Mumsnet Talk

Dd was a bum shuffler, incredibly efficient and fast and kept both hands free. She walked at 18 months, never crawled and within a week she was running, climbing and going up and downstairs as well as her cousin who had started walking six months earlier. Dd talked very early and had great fine motor skills, I think because she always had her hands free so could manipulate toys and jigsaws rather than using them for getting about. She is very intelligent and has sailed through school so no dyslexia or any other problems.

Both me and my DB were bum shufflers. I walked at 12 months he waited until he was almost two. He's the clever one btw so I really wouldn't worry.

Both my DS's have been crawlers but both started off crawling backwards.

DD1 was a bum-shuffler. She did occasionally crawl, but not very often. She walked a week before she was 18 months, and was also very late to bear weight on her legs. GP says she has mildly hyper mobile joints (like her mother ). She certainly has extremely flat feet (like her mother). So far no problems, although I will keep an eye on it because she is extremely flexible - she's still only 20 months.

Oh yes both mine talk non-stop and always have. I'm liking the "sitting and thinking" hypothesis!

We had to teach dd to crawl after she had learned to walk (which she didn't do until 20 months).

She had a lot of difficulty with stairs, as she wouldn't crawl up them, so couldn't manage stairs on her own for ages. In the end we had to actively teach her to crawl so she could get up and down .

She was a great floor-polisher though.

She also talked really, really early - talking at 18 months, lots of sentences with verbs and adjectives by 2. My mum used to say that she was sitting thinking, instead of running around like a headless chicken like my boys who both crawled and then walked at about 10 months.

2 bum-shufflers here (they also both liked to get around by rolling!). DS walked at 13 months, DD at 14 months, and neither of them ever learned to crawl until after learning to walk.

DS now 7 has quite a few other difficulties, probs with riding a bike, swimming etc, and is dyslexic. However DD though much younger is very different, very co-ordinated and skilled with her hands.

I remember worrying so much about DS not crawling! With DD I just let it go.

Wow, so many bum-shufflers! I have to say it doesn't worry me, perhaps because I know DP did it too and has turned out reasonably okay. Funnily enough, DS1 was a demon crawler at 7.5 months but didn't bother to walk until 14 months; he never pulled up, just stood up one day, wobbled a bit, and set off.

It's very cute to watch, especially as you can hear him coming from a mile away and then suddenly see his little face peering around the corner at you.

Another bum-shuffler here. She was not interested in getting up, hands were free and everything was in easy reach. She was very efficient with it too - people used to burst out laughing when she zoomed across the room. At around 18 months she got up and walked, in a fairly quick transition.
She never crawled and never rolled over by herself as a baby either.
I honestly can't remember about stairs, but I think they came with walking.

No developmental problems, perfectly normal 8-year old now. I was never particularly concerned nor were the HVs

I wonder is there a link with dyslexia and bum shuffling?
My DD was an early walker, but she bum shuffled and scooted until 11 months, then just stood up and walked very robustly.

Now I notice she's not as fluent at reading as the others in her class.
What's the meridian theory? <Too afraid of dr google>

My bum shuffler walked at 12 months old, and she's now a perfectly normal 5 year old.

My DS is a shuffler and was 18 months old 5 days ago. He is nowhere near walking - not even standing by himself. We took him to the HV on Wednesday and she gave him a good check over and pronounced him to be ....lazy!

She said she can get anywhere he wants perfectly well so there is just no need for him to walk. She has never crawled and moans like mad if you dare to stand him up (against the footstool for example). DD has been told to stop doing so much for him - she's 5 and thinks the sun shines out of his bottom so this is proving hard for her. I sometimes feel like he's never going to walk but I guess you never see a 4 yr old who's not walking so I guess he's just on his own schedule. Wish he'd hurry up with it though...he is so dam heavy to carry around!

My son bum shuffled without using his hands! Just pulled legs from side to side like he was skiing. Looked so odd. In the park people would come up to ask if he was ok!?! He did nt walk til 17 months. Now he's six years old and does nt sit still.....ah I long for those days.....

My dd is nearly 17 months. Didn't even bum shuffle til she was a year, then started crawling about 14 months and is now doing a weird combination of crawling, bum shuffling and knee walking. She'll take a few steps if you're holding onto her or use her a frame walker but gets bored of it really quickly because she knows she'll get where she wants to go quicker by crawling. Apparently my husband was the same so it could be genetic.

As for problems I remember being told in a baby class oh you need to get her crawling cause they've linked not crawling in the first year or so to dyslexia - cue one very upset first time mum. I was breaking my heart to a friend about how I felt like a bad mum cause I couldn't get my baby to crawl and she was going to end up dyslexic and it would be all my fault. Cue her reminding me that she and all her siblings were dyslexic and all crawled like demons from a young age.

Think it's more of a case that some children who are dyslexic have been found not to have crawled as apposed to all babies who don't crawl will be dyslexic ifyswim - as many mothers have said above.

One helpful HV said to me that all babies are different in terms of development and that for the vast majority of children by the time they get to 3 and see them all running about creating havoc you won't know or care who walked, talked, drew their first Monet first. Hth.

Her fine motor skills are superb though and she's full of chitter chatter! She's trying to dress herself too but that's proving quite difficult as she doesn't get off her bum!

My dd is almost 21 months old. She is a bum shuffler with one hand on the floor and the other in the air. She bum shuffles just as fast going backwards and sideways.

She didn't actually start shuffling until she was 17 months, she never rolled from back to front until she was 16 months.
Lots of younger babies we know have overtaken her now

She's had lots of tests, seen paediatricians, physio who have all said there is nothing wrong with her. If I stand her up she can stand perfectly for ages.

BUT in the last 2/3 weeks she's learnt to crawl which seems to be rare for a shuffler and suddenly she's started pulling herself up onto her knees so I'm hoping this is the start. She could never get herself into a sitting position from laying down either but since the crawling has started she rolls onto her front, onto all fours and pushes back into sitting.

I still don't think she'll be walking much before she's 2, but she is definitely learning more things quite quickly.

My DD was a bum shuffler and walked at 18 months...

DD1 bum shuffled. Never once crawled and wouldn't bear weight till 15 months. Walked at 19 months. Absolutely no problems at all

DD1 bumshuffled until 20 months when she got up and walked across the room

Agree with previous poster that my DC1 was stable on her feet immediately she began walking at 16.5mo.

Whereas DC2, crawler/earlier walker took much longer to be stable.

DC1 was a bum-shuffler!

She started walking at 16.5mo, which seemed late as she had been cruising for months by then.

She's had no problems.

DC2 was crawling at 8mo, walking at 12mo and a total shock to my system!

Ds 1 bum-shuffled, extremely efficiently. He then walked, again extremely efficiently, at 14 months. No staggering or waddling about - just straight to a very steady and mature walk. He talked late-ish but again, when he did it was full sentences full of long words. Sat on a bike on his 4th birthday and rode it instantly with no stabilisers. He's nearly 8 now, very good at sport and dance, quite graceful, very articulate, not dyslexic. DS 2 crawled the normal way, but is hypermobile and walked very late. At 6 he is still very unco-ordinated, can't really ride a bike, can't catch, falls over things, can't/won't follow instructions and can't decide which hand he writes with (although he is gorgeous in lots of ways despite all that). I know which one is going to find life harder!

DD3 and DD4 were both bum- shufflers and walked at 16 and 15 mths respectively. Absolutely no other developmental delay, dyslexia etc and no difference in later outcomes to my other 2 DCs who crawled and then walked at 10 and 12 mths.

I think both methods are part of normal physical development - as parents we just get a bit more concerned with bum-shufflers, (and fed-up of carrying them around!)

Ds was a bum shuffler, using one hand on ground (and one in air). . He started walking as he turned one. I noticed that he stopped shuffling and walked all the time so was very sturdy very quickly. He's 14 months now and hardly ever shuffles. He never really crawled (apart from once or twice through a play tunnel)

Exactly the same as babyroger

Bum shuffled at incredible speed until about 14.5 months, bit of cruising, but not much, then in the space of a week, full on running.

She has not stopped since (19m).

I spent ages agonising that is was a sign that something was amiss and then spent ages lamenting my lovely peaceful life when I did not have to rescue DD from certain death about every 5 mins.

Ds was a bum shuffler. He started walking as he turned one. I noticed that he stopped shuffling and walked all the time so was very sturdy very quickly. He hardly ever shuffles. He's 14 months now.