My 14 month old isn’t walking or talking and has some other red flags. When do I worry?

[Babypinksandblues]

I have a beautiful 14 month old boy. He is healthy, very active (crawls, bounce, climbs, loves Lego). He is smiley, giggly, ticklish, smart and focused, loves music. BUT he doesn’t speak much (no mama) and is refusing to walk although he does crawl high speed. He doesn’t always respond to his name much usually because he is very busy with whatever it is he’s doing.he does otherwise.
He also doesn’t point or clap much (although as I am now teaching him and he seems to like it and be getting there)
We are currently living in Switzerland where he attended crèche / nursery in French so I’m wondering whether the multiple languages are delaying his speech? my dr (not a paediatrician) and the lady who runs the crèche keep reassuring me that babies develop as different ages and he is lovely.
But then today the crèche assistant agreed with me about points of difference I made and said in her believe it would be good to get him to the paediatrician to check his ears and for any other autism / developmental issues. He’s only 14 months and I don’t have any family or close friends around to help me sense check this and my partner isn’t being very supportive in any way..
I’m looking for reassurance more than anything as he is still so little and my mum keeps trying to convince me is is a happy smiley focused baby who likes what he likes and will
Be ready when he’s ready.thank you in advance if you had similar concerns that turned out well or just for general comfort and advice. Thank you xxx

One of mine didn't crawl until 15 months, walked at 18 months and now, at 23 months only has three words. As soon as he learns a new word he loses an old word so he only ever has three., his receptive language is good though.

Try not to worry, my son is nearly 2 and ix only just starting to say a few words now... im not particularly bothered as DD was tje same, she's how 7, talks non stop with an excellent vocabulary

My baby's only just started walking she's 17 months (my first daughter was 10 months). And she doesn't say anything yet except 'dadda'. Again DD1 was chatting loads by now. They're all different. He sounds like he's doing everything he should be so I really wouldn't worry.

Mine walked at 15 months and on her 2nd birthday she could say “yeah”. She has just picked her A levels and is totally bang on for everything

Mine walked at 17 months and 20 months. Dd was a referred to a physio at 18 months but it wasn't considered a problem until then. She hadn't crawled properly until 12 months either (but she was a champion commando crawler!). Being contrary she took her first steps the day before the physio appointment! Physio wasn't at all concerned, said slightly hypermobile but nothing to worry about. She's now 12 and although not at all sporty, walks and runs just fine!

Not sure about the speech but if I recall it's only just getting going around 14 months. I think the health visitor expected a certain number of words at 18 months. So probably a bit early to worry. Someone told me it's important to consider how well they can communicate generally not just verbally, eg showing you what they want by pointing is a good sign.

My oldest didn’t walk until she was 22 months! 14 months is so young, please try not to worry.

Honestly? Do not worry about him at this age. Start worrying when he goes to Kindergarten and he is just NOT fitting in. That is the time to go and see specialists, if you need to.

Second languages can delay speech.

There was no second language involved for us but my son sounds similar to yours.
He didn't walk until 16 months as he was also a super fast crawler.
He only had a handful of words until 25 months when suddenly he was mimicking everything we said.
Some words are a bit unclear and so Im also wondering about his hearing but can't decide if it's bad enough to be concerned. He had tongue tie so wonder if it's that.

I wouldn't worry until closer to 2 years. I've also heard boys can be a bit later with these milestones.

It may be worth having his ears tested if he doesn’t seem to take much notice of you, because that is something that should be sorted as young as possible. However my twins did not walk or talk till they were 2 and now they are 10 they are very good at both! I believe I was the same.

He sounds just fine from your description My DD didn’t even crawl, she just sat there until she decided to walk at 18 months…babies just do things in their own time.

I wouldn’t worry. If he can speed crawl why would he want to walk - it’ll slow him down. Sooner or later he’ll decide walking’s faster so he’ll just do that.

With talking - at 14 months I really wouldn’t worry now or for a while either

None of mine were walking or talking at 14 months and I think only my youngest had any words at 18 months. They are all fine.

My eldest didn't walk until he was 18 months! He was riding a bike with no stabilisers at 3 through. Don't worry OP. You sound like you have a lovely inquisitive little boy, who is still very much a baby at 14 months.

I wouldn’t worry at 14 months OP. My nephew started walking at 14 months, but it took him a while to go from crawling to fully walking, I wouldn’t have been concerned if it had taken longer for him to walk. He’s 18 months now and uses a couple of words, but he mostly still babbles and communicates with gestures.

Your OP sounds like he’s doing really well in other areas and as he’s crawling, I really wouldn’t worry. Learning more than one language at once does usually mean speech takes a little longer so that’s not a concern either. I used to be an EFL teacher and have lived abroad so I know a lot of families with bilingual kids, who took longer to speak.

Enjoy your little fella! He sounds lovely :-)

My eldest didn't speak until 26 months. He went on to university and holds down a good job. 14 months for walking, especially when the child has an effective alternative means of moving, is nothing remarkable. Don't worry. Enjoy!

I second getting his hearing checked. My son is profoundly deaf and he wasn't diagnosed till he was two and a quarter due to falling through the net with a follow up hearing test... 😔

First word from DS was after his second birthday. By the time he started school his speech was advanced for his age.

My ds walked a couple of steps at 11 months then didn't walk until the very last second of 18 months. Advice was back then if they're not walking by 18 months to go see about it. He got the hang of it pretty quickly then he ran everywhere!

His speech wasn't great either. His sister had very advanced vocabulary at age 2. He was quite hard to understand until about age 4. His sister used to translate for him. We had him tested because of school issues and they commented the vocabulary he used and understood was off the chart for his age! It kind of remained that way.

It is a worry when they don't reach the goals when you think/are told they should.
Take him for a check up just for peace of mind. There nothing wrong in that. He's your son.

My son is just starting to walk and he's 19 months!!! He hardly says any words. But he's starting to say a few recently. You know your baby best. If you feel worried, speak to a professional. But don't be worried because other people tell you to be.

My now 7 year old didn't walk until 19 months, no long term issues.

He didn't say yes or no until 2 years 2 months! That was a tiny bit of an issue and he did have speech therapy for about 6 months at 2 and a half. He is now at the top of his class and you would never imagine he had speech issues.

I really think 14 months is too young to worry.

My DD tried her first steps at 11 months. She fell, not horribly, but it knocked her confidence. She did not try walking again until she was 16 months old.

Children are individuals and all develop in their own time.

My perfectly normal 23 year old grandson was a lot like your baby, he was happy and healthy, but he was extremely late with everything, not walking until he was nearly two. I think you have a normal baby and the nursery worker is wrong. My own children were all late walking and talking, and they are all fine.

My DS didn’t walk til about 17 months , he crawled at a very fast speed though , even over gravel

Once he found his feet , no stopping him as he ran everywhere !

He did talk though …. , but only I could understand him ( so it might be worth getting the ears checked , I opened a pack of maltesers behind my son , and he didn’t turn round begging for chocolate, so I knew something was wrong )

He got a first at Uni , so no harm was done

As a GP I was taught to refer to Paeds if a child isn't walking by 18 months, or isn't speaking by 2 years. The thresholds that Health Visitors use for concern are a bit lower because they do a lot of early intervention advice, support and monitoring in the community before referring to Paeds (if that makes sense). My eldest didn't walk until 16 months and didn't say a single word until 22 months and I was slightly twitched by the latter (we had his hearing checked). Looking back I wish I hadn't wasted precious time and energy worrying when he was so young. Just enjoy your baby for now, and start to think about medical advice if there's nothing happening at 18 months.

I'd bet the person you spoke to knows that your child is really within the norm for age, but suggested taking to someone to help set your mind at rest.
Child is still only a baby