Still not walking

[Mummy2Adam]

Hi there,Im new to the site.
I hope someone can reassure me!
I have a son,who is 18 months old tomorrow.
He is still not walking,and im getting abit fed up with peoples comments.
i "feel" he could do if he wanted to but is so fast with his crawling he doesnt seem to want to?
he will walk absolutley fine and pretty fast if his hand is held,as soon as i try and let go he will drop to his knees and go into crawl mode again.
he has been crusing around the furniture for months (at least since xmas)
he also refuses to stand unaided to.
in other ways he seems pretty advanced for his age,his speech is very good and he doesn't miss a thing,he loves to study people and picks things up quickly.
should i be concerned do you think??????
thanks in advance for any replys!

18 months is later but not late on the development milestones and it sounds like he has no problems standing or walking - just needs the confidence and excuse to make him do it!

TBH you could ask your HV but I don't think they would be too concerned as he is showing all the development that leads to walking (cruising/handholding etc.)

Does he have a trolley or push-along? This made my nearly 18month old get on his feet - lethal to the furntiture and ankles but he got really fast pushing it and then it was only weeks before he was up on his feet walking.

If he can weight bear and is walking with one hand held (ie not going in circles or tipping over) then I wouldn't worry unduly. He might be just a bit reluctant to get going.

But if you're worried about his ability to walk at all then it's worth getting him checked.

I would not be too worried. It's not like he has some physical problem such as his legs won't hold him up... he can walk . My nephew was the same for ages. Capable of walking but preferred crawling for reasons of speed or laziness, who knows? He's just about to turn two and has now decided that he can get about quicker on two legs.

My own DS was more motivated to walk because he never really cracked crawling! And I remember 'encouraging' him to let go of the sofa & walk unaided by means of a McVities Digestive.... held just out of reach, forcing him to stagger towards it.

Does he have a push along truck? Sometimes that is a good halfway house between crusing and walking...

thanks for the replies!
yes he has 3 push along type toys,he uses them but seems to prefer sitting down playing
on the floor,our house is pretty small so floor space is pretty limited.
i dont have a HV,she only came to see me twice and discharged me!?
i do have a weigh in clinic type place i can go to so i could ask there.
he can weight bare okay,but only if we hold his hand/if he has the sofa to grab on to.
when walking holding his hand he walks really well,esp if me and other half have one hand each.
he does tend to stride really big steps though although we walk really slowly so he doesnt need to?

has anyone else got a little one who was a late walker?

many thanks!

my brother refused to walk and was shuffling along at the rate on knots on his arse until he was nearly 2.5.

They all do it in their own time, if you have concerns your GP/HV will be able to advise/refer you further.

My DD didn't walk till she was 22 months.
He is weight bearing so I think he'll just do it in his own time

My nephew was a later walker too and we all reckon (including SIL) that part of his problem was that like you their house had little floor space and he could move around the living room without actually having to let go of anything so had no reaons to really walk. He was the same could and would walk holdong hands or pushing something.

The non-walking nephew I mentioned earlier also lives in a small house.

My son didn't walk until he was 18 months, and my daughter until she was 20 months. My daughter didn't even want to stand on her feet. Both bottom shuffled and my daughter crawled from about 18 months.

If you're concerned take him to the GP/HV and get him checked out.

I wouldn't be too concerned, he may just be building up confidence or being a bit lazy.

Don't worry, he'll get there in the end! If he can stand up, bear weight and walk aided, then sooner or later he'll decide to walk by himself. And if he's a good talker, (warning, completely unscientific opinion coming up) his brain might have been concentrating on that, and he'll get round to walking soon.

Agree with others that it doesn't sound like there are any problems - he's just more interested in developing his other skills by the sound of it!

My DD did have problems learning to walk and only started very unsteadily at 20 months. She has low muscle tone which was evident from an early age when she had difficulties sitting up straight. As I say, if there was anything major to worry about, you would know by now.

Both my DD and DS walked between 15-16m. DS had been crawling for SEVEN months by the time he started walking!

DS used to do exactly the same as your DS. He was sort of weight bearing, but the second we let go of his hand, he would drop to the floor.

We went on holiday when he was just over 15mo, and we made a real effort to take the time to walk a lot with him (holding his hand of course!) even though it took HOURS to get anywhere. Shortly after, he took the 'leap' on his own and started walking on his own really confidently. He is nearly 17mo now and he is happy to walk quite a long way.

My ds2 took his first steps at nearly 18months and I was starting to get concerned as he had been cruising for 6 months beforehand. Now he walks everywhere and does big long walks refusing to get on the buggy board it slows me down! Now I think he was just quite laid back and a bit stubborn. However I know the feeling of how irritating it gets when people kept asking if he was walking yet. We had a competitive neighbour who used to come out of her house everytime we walked past to ask about it. Just let it go over your head. He will walk in his own good time. I sense a similar situation arising soon over my ds's potty training!

For every child who walks impossibly early (& drives its mother mad in the process because it doesn't have the knowledge to cope ) there has to be another who walks incredibly late - that's what averages are all about, & afaic later is better - apart from having to lug a large child around.

One of mine didn't walk until 19 months (didn't crawl until 12 months!) & was fine.

I think I read somewhere that the latest within the range of normal was getting on for 24 months

My DD didn't walk until she was 18 months. If he can weight bear, I wouldn't worry.

Same, same with my near 18-month old. He's had major ear problems though (glue ear and infections) so his poor balance is part of the problem. Have you had your DS's ears checked?

Ds1 was the same as yours, cruised etc, just not interested, one day at nearly 20 months i said to him 'go and get such and such' and he jsut stood up and went. He didnt crawl til 12 mnths either.

Ds2 was 19 months before he walked and never crawled, just bumshuffled form 13 months. He was running wihin a fortnight of walking though.

They both charge around like loons now!! Easier said htan done but try not to worry. When he does start he will have missed the wobbly stage at least.

DD1 didn't walk untill she was 21 months and by the time she was 2.5 she was walking up mountains. She is now 23 ,been married for a year and is a very keen walker!

thanks so much everyone for the replys! its made me feel so much better!