Thwe purpose of this study was to investigate swing-through crutch gait with children assisted by the development of a computer package to aid in data analysis. A recent technique of human motion analysis utilizes the mapping of energey transfers between body segments. Eight volunteer subjects ambulated with crutches as cinefilm data and axial and lateral bending moment crutch forces were recorded. The cinefilm was digitized, converted to absolute coordinates, digitally filtered and processed to derive instantaneous segment energy levels. Although energy transfer patterns have been established for adults walking with crutches, child studies are absent in the literature. The study evaluated the adequecy of the 9-segment crutch gait model (Wells, 1979) for use with children. Energy transfer patterns were also established with children for use as a future reference in the evaluation of pathological gait. Mechanical inefficiencies in individual gait patterns were identified, increasing understanding of this special locomotion problem. Inefficiences were manifested in pathological, instantaneous, segmental power and energy curves, augmented by foot-contact and axial crutch force information. The 9-segment model was found to be adequate for analysis of normal health children. Although crutch length is a critical determininat in efficient gait, the formulat for finding the correct length varies amond individuals. `Normalized' work output values, corrected for body weight and distance covered per stride, are much greater than those found in adults.