Episode 98 below for the complete discussion.
Have you recently had a total knee replacement, or are you preparing for surgery and wondering what recovery will really be like? Welcome to the Total Knee Success Podcast, your resource for total knee replacement recovery and life after surgery. Hosted by Michelle Losurdo, a trusted doctor of physical therapy and board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist, this show is designed for anyone considering, preparing for, or recovering from knee replacement surgery.
In about the time it takes to put a cold pack on your knee, each episode shares practical total knee surgery tips, evidence-based guidance, and clear strategies to help you manage pain, improve mobility, and thrive through the healing process. You’ll learn about post-operative knee rehab exercises, approaches to knee replacement physical therapy, and real-world tools for building confidence, improving sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, and regaining natural movement. From time to time, you’ll also hear patient perspectives and success stories that encourage you along the way.
Michelle also highlights the mindset and motivation strategies that make a lasting difference in recovery—helping you stay positive, focused, and resilient. And if you’re a family member, friend, or caregiver supporting someone through a knee replacement, you’ll find valuable insights here, too.
Please remember: Michelle is not your personal therapist and does not know you. This podcast provides general education and opinion only. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your recovery plan. This podcast is not related to her clinical or teaching roles.
If you’re ready to feel stronger and more confident on your journey—or if you’re supporting someone you care about—this is the total knee replacement podcast that will help you succeed—one step at a time
Episode 98 explains how carrying and playing with grandchildren combines lifting, balance, walking, turning, floor transfers, and reacting to unpredictable movement.
Read Episode 98 article & resources
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Michelle discusses safer starting positions, keeping a child close, modifying floor play, and deciding when stairs or heavier lifting require more preparation. The Episode also offers ways to remain involved and affectionate when carrying is not yet a safe choice. Listeners will learn how to treat the activity as a progression rather than a single milestone.
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There Is No Single Date for Lifting a Grandchild
The number of weeks since surgery does not describe the full difficulty of lifting a child. The child’s size, the starting height of the lift, the distance they will be carried, the walking surface, and whether stairs or turning are involved can all change the task.
A child also behaves differently from a fixed object. A toddler may lean away, reach for something, wrap a leg around you, or suddenly shift position. Those movements change where the combined weight sits over your feet and require your legs and trunk to adjust.
A calendar can tell you how long it has been since surgery. It cannot tell you whether you are ready for the exact lifting, carrying, or balance task in front of you.
Research shows that physical function after total knee replacement generally improves over time, although the pattern and pace vary among individuals.1,2 A calendar can describe time since surgery, but it cannot measure how someone controls a specific loaded activity.
Starting Height Changes the Difficulty
Lifting a child from a firm chair or stable bed is different from lifting from the floor. A higher starting position requires less lowering, less knee bend, and less work to raise both your body and the child.
Sitting in a firm chair and allowing a child to climb onto your lap can separate holding from lifting. This can provide a way to read, cuddle, or spend time together without combining the activity with a demanding rise from a low position.
When a lift is appropriate for a person’s current abilities, keeping the child closer to the body generally creates a different mechanical demand than reaching forward with the arms extended. After standing, a brief pause can also allow time to establish balance before walking.
Turning and Carrying Add Balance Demands
Balance can remain an important consideration after knee replacement.3,4 Carrying a moving child adds another variable because their position can change without warning.
Turning with several small steps allows the feet and body to change direction together rather than rotating the trunk over a planted leg. Carrying on one hip also creates an uneven load. Research on unilateral carrying has shown that asymmetric loads can alter posture and walking mechanics, although the response depends on the person and the load being carried.5
The walking environment can change the challenge just as much as the child’s weight. Toys, pets, thresholds, wet grass, poor lighting, and slippery footwear all create additional demands when both arms are occupied.
Stairs Require More Than Walking Across a Room
Stairs combine balance, leg strength, controlled loading, and accurate foot placement. Carrying a child may also block the view of the steps or limit access to a handrail.
Someone who still relies heavily on a railing, experiences knee buckling, or feels uncertain on stairs without a child has a different starting point from someone whose stair pattern is already controlled and automatic. A physical therapist can observe stair movement and help discuss how the added load changes the task.
Floor Play Can Be Modified
Playing on the floor introduces another set of skills. Getting down and returning to standing can be completed separately from holding or managing the child. A stable chair, firm couch, or other secure support may be useful when it is already part of a practiced floor-transfer strategy.
Kneeling is not required for floor play. Sitting with the legs extended, using a stable cushion, choosing a low firm seat, or moving an activity to a raised play surface can provide other ways to participate.
Episode 96 focused specifically on getting down to the floor and returning to standing, which can be useful background when floor play is one of your goals.
Fatigue Can Change How a Task Feels
A carrying task that feels controlled when someone is rested may feel different later in the day. As the legs tire, standing may become slower, walking may become less even, and responding to a sudden shift from a child can become more difficult.
The knee’s response afterward can also provide useful information. A noticeable increase in swelling, pain, stiffness, or limping that continues into the following day may indicate that the combination of load, distance, repetitions, or position exceeded current capacity.
You Can Stay Involved Without Carrying
Not carrying a grandchild does not mean stepping away from time together. A child can climb onto the couch beside you, sit on your lap while you are seated, bring a book to a chair, or play at a table. Older grandchildren may also be able to help keep toys out of a walking path or wait until you are seated before giving you a hug.
When Walking Still Feels Awkward
If walking still feels awkward, uneven, or tiring, Walking Like Yourself Again After Knee Replacement is an intentionally concise, evidence-informed guide that explains why gait can remain frustrating and what factors may influence smoother movement over time.
Why Walking Feels Awkward and How People Rebuild Smooth, Confident Walking for Everyday Life (The Total Knee Success Series Book 2)
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Three Common Questions About Carrying Grandchildren After Knee Replacement
Is there a specific week when I can carry my grandchild?
There is no universal timeline. The child’s size, starting height, walking route, stairs, balance, strength, and ability to respond to movement all influence the difficulty.
Is lifting from the floor harder than lifting from a chair?
A floor-level lift generally requires more knee bend and more work to raise both your body and the child. A higher starting surface changes those demands.
Do I have to kneel to play with my grandchild?
No. Floor sitting, a stable cushion, a low seat, or a raised play surface can provide other ways to participate without kneeling.
Think of Time With Grandchildren as Several Separate Skills
Holding, lifting, carrying, turning, climbing stairs, and getting onto the floor are different physical tasks. One may be manageable before another. Breaking the activity into smaller parts can make it easier to understand which situations currently feel controlled and which may benefit from additional preparation or professional guidance.
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Educational disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not provide diagnosis, treatment, or individualized medical advice and does not replace guidance from your surgeon, physical therapist, or other qualified healthcare professional. A fall, sudden inability to bear weight, new instability, significant swelling, wound concerns, fever, calf pain, chest pain, or shortness of breath deserves prompt medical evaluation according to the urgency of the symptom.
References
- Orange GM, Hince DA, Jones M, et al. Physical function following total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis: a longitudinal systematic review with meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2025;55(1):1-18. doi:10.2519/jospt.2024.12570.
- Minick KI, Hunter SJ, Capin JJ, et al. Improved outcomes following a care guideline implementation: part 1 of an analysis of 12,355 patients after total knee arthroplasty. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2023;53(3):143-150. doi:10.2519/jospt.2022.11316.
- Doma K, Grant A, Morris J. The effects of balance training on balance performance and functional outcome measures following total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2018;48(10):2367-2385. doi:10.1007/s40279-018-0964-7.
- Moutzouri M, Gleeson N, Coutts F, Tsepis E, Gliatis J. The effect of total knee arthroplasty on patients’ balance and incidence of falls: a systematic review. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2017;25(11):3439-3451. doi:10.1007/s00167-016-4355-z.
- Zhang XA, Ye M, Wang CT. Effect of unilateral load carriage on postures and gait symmetry in ground reaction force during walking. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 2010;13(3):339-344. doi:10.1080/10255840903213445.