ideas to get 18mo walking (willingly)

[Snowbeetle]

I know many children aren't keen walkers (in fact many adults aren't) so this is not a unique issue.
But..
I made my ds 2 perfectly functioning and useful legs and would like ideas to get him to use them and not want picking up all the time i.e walking to nearby bus stop or from the car to the door!!!!.
If we were living in more primitive times he would have been eaten by wolves by now after failing to keep up, or we would have been abandoned by our tribe and close to starvation - if little ducklings can follow mummy duck everywhere with their tiny legs why does my child prefer to cling to a lamppost or be a human speed bump?

What are your top tips? :-)

Are his shoes comfy? Ds has gone up a size in just a few months.

Also ds is the same age and wants to be picked up all the time. And he actually likes walking, running, climbing away from me normally so I think it is separation anxiety, apparently common at this age.

Good point - I'll have a check.
Think he is just lazy though, he isn't a bull-in-china-shop type and quite happy to be sedentary

Maybe a backpack with long bendy stick going over his head ending about a foot in front of his eyes with a choccy biccy tied to the end.

hmmm
regret virtual dismissal of seperation anxiety idea and feel harsh over lazy comment (not down on own child normally - didn't mean it negatively he does like sitting play though)
It could have something to do with it thinking about it.
fanks for wise words Albrecht. ;-)

Any other suggestions gratefully received. :-)

Don't worry its Mumsnet after all!

Hello. Well I think a lot is confidence and also until they are 2 or older they like to walk round in circles/near to their Mum/carer- sort of an attachment thing I think so maybe that could be the problem.

I probably haven't explained that very well but I read it on a baby development website and it kind of clicked with DD's walking at the time and why they want you to carry them when they are young but can walk. Walking from A to B is actually rather strange/scary for them. I think at this age I abandoned the walking anywhere you want them to walk thing and buggie/carried a lot and then they walk/run in the park etc.

Those are good sneaky ways of smuggling in exercise Tgger - I try to get him to use his body as much as possible, even though that isn't when it would actually be useful.
I saw a programme on African ladies who got their babies to walk at 10 months with cunning methods and they just set off and the lo's trotted along behind! I know these people who live a closer to nature life don't have everything easy but that particular aspect seemed so simple and straight forward in their world, the child wasn't rolling on the floor squawking like mine does!
Course I can't just stroll off and wait for him to follow as there are cars etc to worry about, but their children aren't conscious of those things so there must be something they do differently that I don't know about. They weren't using choccy biccies tied to a stick that's for sure!

:-)

think my kids would have been stuffed in Africa, they walked at 16 and 18 months!!!! I saw that prog too, was fascinating.

Certainly was, I watched it while ds was still crawling and was thinking how differently we deal with our children. :)