to find another website's comment "many perfectly normal children don't walk until their 16th or 17th month" annoying?

[NigellaTufnel]

My ds has finally FINALLY started to walk, at just under 20 months. (Many thanks by the way to MNetters who have reasured me through my worries that there was something wrong!)
But everytime I get an update from another Baby site - and make the mistake of reading it - it panics me.

The latest says "many perfectly normal children don't walk until their 16th or 17th month."
If I had recieved this a week ago, this would have just upset me. And I'm sure this must upset some other Mums.

Don't get me started about talking...

AIBU to expect a bit more sensitivity about child development?

My son took his first steps at 20 months and even then he could not confidently walk across a room until he was two and half years old. Infact he had 18 months of NHS physio to help him learn to walk. My son had orthopedic problems which delayed him learning to walk.

It was a horrible time for us as family and my son hated the physio exercises and orthoric inserts. However at the age of seven years you would never know he had a problem.

It doesn't bother me that the child development books say that majority of healthy children learn to walk between 12 and 18 months. In the majority of cases its true. I don't know of any children without special needs who walked as late as my son.

Some manage it sooner and some manage it later. The NHS does not do physio for not walking until the age of two yeas old in our area. However it can take months to get a referal.

I do not disagree at all about the importance of average milestones LittleMissBliss.

My daughter is 18 months and has just started walking three days ago (oh and for some reason she has decided to crawl instead of her usual bum shuffle)!! I got fed up with comments 'ooh isn't she walking yet' we even got referred to a paediatrician who said there was nothing wrong with her!

BUT, compare her speech to others the same age as her and its way ahead, so I have stopped worrying, but at the same time I think 'milestones' are important so you know if there is something amiss.

Sorry totalchaos i miss understood, i appologise,

i have re-read and i think you were trying to point out (to me) that even with the milestones health professionals do not always pick up the signs as early as you/we wouldn like?- please say that is it? I am everso tired and not as atriculate as i can be.

yep, that's pretty much the drift of it

My DS1 walked at 18.5 months my DS2 is 9 months and one of the ladies from the schoold DD has just started walking at 10 months she said oh your DS will be soon I though unlikely

phew

Also, global developmental delays are not the only SN that may make a child walk late. My dd had excellent cognitive and language skills: but turned out to have joint trouble.

There'salady I know on here (no names LOL) who walked at 2 years; no Sn at all. Apaprently her mum was calling the GP in frustration when she turned around and said aldy was walking over

It's good to have a handle on averages but thats about it;kids can amaze us and they can jump backwards sidewards and allsorts.

DD has just taken off with her walking.I am so proud (SAD MUMMY ALERT).She got to 3 and off she went!!!!Shes still wibbly wobbly but I am amazed.Her latest is to walk up to me grab me round my legs and go "AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR"

iTS SO FUNNY,SEEING HER UPRIGHT!

It'sfunny how much store peoleput in it really.

Imean,ds4is high risk for autism and as ds3 is regressive that could kick in any time. I watch ds4 aged 10 months wander around upright and everyone else is wow and I dolove it of curse- video on facebook etc- but somewhere in my head is a voice saying /means nowt girl, ds1 was the same'

I don't know what to say,Peachy.For dd who haas gdd it seemed the LACK of mobility was an issue but obviously for you with the autism issue u is very different and until ds 4 is older there is no way of knowing one way or the other.That must be hard

I knew what I was letting myself in for

Iknow it'llbe OKwhatever but I do think in 2 years and 7 weeks I will relax immensely LOL

I think as other posters have said, that unless you have a feeling that something isn't right then you shouldn't worry. Children to their own things in their own time. My DS walked at 12 months, my niece at 16 months. She started talking long before he did. They're all different.

A friend of mine got her knickers in a twist because her DD wasn't potty trained by the time the help manuals said she should be. Her GP and HV were brill and told her to be patient. All came right eventually. Ignore the books and use your own instincts and the advice and experience you have to hand.

I think 20 months is perfectly normal (although I do hate the use of the N word, I couldn't think of any other way of phrasing it)

Every child develops at their own pace.

To give you some perspective, my mum told me the other day that my brother took his first few unaided steps just after his second birthday. I apparently walked unaided at 10 months.

DD walked at 8 months and I have been run ragged ever since lol, DD has also cost us a fortune in shoes, she is on her 4th pair already and she is only 15mo now. However DD only crawled once and never cruised around the furniture. I remember being so worried about her not cruising and crawling.

It is horrible to be told by anyone HV/GP/Friends/Family/A website that your child is seemingly not doing what the book or experts say they should at a certain age.

Unless you are duly worried for other reasons to then I think you should just try your hardest to put it out of your mind and enjoy your DS walking.

I was told by a paediatrician that "it's as normal for a child to start walking at 20 months as it is for a child to start walking at 10 months."

DD was 22 months. But then walked pretty much everywhere reliably, didn't do the "monster walk" or anything like that.

Both eldest two DCs had very bad speech, had speech therapy etc etc. I was never all that worried as I always seemed to know what they wanted, but all the HPs made concerned noises. Then suddenly I was told they now "had sounds for older than their age" and they were immediately discharged. Now they both are extremely bright and DD who at 2, acccording to the red book, had no clear words, does not stop talking from dawn till dusk. I had to ask her yesterday how she breathes as it is not apparent. I often look at her red book and smile.

Thanks everyone.

I do realise how ridiculous it is to worry about what a website says. However, I think the problem is that I spend time with my lovely boy, think that he's great, and them actually feel quite hurt (stupid I know) that some journalist writes that he is outside normal.

It is especially stupid as I know just how easy it is for journos to make sweeping generalisations.

DS is now proudly walking nearly everywhere, and I feel in my gut that he is OK.

His speech, on the other hand, is practically nonexistent, but he is pretty communicative, with grunts, smiles, pointing and all the rest. Loads of laughter, eye contact, and following of instructions.

I think that I may take ds to the GP for a winter mangey skin rash and just get the doc to have a look at him, but - and I hope I won't regret this - I feel in my gut that he's fine. Just v late on his milestones.

But again, I can't tell you all how grateful I have been to Mnetters who have been so reassuring with stories about their own dc.

Nigella, I voluntarily keep posting on my postnatal thread ( waves to peachy) the title of which is "The one where they put their best foot forward" My ds4 is not even crawling yet, at least not in a way that he actually gets somewhere! He could have dyspraxia and late or no crawling would be a marker for this, yet ds2 was actually crawling at this age! You never can tell!

DD1 walked at 10 months, didn't talk until she was 3. DD2 walked at 20 + months, but talked spectacularly early (or was it? Am I just comparing with DD1?) - you could have a conversation with her - "When are you going to get up and walk, DD2?" "I'm not. I like sitting. DD1 and you bring me things...!"

Ah, Mrs S! That reminds me of that old anecdote about the little boy who didn't speak at all until he was seven, and when he finally spoke, he said, 'Mother, you've burnt the toast.'

And mother, staggered, says 'son, why have you never spoken before?'

And he says, 'because you never burnt the toast before.'

at junior schadenfreude, that's the spirit!

My DD is nearly 17 months and not walking at all. she tries to pull herself up in the bath (but only to her knees). We were getting all of the "there's something wrong with her" and, would you believe, accusations of her being lazy (from 3 family members who are, wait for it, childminders...).

We took her to a paediatrician last week who took one look at her (prior to a few tests) and said there was nothing wrong with her. She's bright, chatty and bum shuffles at an incredible pace. He said that it's okay that she's found a different way to get around. She'll walk when she's ready. Very reassuring.