16 months and still not walking

[mojomands]

My daughter crawled late (around 14.5 months). She crawls fast and can hold her weight in the standing position if her hands are held. She doesn't cruise either. Her vocab is great (no delay there) but doc is sending her to a paediatrician. Bit concerned as I thought she was just a late mover really. Any thoughts / advice welcome.

[Lizzylou]

My friend's DD can't walk yet and she is 15mths, she is not concerned as her DP didn't walk until 16mths either...
I was also speaking to a woman at Mother and Toddler, the proud mother of a whippet thin 4 year old, racing round the room, who said her son didn't walk until he was 20 mths as he was soo fat! Apparently her DH was exactly the same too!
I know it's easy to say, but try not to worry...
my DS walked at 11mths but is so concerned about running and climbing everywhere he only ever grunts, so I am worried about his speech...
Motherhood just seems to be one worry after another!

[Fennel]

I think they are a bit over-cautious on this sometimes. my friend's dd is 10 months and has already been referred to a paediatrician for not standing properly and holding her weight. I don't think there is anything to worry about, they are just trying to pick up possible problems, it doesn't mean your dd does have any problems

my dd3 is nearly 15 months and not walking. I think she's just a bit lazy.

[Kidstrack2]

Wouldn't worry too much especially now that you have been referred, they will find out if anything is wrong or if she is just taking her time! My friends dd has just started walking at 17m and my Sis didn't walk till she was 18m and very funnily enough her 2 ds didn't walk till they were 17 & 18m they were comando crawling kids! They are all different but hopefully your mind will be put at rest after your appointment.

[compo]

my ds is just over 16 months and he has only just started cruising. My mum said we didn't start walking until we were 2 so I'm not at all worried. Ds only started crawling a few days before his first birthday.

[bobbybob]

Don't think 16 months is so late that a paed would be brought in...especially as vocab is good. Maybe doc just playing it safe.

[HandbagAddiction]

If your GP has refered you to the paediatrician then in your position, I would just go along with it and get your dd checked out. My dd didn't walk until 20 months and didn't even weight bear until about 15 months...I think some children just take longer than others. I'm sure that if all other developmental milestones are OK, that there is nothing to worry about...and from my own experiences, my GP and HV were more concerned about a) whether she could move at all by crawling or bum shuffling and b) that she was sitting unaided by 10 months.

So...get her checked out if only for piece of mind. I'm pretty sure your GP is being cautious and if by the time that your paed appointment arrives, everything is OK and your dd is walknig, you can always cancel it!

[oliveoil]

here is my thread from moons ago, dd1 was a v late walker. And dd2 hasn't moved off her fat little bottom yet (nearly 11 months) all her 'peers' at the m&b group are walking!

Try not to worry.

xxxxx

here is the thread

[Raspberry]

I know its no help but I just had to smile when I thought of it:

We spend the first three years trying to get our offspring to walk and talk, then spend the rest of our lives trying to get them to sit down and shut up!

[frogs]

My dd2 has only just started walking at 18 months, having never crawled but only bottom-shuffled. My older two were just the same, walked at 18 months and 20 months. Dd2 only got off her bum to walk because I was so fed up with her wearing out trousers from bottom-shuffling outdoors that I started sending her out into the garden with no nappy or trousers on. [evil mother emoticon]

If your daughter can crawl well and hold her weight standing there's unlikely to be a problem with her muscle tone, so it's probably just one of those things. Age of walking etc. is highly heritable, so it might be reassuring to find out at what age your and your dd's father took your first steps. Some medics/HVs get unnecessarily het up about these things, and having had 3 late walkers, I've heard it all. Find a sensible GP or paed, ideally someone who sees lots of normal children as well as delayed ones, and unless they provide you with a specific medical reason why you should be concerned, don't worry.

Hi Handbagaddiction, we now have the cutest little walker on our hands. Her legs are still very stiff and she does a sort of John Wayne waddle. But she's terribly pleased with herself.

[sansouci]

DO NOT WORRY! my ds has only just started walking at the ripe old age of 23 months! he's fine but i made myself ill with worry... so please don't you worry, mojomands!

[LunarSea]

Lizzylou - I had one who could run/climb but not talk intelligably at that stage too, but when he did start talking he soon made up for the late start, and now we can't get a word in edgeways. While at rising 4 it's still just about true in his peer group that the early walkers are still the most active, and the early talkers the most passive, the difference is nowhere near what it was, and you'd need to observe them as a group for a while to really spot it.

[mojomands]

Did a bit of homework. It seems my husbands two aunts walked late so here's hoping it's a gene thing. I had to laugh the other day; my dd has started to shout "poopoo" when she's done the dirty deed. Some Mum said "Oh wonderful you should get her potty trained if she's doing that". Think walking comes before all that! One of the groups I attend is like Crufts but I go along for the sheer entertainment value plus my dd gets alot out of it!

[jenkins88]

I'm quite shocked that your GP has referred your DD. I've never heard a professional class 16 months as late for walking. I would take her along to the appointment though, just incase, although she may be walking by the time the appointment arrives anyway.

BTW your DD sounds very smart. How clever to be able to tell you that she's done a pooh. Good girl!

[KiwiKate]

She was probably busy developing in other areas, like language, and will get to walking when she is ready.

[kath4kids]

haven't read all this thread but dd didnt walk until 20 months, never crawled only pulled herself to standing at 13 months when ds was born and if she wanted me she had to stand.

If you sat her on the floor then thats where she stayed happy to play with the toys that were in front of her.

She eventually bumb shuffled and paediatricion cant work out how to spell this time in morning) told us that if they bumb shuffle sometimes coz they double jointed so ligaments so flexi that cant support body weight to walk.

Hope that helps, might have already been said but hey

[Carla]

DD1 crawled really late, too, and I can clearly remember my mum's scarf round her, trying to get her to walk, while I was in the maternity ward with dd2. She was 14 months old and I don't think she walked independantly 'till she was 16/17 months. It's not something I ever thought about. I really wouldn't worry about it - like someone else said, sometimes they can just be over-cautious. Chill and enjoy her - one day you'll mourn the loss of her not crawling any more!!!

[CelluliteQueen]

17 months for my DS. We thought he would never walk but he did!

[MrsDoolittle]

Dd is 15 months and she is just cruising. Infact over the last week she has got really lazy so if I take her hands to walk she will just sit down.
I'm not worried atall. She is fully interactive, to the point of being extroverted and confident.
I just think she is taking her time, just like her parents Never ones to rush - us!