DD wont walk on her own, when do i worry?

[mad4mainecoons]

Hi all,

my almost 17 month old dd cannot walk unaided, i know that in itself its not a worry as my DS was a fairly late walker (18m) and i realise that they all progress through the stages when they are ready.

but, with dd she has been at the walking with support stage (hand to hold or a walker) for over two months with seemingly no improvement. everyone keeps telling me that " she will be walking next week" but its just not happening, and im now starting to wonder.

it seems to be that she has not got the control and balance in her hips yet that is needed and i have also noticed that her left foot seems to turn outwards slightly with each step. she never had any isses with hips as a baby and it does not run in the family per se, but its weak point i have (torn ligaments / catchy joints etc)

so what im asking is.....do i just stop worrying, contunie to support her efforts and let her do it in her own time, OR, is it time to see the HV (whom dd has not seen since the 6 week check or GP and rule out any isses with her hips or anything else im missing?

anyone with any experience, your advice would be much appreciated

[Ineedmetime]

I would speak to your hv, but don't worry too much about it. my dd was 22 months when she started walking. we got referred to see a phisio at the hospital and she used to give us ideas how to encourage dd with sitting to standing sort of excersises then holding on walking excercises, then eventually we tried walking holding on and trying to get her to let go. one day she just started a little at a time but it was great! now she is 2yrs and pretty much runs most of the time.
sounds like if she is holding on walking she is doing well

[z123]

I wouldn't worry. Turning a foot out is unlikely to be a problem. Very common. Will change. My DD is 10 months and will walk everywhere holding hands (but not holding furniture and cruising, pulling to stand or crawling so I feel a lot of back breaking practice still to come....). She turns her right foot out a lot. She does not have a hip problem or a leg length discrepancy as far as we can tell. My friend's son did this too. Lerft foot very turned out, was at the nearl walking stage from 14-16 months, then finally took off. No issues for him no at 2.5

If you are still worried you can see your HV and ask her opinion, or your GP. In our area, physios accept HV referral so whichever is easier.

[alewVera]

If you are worried go to GP, our HVs wouldn't do anything until DD2 had her 2 year check.

[onepieceofcremeegg]

Neither of my dds walked until they were almost 2 years old. (21 months and 22 months respectively). My health visitor told me that the "old" guidelines used to advise getting it checked at 18 months if a baby wasn't walking.

She went on to say that over more recent years, since the "back to sleep" campaign, the average walking age has increased, so some health professionals think that "normal" is anything up to 2 years rather than 18 months. This is because if babies are on their backs a lot, some are later to roll and crawl and therefore later to walk.

If you have worries about her foot or any other niggling worry then in your position I would get it checked out.

[cory]

If you yourself have joint trouble already, then I would see the GP or HV tbh.

Hypermobility syndrome is hereditary, with a 50% chance of passing it down to any child. We have this in the family and dd did not walk until 19 months. She has genuine mobility problems even though I only had very slight problems with dodgy wrists. Early intervention can save a lot of trouble, so worth checking out.

[Firawla]

i would see the hv just to see if you can get her on any referral list as they take agess to come through even once they are on the list, then its just like a back up option just incase you need it. both mine were at the walking with support stage for a long time before actually walking. my ds2 is 19 months and not been walking long, but he has been on referral list for ages because he wasn't putting feet flat so i thought he will never get the hang of walking but eventually he realised his mistake himself and started to put them flat, then he was okay. so your dd's foot thing could be something she will sort by herself but just incase i would see hv or gp so atleast you have it noted and maybe get onto a list incase its needed later. i was told they have physio clinics only every 3 months? but it might vary from area, so if my son still needed it the earliest apt would have been sept, which is i think about 5 months after being referred, so it really does seem to take agesss. hopefully your dd will just get it soon by herself though

[mad4mainecoons]

thank you all so much for your advice,

after all my worry i was set to phone the doctors when we got home from toddler group this morning...... but at our toddler group DD walked a few steps between me and my friend (whom she loves!) and then that was it!!

by the end of today she has got to slowly toddling around the house completely by herself, not holding on to anything!!

she is so pleased with herself and grin the whole time she is walking

as does mummy who has breathed a huge sigh of relief

thanks.x

[onepieceofcremeegg]

Oh that's lovely op. :)

My dd2 went from the odd "cruising" step one day, to literally the next day walking/running up and down the landing into my arms. One of my happiest memories actually. She was 22 months, she waited until my day off, and got up after her nap and just walked and walked. She and I were like this all afternoon. She was so pleased with herself just like yours. I was laughing and smiling the whole time.

[Rubyabcd]

So there's hope for my thirteen month old daughter then? Who has only just mastered crawling recently and walks well only when holding my hands, bad back!!!

[Firawla]

aww that is lovely op! must be a relief, its soo cute to see how proud they are of themselves when they get started with the walking.
ruby i dont think 13 months is late at all, i know you always hear it mentioned walking at 12 months but i have seen loads and loads of babies walking 13, 14 months etc. i dont even know if 50% are walking at 12 months these days?