To ask about your bum shufflers

[cadburyegg]

DS2 is 13 months and has always been a happy, chilled little one quite content to sit and watch. He has never crawled and started bum shuffling about a month ago. The lack of crawling doesn’t worry me but he can’t really weight bear and pull himself up at all. He just kicks his legs if we put him in a standing position and is obviously some way off walking. My DH is hypermobile and if DS2 is I know that can delay things a bit.

At his development check at 11 months the HV said she would send us a leaflet about encouraging movement etc but never did, I’ve tried to phone and email but no response.

I just don’t know if I should be worried? Is there anything we can do to help him along? Does anyone have any similar experiences? DS1 crawled at 7 months and walked at 14 months so this is new territory to us.

Dd2 bum shuffled, never crawled and walked at about 22 months. Now very sporty and active at age 12, you'd never guess.

Nothing at all to worry about!!!

With all due respect, you don't know that, unless you're a professional who's examined OP's child. There can be gross motor issues if a child doesn't crawl and walks late, or there may not. It is worth keeping an eye on and following the advice of healthcare providers, as well as getting second opinions if your gut tells you there's a problem.

Both of mine were bum shufflers. I think they walked at 16 and 18 months. I was told that they weren't especially motivated because they could see (and almost reach) everything they needed to from their upright position.

I wouldn't worry unless there are other developmental milestones your baby isn't hitting, in which case talk to your HV.

DD was a bum shuffler. Her bum could reach amazing heights off the floor whilst bum "bouncing" and was super fast too! Now at 8yrs old she's a bright girl and has no problems but she's very physical cautious iyswim. She was never one of those "no fear" toddlers that you have to stop from doing something daft that you hear about!

As a pp said, due to the upright position, she was less motivated to stand and walk as she could reach anything she wanted. Plus it's easier to hold toys and food etc when bum shuffling than crawling so again, less incentive to stand than crawlers. It's probably comfier too!

She walked at 19 months 9 days and by that point we were just starting to worry about her development. My other two DC who were crawlers walked much earlier.

DD was also very content like your ds, op.

Sorry I am going to offer a slightly different perspective. If a child hasn’t crawled then their infant reflexes have not gone dormant. And if their infant reflexes have not gone dormant than this has meant some of their adult reflexes have not kicked in.
When a child crawls this helps them develop the left and right side of their brain. It also helps them develop eye tracking which in turn helps them with their reading.
These children don’t look any different to other children but on some levels they can find life harder then other children.
My son did crawl but only for a short time and he was walking at 9 months. On paper a very well behaved child - bright enough to pass his 11 plus and sporty enough to get a place in a football development team.
But he had little niggly things not quite right with him. If there was something going around nursery he caught it. He found sitting at a desk very tiring and would usually lean on his arm. He struggled to sit still - it was like he either had to be moving all the time or asleep. His fork and knife skills were appalling and he bent his head to his plate and shovelled food in. His eye contact was poor and he was a very anxious child.
Some of these issues were significant enough that the Dr referred him for asd assessment at 4 years old and we were told he was borderline autistic.
He is also hyper mobile by the way.
After a very long journey, a therapist mentioned when he was 10 that she thought his infant reflexes had not gone dormant. One of the obvious signs can be that a child sticks their tongue out when they concentrate (rooting reflex). But this is not always the case.
Anyway, long story short I looked on the mumsnet sen boards and discovered a brushing technique that helps children’s reflexes go dormant. It takes about a year of brushing for 5 mins a day but the changed in my son have been like a miracle. Within the first two months we noticed a life changing difference. My son is calmer and happier.
We have a letter from a therapist written when he was 10 suggesting he did definately have Asd. We just had him assessed at 12 formally - no asd. Infact the specialist said he had no issues at all.
I recommend you read this website about infant reflexes not going dormant. I am not recommending this company at all as I have never used them - they are the company who trained the therapist I went to who shows me how to do the brushing technique.
www.inpp.org.uk/

Sorry but that’s bollocks. May have been true for your bum shuffler but not true for mine.
Please OP take this with a pinch of salt

My second son was a bum shuffler. He walked later than his crawling older brother but it has never affected his physical or mental development. At 24yrs old he is a first class Masters degree holder who walks everywhere by choice!

Is bum shuffling hereditary in anyone’s experience? My DH was a bum shuffler and never crawled (now normal, functioning adult ) and we’re waiting to see if our DS will be the same.

My DD was a bottom shuffler and was nearly 19 months old when walked. It meant she was slower to develop her physical skills, and was a reluctant Walker as had grown used to being carried around more so had to be forced to walk short distances to begin with.

She seemed to catch up properly by 3/3.5 years old

MrsElijahMikaelson1 - its interesting that a very high majority of these posts are telling the OP not to worry and very few including mine are saying its worth a second thought...and you call it bollocks. You don't need to accept my experiences - but just google retained reflexes, infant reflexes or primitive reflexes on mumsnet alone and you will find loads of parents posting about retained reflexes.
Its great you feel your child/children don't have any retained reflexes but there are lots of parents on mumsnet who feel their children do and have had a lot of success when they have been able to help these reflexes to go dormant and allow their adult reflexes to kick in.
I wish someone had told me about retained reflexes when my children were small as it would have made our lives easier.

My daughter was a bum shuffler, she never crawled. I was dinghy racing until about 6 months and she would shuffle, look over her left shoulder, tack and lay the mark! Learned behaviour maybe???

I was a bum shuffler and am hypermobile and have always hated to kneel or crawl as painful and thought this was why I did not crawl.

Daughter also bum shuffled till 19months and never rolled, pulled herself up or weight bared which made me very paranoid but hv did not think it was a problem and said come back at 2 if she was not walking. Now an active, bright 9 year old with no joint problems who loves to climb trees.

DS rolled, crawled, walked, etc.. as per normal milestones however has started to show traits of hypermobility, so not always as clear cut.

My lo was a bum shuffler and is still not walking at 2 and half. She will stand holding on but on extreme tip toes and will surf but again on tip toes. She knee walks and it looks like her muscles have tightened on the back of her legs. She is under physio now. Probably nothing to worry about but I would definitely mention it to HV or Gp now just incase you need referral later on as we've found that to be a long process.
Good luck with your lo, I know how frustrating it is to see all the other babies crawling and walking!

It may be a concern, it may not. The only way to find out is to ask your GP or HV for a physio referral. The physio, in turn, will refer you on if they have further concerns.

Given your dh’s medical history and the non-weight bearing, I would start insisting on a referral.

DS1 bum shuffled around 13 months. And once he started he was lightning fast, I had to almost run to keep up with him. It was inevitable for him, he used to scream the house down if I attempted tummy time so I gave up in the end.

They worry about hip dysplasia from memory I think, but if you've got no concerns then I wouldn't be following up with the HV.

I didn't walk until 20 months, and I think my mum mentioned I was a bum shuffler. However, I was an early talker and used short sentences from 12 months on. I just used to say want I wanted and my older brothers, especially the one ten years older, would get it for me.

My mum used it as an example of the early start of my on-going laziness.

It can be a variant of normal or it can indicate a problem. Ask your gp for a referral to children's physio. You may have to wait but at least you will be on the waiting list so if your child is still not weightbearong on 3months time you know you will see someone soon.

Bottom shufflers do tend to walk later. Not walking by 18mo needs medical review.

The poster who.mentioned retained reflexes- yes that is s school of thought and missing out things like crawling can have consequences further down the line like struggling to read and write words off a blackboard when school age.

I know some posters are often trying to reassure the op all will be well but every child is different and the quicker you get proper advice the better.

I personally feel that the UK is quite lax on monitoring gross motor milestones and could be referring onto physio a lot earlier. At 13 months my DD basically didn't move and HV was not concerned. We moved to Canada that month and I saw public health at 14 months and they referred her immediately. She has hypermobility/low muscle tone and her physio said it was extremely important for these particular babies to crawl- we had to teach her, and she crawled at 16 months and walked at 20 months. She would have got there on her own but it would have taken longer I'm sure. She is now 3.5 and still a little clumsy and weak-legged; until recently she still participated in a fun gross motor skills group to develop her strength.

I think to leave it until beyond 18 months or god forbid 2 years old to do any kind of intervention is ridiculous; it's utterly abnormal to not walk at 2 and will be impacting negatively on the child and the family in all sorts of ways by then. OP while I'd say 13 months is a bit early to be worrying, I'd keep monitoring and follow your instinct. If things haven't changed within a few months I'd seek help/referral from your GP/HV.

Agreed it can be normal or it could be an issue. We had a bum shuffler who didn't even want to roll much by 12 months. He was under the care of a physio until he bum shuffled around 14 months and walked around 20 months.

Totally fine 4 year old now, but they kept an eye on him and did a range of gross motor tests along the way. He was delayed speaking too, and it was useful as the multi discipled kids team passed him from physio to speech therapy fairly easily. He wasn't big, more like too small really, and was a prem baby so was being generally more monitored.

Good luck! Its stressful, and everyone will say it will all be ok in time, but that's no help when you are worried.

My oldest was a bum shuffler - she walked around 15/16 months. Next 2 crawled conventionally and walked at about a year old.

My oldest is extremely physically cautious and very clever, so I think it was her personality as much as anything. As an adult she is very successful in a very niche and creative field and still very cautious, so I don't think it was anything physical, just how she is. She is also wonderful and we have a great relationship, try not to worry and let them develop in their own way and time, in every aspect of child rearing, really.

I wouldn't be at all concerned about the bum shuffling per se as I think a lot of babies simply prefer it as a way of getting around. By itself it's not indicative of problems. DT2 is a bum shuffler but also very strong at standing and trying to walk at 13 mos corrected so pretty normal.

DT1 crawls "properly" but is actually less coordinated and worse at standing than she is.

But the difficulties with weight bearing would worry me a little. I think I would ask GP as it can't hurt just to ask esp given your own hx.

Both of mine were bum shufflers, they were late walkers compared to other babies, about 18-20m. I put it down to lack of tummy time when they were little.
They are now completely average children.

My second DC was a bum shuffler - it was so cute 😍 we lived overseas at that time where the floors were marble so I understood his reluctance to crawl but DC1 crawled at 7mo and walked at 12 so it was new territory for me.
He was late to pull up - 13 months. He just couldn't figure out how to do it from a sitting position , tbf it is hard, he had to get the step of going on to his knees first which took longer. After that, he actually walked at a pretty average time- 14 months he was wobbling around on 2 feet and by 15 months walking pretty well. His development was much slower than DC1 in this respect but it was just an alternative route.

There are some links to dyslexia apparently. Babies leave out the over complicated four limbed motion and just skip to to the walking stage when they are ready. As someone said, it’s an alternative route in development not a delay as such.