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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Tiptoe Walking

22 replies

Lastboat · 10/02/2006 10:59

My dd2 who is 2.6 has been tiptoe walking since she first learnt to walk. She has been seen regulary by the hv who says there are no other concerns regarding her behaviour and it is just a habit. The physio she has seen once ruled out cp. She will walk flat if I tell her but is straight back up on her toes within 2 minutes.

Can anyone advise me as to how to help her walk properly.
She is very fast and will always run rather than walk and is quite clumsy to (falling over etc) Recently she has started to curl her toes under her feet and actually walk on the front of her toes when not wearing shoes. When wearing shoes she still toe walks but not on the fronts.
Any advice Please

OP posts:

Blondeinlondon · 10/02/2006 11:14

What did the doc say?

Original poster

Lastboat · 10/02/2006 11:24

I haven't seen the doc about this. I ahve always woried about her as she was low birth weight and after reading on the internet some of the implications this can have I got myself into quite a state she is different to other children but not in a way I can put into words, because of this I have had her assesed 4 times and though in the first assesments she was a bit behind she has now caught up.
The nursery nurse who works at the health center has 'observed' her many times because of my worries and says there is nothing wrong but would like to see her again 3 months later. This has been going on for over a year. If there was really nothing wrong why does she feel the need to observe her over and over !!. I have asked this and she says its to reassure me, when I told her that the best reassurance was to tell me to go away and stop wasting her time she didn't have an answer, but still wants to see her !
Do you think I should cut out the HV and nursery nurse and see the Doc instead?

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katyp · 10/02/2006 11:26

I know a couple of kids in dds class do this (yr 4 now). They are both seen regularly by someone about it (maybe a physio?) and are supposed to do exercises, etc. I tend to walk on my tiptoes when on bare feet but if she is doing it all the time I think I would definitely get it checked out again. If they still won't refer you ask them how old she has to be before they will. One of the girls I know got to the stage where she couldn't walk flat, even when reminded (think the tendons had tightened up)

Blondeinlondon · 10/02/2006 11:27

Yes don't bother with the HV and the nursery nurse
See the doc
If the doc thinks it requires further investigation he will refer you, if not then your mind will be put at ease
You are probably worrying over nothing but get it checked anyway

Blu · 10/02/2006 11:30

Lastboat - yes, I think you should go to your GP. Not because i think there is anything terribly wrong, but so that you can get referred for some help, either with pysio, or to check that her feet are ok.

Berries · 10/02/2006 11:32

dd2 did this, probably until she was about 5/6. HV said that as children grow, the bones grow first and then the tendons lengthen. In some children, that may take longer so it is actually more comfortable to walk on tiptoe. Unfortunately, if they don't stretch the tendons they won't lengthen, so a bit of a circle really. We managed to get dd2 to stop simply by reminding her every time she walked anywhere (HEELS dd2, umpteen times a day). We also bought 'heavy' shoes, so were less easy to tiptoe in, and made sure she wore them a lot (sometimes in the house). She's 8 now & still reverts sometimes (usually after a growth spurt) but is generally ok. She also started gym club at 6 & I think this made a big difference.
BUT I do also know someone whose little boy had to have weighted shoes to correct the problem, as if is gets too bad they may need an op to lengthen the tendons (can't remember what that was) so it is worth while getting her monitored. If you're still worried I would take her to the gp & see what he says, it may be worth being referred to a paed to check.

Berries · 10/02/2006 11:33

BTW was also advised to avoid ballet as they encourage the little girls to do 'pointy toes'

Original poster

Lastboat · 10/02/2006 11:47

Thanks everyone for your support and advice. I will make her an appointment with her GP today

OP posts:

Original poster

Lastboat · 10/02/2006 12:01

Thanks for your experiences Berries. I do remind her to walk 'flat' but no matter how often I tell her she reverts back to tiptoes after a few minutes. She did walk flat when pushing things (I think because it slowed her down) I brought her a dolls pram for Christmas and we have been taking this every time we go for a walk but now she has started tiptoing when pushing it as well.
Thanks for the ballet tip her older sister does ballet and I was going to join her up when she is 3 but now will find another activity for her.
Maybe kick boxing surely you can't stand on one foot tiptoeing for long !!

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jalopy · 10/02/2006 13:11

Lastboat, my son has always walked on his tip toes. He's nearly 9. He's fantastic at sports, no problems with running at all. Developmentally he's perfect too!!. Nowadays he does a mixture of tip-toes and flat feet when walking. Doesn't seem to bother him at all.

Original poster

Lastboat · 10/02/2006 13:24

Thanks for your input Jalopy. Because she was so small at birth and the 'research' I've done on the internet I have been looking for problems with her development, and been through every syndrome there is ( nearly) trying to find something ! she is 'different' from other children but besides the toe walking there is nothing obvious so perhaps it is just a habit and I am worrying for nothing.

OP posts:

bongaling · 10/02/2006 15:58

Bump

Blandmum · 10/02/2006 16:01

Lastboat, both of my two dd 9 and ds 5 tip toe walk. My dh tiptoe walks as well....and there is nothing wrong with his fine or gross motor co-ordination....he is an RAF pilot! He tends to walk 'flat' now, but does tip toe when he doesn;t ythink about it, or is tired

See the gp/hv to get more info and put your mind at rest

CoolTurkey · 10/02/2006 16:21

I have heard tip-toe walking can sometimes occur in people with dyspraxia. How is her coordination?

I had a friend at primary school who walked on his toes. I often wonder if/how long it persisted. I often wonder if he was dyspraxic. I have come across him on friends reunited but he doesn't mention it!! Too long ago to contact him.

My son has dyspraxia but it wasn't officially recognised until he was 13 which was too late to be useful really. She is too young to start worrying seriously but it probably a good idea to start keeping an eye on her.

CoolTurkey · 10/02/2006 16:26

Just read your post more carefully. My ds always ran, never walked and still does everything fast. When I commented to the occuptaional therapist that it was strange for someone with poor coordination to do everything fast she said that was because it is easier to control fast movement than slow. His fine motor skills were worse i guess.

Original poster

lastboat · 10/02/2006 16:38

Thanks for your messages martianbishop and coolturkey. The nursery nurse has told me it is not likely to be dyspraxia as she can pedal a tricycle and appantley dysbraxic children of her age can't. She also enjoys doing puzzles.
Her fine motor skills are not great, she was late in developing a neat pincer grip and still has difficulty turning single pages, though she does appear to be left handed and this might infulence it

OP posts:

Original poster

lastboat · 10/02/2006 16:42

Forgot to mention tiptoe walking is commonly associated with autism, I don't know if she is somewhere on this spectrum she makes reasonable eye contact now but didn't for the first year of her life, she speaks though repeats what is said to her alot (i think this is common at her age)She does enjoy the company of other children though and interacts with them well.

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CoolTurkey · 10/02/2006 17:01

I should also mention that ds doesn't fit neatly into the standard dyspraxic mold, and it doesn't really affect his life except that writing continues to be untidy and at school was always a problem. Apart from that he is normal but his motor skills were very poor (he saw the educational psychologist who specialises in dyspraxia). However he can use his intelligence to learn skills if sufficienly motivated. He rode a tricycle too and learnt to ride a two-wheeler without stabilisers before any of his friends.

I don't know why I am telling you all this, it probably isn't relevant to your dd. I suppose I am just trying to say stick to your guns and don't be fobbed off. If ds's problem had been recognised earlier be might have had an easier ride at school.

GDG · 10/02/2006 17:21

Not read whole thread lastboat but my friends ds did this - in fact he still does and he is coming up to 5. She was referred etc but nothing was done as it wasn't thought to be a problem.

Dh walks on his toes too - always has done I think. It's not that noticeable and doesn't cause him any problems whatsoever - he is otherwise perfectly 'normal'!

Original poster

lastboat · 10/02/2006 17:27

CoolTurkey I really appriciate your input. I had ruled out dyspraxia as the NN had told me about the pedeling, I also know two dyspraxic sisters who don't talk and are unable to do the simplest of puzzles. I guess dyspraxia is like many other syndromes and has a wide spectrum of behaviour traits. I am glad your dd is coping so well but it is a shame his condition wasn't recognised earlier

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Original poster

lastboat · 10/02/2006 17:32

Thanks GDG It's good to know it is not always an indication of other problems

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bongaling · 11/02/2006 17:59

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