late walker: can you hep them to stand up by themselves?

[StarMeKitten]

My DD who will be 18mo next week is still not walking independently.

She can walk holding the tip of my finger & has taken steps in her own, & she can stand unaided when she feels like it.

She spends most of the time these days knee walking, doesn't even crawl much any more. She can obviously pull herself up on furniture but not from the middle of the floor. I think it would help her to walk if she could do this, but I don't know how to show her.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Me!

At 16 months my DS could toddle a few v v wobbly steps but had no idea how to either pull to standing or stand up from sitting.

I asked my friends to describe how their DC did it and then just showed him what to do (we skipped pulling to standing and went straight to standing from sitting). So if DS was sitting down with his legs in front of him, I'd position his hands to one side, turn him onto his knees, get him to straighten his legs and then walk his hands backwards and stand UP! It took about a week of practising and a lot of tears but he finally got it.

He was hypermobile and missed all his physical milestones by miles (apart from sitting). He needed a lot of help/guidance on how to position his body to make basic movements (he had phsyio to help with other stuff)

my dd didn't walk til she was 21 months - she was a bum shuffler, and could stand/ do a few steps. swhe just started one day, and hasn't stopped since!

My dd2 didn't walk till she was 22mths and she did that knee walking thing too! I was sitting accross the room from her one day and called her name and she just walked straight accross the middle of the room to me :o within a couple of days she was walking/running everywhere. Kids just do things in their own time, my dd1 walked at 13mths, ds1 at 12mths and ds2 at 19mths. Have to say though, my dd2 physio says knee walking is fab for building core strength, so there is a positive from it :)

Sorry, DS2 physio (he is hypermobile among other things) not dd2

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I'm gonna have a go at trying to get her to stand up following advice of IWillOnlyEatBeans.

Feel free to PM me if you have any Qs!

Starme she sounds like she is doing really well. Maybe it's just a little laziness? And doing what she knows?

I wish my dd would walk .. Still nothing and she is 18 months next week

My son was a late walker too. Apparently studies have shown that taller children especially those with a long spine walk later, and that encouraging them to walk before they are ready to do so for themselves can cause back problems in later life.

My dd didn't walk til 22 months, only started crawling at 18m. Would absolutely not bear any weight on her legs until 16m. She couldn't roll either. Physio wasn't particularly worried and sure enough within a few weeks of her walking she could do everything that her peers could do. She has always been very athletic (9 now) so it obviously had no adverse affect.

Mind you, I still have back problems from carrying her til she was nearly 2!!

DS3 was walking around furniture at 12
months bit didn't let go until 22 months.

Both he and DS2 (walked at 20 months) did lots of knee walking).

You can show then what to do but don't worry if that doesn't help - some children do just walk very late.

DS3 is hypermobile and very tall so double whammy!

Thanks all, I've tried to show her how to stand up by herself but she's not getting it its much easier to hold your hand out to mummy & daddy who will pull you up! :-)

She has made a bit of progress over the last few days though, letting go of furniture & walking round a bit more. I guess she will learn to stand up in her own time.

I must admit it is frustrating having a late walker though!

DD didnt walk till 18 1/2 months. She was running within a week. Standing from a sitting position unaided at about 19 months.

Interesting that your DD learned to stand from sitting Mibby after she walked, it seems my daughter is going the same way. I thought they usually did it the other way round

DlysDad - your point about a long torso and late walking is very interesting. My DD is exactly like this and I have consistently raised it with every professional who has seen her and they have all shrugged it off.
You don't have references for those studies do you? I'd love to see them before DD sees paed next week.

StarMeKitten - really sorry to hijack. My DD is 16 months, only commando crawls and has just started pulling to stand in the last week. She cannot stand unaided but will walk holding on to our hands. She is very wobbly.
Remember it is as normal for a child to walk independently at 20 months as it is as ten months.

My daughther has only just started walking and she is 2 in a few weeks.
My daughter didn't stand unaided until last month either, i worried just like you but i knew she would do it in the end.
My dds motor skill problems were reported to the doc and i was to see him 2 days ago but shes walking now so i cancelled the app.
Health visitors don't help by expecting all children to sit at 6m stand crawl at 9m and stand at 10m walk at 12, it doesn't always work like that, all children are different.
Im sure your dc will catch up, i you have concerns see the doctor.
If its any help i have 4 dds, 3 of which walked at 14/15m and dd4 23months x

DS walked at 20 months but could not get to standing independently until he was almost two and half. He had orthopedic problems that made life difficult for him. Our child physio said that not walking until 2 years old is within the range of normal. Infact she told me "If a child sits by two years old then it will walk by 4 years old".

Ds's cousin was a knee walker at 18 months much like your daughter. He now is a very athlete 12 year old. I don't think he had any intervention whatsoever.

Sometimes its personality. Some children are very cautious and don't like falls. Its safer to walk on your knees than walk normally.

However if you still feel concerned then ask your GP or HV.

Thanks everyone, I think my DD is very cautious, but I'm happy that she has made progress over the last few days. If you put her on her feet she will walk across the room. She just needs to learn to stand up!

Dd wasnt a late walker but she didnt stand up without any aid furniture, wall etc until she was walking quite confidently she was easily walking around the room etc before she learned. I too remember 'showing' her what to do df was in stitches watching me.