Anyone have a child who cruised for ages before walking?

[CruisingChaos]

So DS has reached a momentous milestone today he has been cruising for 6 months and somehow despite this he is no closer to walking or standing independently.

Now granted I don't know many babies but 6 months with no attempts to walk or stand feels like an eternity. He has no interest in using a push along walker but is so confident on his feet providing he's holding onto a stationary object (even if it is only with two fingers).

I know he will get there but it would be lovely to hear from anyone else who had a child who cruised for such a long time and made no effort to walk.

[tumpymummy]

My son was really slow to walk. He was around 20 mths. He would cruise and bottom shuffle everywhere. He was (and still is) too cautious to just let go and walk on his own. He's a teenager now and plays football, runs etc. In the end it made no difference whatsoever.

[BogRollBOGOF]

DS1 crawled at 9m
Pulled up to standing at 10m
Was cruising around furniture at 12m
Didn't walk unsupported until 16m when he took 16 steps across the room at toddler group, and that was him walking proficiently from then on.

[mindutopia]

I think this is quite normal actually. Mine both cruised around 8 months but didn’t walk until 15 and 17 months. Youngest who didn’t walk until 17 months was crawling at 5.5 months! So he spent literally an entire year crawling but not walking. Apparently it’s quite good developmentally to crawl as long as possible because the crawling builds neural connections in the brain better than walking (because it’s so tactile and they do more exploring with their hands rather than just tearing around). When he did start walking he was off running like a shot.

[Stingrayspike]

Yes my twins were exactly the same. I think it meant much less falling over when they did let go. A decade later they are competitive runners!

[RubaiyatOfAnyone]

Dd2 crawled at 6 months and then 1 week later pulled herself up and cruised. Cripes! I thought, she’s going to be walking by 7 months! No, she cruised until 11.5 months, when she suddenly decided to let go of the coffee table and hove off towards the kitchen which was of course not at all child proofed because i’d relaxed after so much cruising. They choose their own moments (fwiw, dd1 crawled at 9 months, cruised at 13 months for about a fortnight, then walked. There was no reason for them to be so dissimilar, just their own choices/strengths.)

[CruisingChaos]

He was (and still is) too cautious to just let go and walk on his own.

I sometimes wish DS was more cautious. He's a nutty daredevil with everything else except for walking. I know in the end like you've said it won't make a difference but I think he's decided he can't do it and therefore he won't even try.

Didn't walk unsupported until 16m when he took 16 steps across the room at toddler group, and that was him walking proficiently from then on.

I genuinely can't imagine DS just getting up and walking across a room. Could your DS stand independently beforehand?

[CruisingChaos]

So he spent literally an entire year crawling but not walking. Apparently it’s quite good developmentally to crawl as long as possible because the crawling builds neural connections in the brain better than walking

Wow a whole year of crawling! Ds had been crawling properly for about 8 months so far but he was commando crawling before that so hopefully he's developed good connections.

[Anjo2011]

My DD didn’t even crawl, she bum shuffled and dragged herself around, she waited until she was 2! We even took her to docs to see if there was anything wrong. I did wonder if she had an issue with her hips as she was in an extended breach position at birth but she was scanned for problems and nothing. The doctor said she’s just lazy and to make her do things for herself. About two days after her second birthday I said to her do you think you could walk from the window to door , she just got up and did it as though it was the most normal thing ever and she’d be doing it for ages.

[Champagneforeveryone]

DS cruised for about 8 months with no signs of letting go. Turned round one day and he was walking as if he'd been doing it for months.
He was also the same to potty train, swim, ride a bike etc. It all evened out in the end

[CruisingChaos]

I think it meant much less falling over when they did let go. A decade later they are competitive runners!

Well less falling over would be a nice bonus. His knees are already covered in bruises from climbing onto things and launching himself off them. Your daughters sound incredibly sporty, me and his Dad are definitely not runner material so I'll be very impressed if he is a runner.

[Enko]

Ds cruised at 9 mo the finally walked at 18 months

[PippinStar]

Crawled at 6.5 months, pulled to stand at 7 months, didn’t cruise until 10 months, and didn’t walk until 15 months. He just took off and walked across the room one evening and never crawled again! He was similar with talking 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Sandsnake]

DS crawled at 8 months and was cruising very shortly after that. At his 10 month HV development check she predicted he’d be walking ‘in days’. In reality he started at 14 months. DD on the other hand crawled at 8 months (same as her brother to the day). Didn’t ever cruise but started walking shortly after turning 10 months. I think with DS he was so good at getting around by crawling / cruising that he didn’t have the incentive to walk, whereas DD was desperate to - probably to be like her big brother.

[CruisingChaos]

she just got up and did it as though it was the most normal thing ever and she’d be doing it for ages.

I like the sound of your daughter.

DS cruised for about 8 months with no signs of letting go.

8 months . I really hope I dont have another 2 months of him not walking. It would certainly make my life much easier if he could toddle when we went out and about.

[BertieBotts]

Yep! DS1 cruised from 8-16 months.

[ViceVersa]

Yes my DD. Started crawling and cruising at 8 months old. Didn’t walk until 17 months! So almost a year. The only thing that got her going was taking her outside frequently so she had a desire to walk (summer lockdown) She seemed to have no need to walk in the house as she did a combination of crawling and cruising so confidently she could get around the house quicker than I could

[TierFourTears]

Yes.
Crawled at 5 month, pulled upright at 6 month, and cruised or dropped back to crawling when the furniture ran out!
I think he was so quick at crawling, walking slowed him down!
Walked at 13 months, so cruising for 7 months.

[CruisingChaos]

Oh yikes several of you have now said 8 or 9 months! Everyone was so confident he would be walking before the Christmas and then definitely before the end of January but I'm now thinking it will be spring time at this rate.

[Cyw2018]

DD started cruising the same week she crawled properly which was at 8 1/2 months. Didn't walk until 6 months later.

She refused outright to hold two hands at the same time (would just buckle her knees and cry in defiance of we tried) and this meant she had to be completely ready to walk independently when she eventually tried. She went from walking 2 steps to 8 steps in 24 hours and running around within a month. She missed the cute bum stuck out slow toddling stage completely.

[CruisingChaos]

She refused outright to hold two hands at the same time

DS Doesn't cooperate often if you try to get him to walk holding onto your hands it's like his legs immediately turn to jelly.

[soundofsilence1]

My LO has been cruising since 7 months. I thought he would be an early walker but he then started crawling at 9 months. He is now 14 months and still not walking although in the last week he had started to stand alone for a few seconds.

This only started when he started getting really into clapping. He was standing holding on and then started clapping and suddenly looked shocked he was not holding on!

He is really into everything. He even climbed a ladder when my back was turned for a few seconds so I am not sure if fear is holding him back.

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

Crawled at five months. Was pulling up, climbing etc shortly after.

It was a trip to the beach just after birthday that turned her into a walker. Turns out crawling on sand isn't that comfortable. So she stood up and ran towards the sea instead.

Her sister chased a dog across the room one day, but didn't crawl. She was shuffling and cruising for five months.

[Peanut91]

My DS cruised and crawled for about 8 months and then all of a sudden one day he stood up and walked straight across the room. After that he would happily walk for ages like he had been doing it for months and hardly ever fell down

[MustardMitt]

How old is he?

My twins cruised for months and walked at 14. Third son barely cruised at all, just got up and walked out the room at 10 months like it was nbd. Hasn’t stopped since.

[CruisingChaos]

He is really into everything. He even climbed a ladder when my back was turned for a few seconds so I am not sure if fear is holding him back.

He sounds just like my DS. A proper little daredevil with no concept of fear or danger. I'm 99% sure like you that it's not a confidence issue. I just think he's decided he can't do it so he wont do it, he can be very stubborn so this honestly wouldn't surprise me at all.