If your child was a bum-shuffler...

[artifarti]

DS2 has turned out to be a bum-shuffler and very good at it he is too! His Dad was a bum-shuffler too so maybe it's genetic. DS1 was a textbook crawler and so this is all new to me. So if you had a bum-shuffler, I was wondering:

Did yours bother with crawling at all? DS2 hates being on his back or tummy (except to sleep) so I can't see it happening any time soon.
Everyone tells me that he will be a late walker - was this true for you?
How do they start negotiating steps etc?
Did it signify any problems (my HV has been giving us dark looks as DS2 doesn't seem to use his hands much which is 'unusual'.)

My DS is a shuffler and was 18 months old 5 days ago. He is nowhere near walking - not even standing by himself. We took him to the HV on Wednesday and she gave him a good check over and pronounced him to be ....lazy!

She said she can get anywhere he wants perfectly well so there is just no need for him to walk. She has never crawled and moans like mad if you dare to stand him up (against the footstool for example). DD has been told to stop doing so much for him - she's 5 and thinks the sun shines out of his bottom so this is proving hard for her. I sometimes feel like he's never going to walk but I guess you never see a 4 yr old who's not walking so I guess he's just on his own schedule. Wish he'd hurry up with it though...he is so dam heavy to carry around!

My bum shuffler walked at 12 months old, and she's now a perfectly normal 5 year old.

I wonder is there a link with dyslexia and bum shuffling?
My DD was an early walker, but she bum shuffled and scooted until 11 months, then just stood up and walked very robustly.

Now I notice she's not as fluent at reading as the others in her class.
What's the meridian theory?

Another bum-shuffler here. She was not interested in getting up, hands were free and everything was in easy reach. She was very efficient with it too - people used to burst out laughing when she zoomed across the room. At around 18 months she got up and walked, in a fairly quick transition.
She never crawled and never rolled over by herself as a baby either.
I honestly can't remember about stairs, but I think they came with walking.

No developmental problems, perfectly normal 8-year old now. I was never particularly concerned nor were the HVs

Wow, so many bum-shufflers! I have to say it doesn't worry me, perhaps because I know DP did it too and has turned out reasonably okay. Funnily enough, DS1 was a demon crawler at 7.5 months but didn't bother to walk until 14 months; he never pulled up, just stood up one day, wobbled a bit, and set off.

It's very cute to watch, especially as you can hear him coming from a mile away and then suddenly see his little face peering around the corner at you.

2 bum-shufflers here (they also both liked to get around by rolling!). DS walked at 13 months, DD at 14 months, and neither of them ever learned to crawl until after learning to walk.

DS now 7 has quite a few other difficulties, probs with riding a bike, swimming etc, and is dyslexic. However DD though much younger is very different, very co-ordinated and skilled with her hands.

I remember worrying so much about DS not crawling! With DD I just let it go.

Oh yes both mine talk non-stop and always have. I'm liking the "sitting and thinking" hypothesis!

DD1 was a bum-shuffler. She did occasionally crawl, but not very often. She walked a week before she was 18 months, and was also very late to bear weight on her legs. GP says she has mildly hyper mobile joints (like her mother ). She certainly has extremely flat feet (like her mother). So far no problems, although I will keep an eye on it because she is extremely flexible - she's still only 20 months.

Both me and my DB were bum shufflers. I walked at 12 months he waited until he was almost two. He's the clever one btw so I really wouldn't worry.

Both my DS's have been crawlers but both started off crawling backwards.

Dd was a bum shuffler, incredibly efficient and fast and kept both hands free. She walked at 18 months, never crawled and within a week she was running, climbing and going up and downstairs as well as her cousin who had started walking six months earlier. Dd talked very early and had great fine motor skills, I think because she always had her hands free so could manipulate toys and jigsaws rather than using them for getting about. She is very intelligent and has sailed through school so no dyslexia or any other problems.

My DS started bottom shuffling at about 10 months I have been told so much stuff about the importance of crawling and how I should be forcing him to crawl and have felt like I have done him a disservice because he doesn't/won't crawl. But following a lecture from my SIL about how he won't be able to read or write at school because he hasn't crawled I researched the matter myself and have found that she and other 'well meaning advice givers' are actually misinformed. It is not the absence of crawling that may cause learning difficulties later in life it is the non-integration of the 'symetrical tonic neck reflex' crawling is just one effective way of integrating this reflex. It does not mean that this reflex cannot be integrated in other ways or at a later age which is why even if your LO is a bottom shuffler you can always incorporate crawling into play and climbing and other activities as they get older and they will still be able to integrate this reflex before they get to school. I love my little bottom shuffler and I think that bottom shuffling is actually quite a creative way of solving how to move around while holding onto toys etc. I will be interested to see how these creative problem solving skills evolve.

My girl sat up quite early (before six months) then proceeded to sit quite happily (no rolling etc) till she learnt to bum shuffle at 9 months and like you little one got about quite quick - so cute! She didn't crawl but learnt to walk just fine just after her first birthday (despite people suggesting she'd do the monkey shuffle as we liked to call it forever!) at about 18months she learnt to crawl copying a character in a book (!)

Ds 1 was a bum shuffler, didn't bother to crawl, walking fully at 11 months.

Ds 2 crawled for about 2 days, didn't bum shuffle. Was walking at 9 months fully.

Meh, whatever gets them mobile and into every godam thing they should not get into don't suppose it matters really.

Not my dc but I was a bum shuffler, didn't crawl and was late to walk -18m apparently.

My younger brother was a bum shuffler, never crawled. He was a late walker (nearly 2 I think) and had hypermobile joints. He was later diagnosed as dyspraxic. He had lots of physio and other support throughout childhood and is now a fully fledged grown-up with a job, a girlfriend and his own flat.

My DD is 15 months.

She never really rolled.

She bum-shuffle / paddled from 10 1/2 months (one had on the floor, one leg bent kid of leap frog). She was very fast very quickly.

She cruised the day after her 1st birthday

She walked at 13 1/2 - 14 months and went from 2 shaky steps to full walking within 2/3 weeks.

Climbing wise she just went up the stairs at 14 1/2 months

Also of note is that she has never rolled, sat or stood in her cot till just after her 1st birthday when she threw a tantrum and thew herself out of it!!

Apparently I walked at 11 months - DH was more like 18 so DD was a happy medium. One thing I will say is that DD is the kid of child you don't see practise - she just starts doing which may contribute. A lot of little ones walked (children of friends) who earlier seemed have taken a long time to work steadily.

My dd was a very skilled bum shuffler.

Never crawled.

And didn't walk - or make any attempt - until 23 months.

(As an aside, she has autism, so the delay could possibly be down to that rather than her being a bum shuffler or perhaps a bit of both!)

DD1 was a bum shuffler and didn't walk until she was 21 months. She didn't really crawl. When she started walking she did it properly and by 2.5 she walked up a mountain with her Dad. She is now a Science teacher and isn't dyslexic. However her sister who did crawl is Dyspraxic

Ds was an asymmetric bum shufflers ( one foot tucked into groin, one leg out in front, both hands to propel). He was referred to physio at 13 mths as wasn't pulling up. She identified an issue with transitional movements so he didn't know how to move his limbs to stand up, if that makes sense. Once I'd moved them for him a few times he got it and then progressed to cruising and walked at 15 mo. he never crawled and as a result was never much of a climber. Now at 3.4 he's fine although he does struggle with things that require a lot of gross motor coordination like scooting or riding a bike, and also seems quite disinterested in them. He's good at throwing and kicking though. Too early to tell re dyslexia.

Ds1 crawled - started walking about 14 months. DaTe used to drag himself along with one elbow, the rest of him would be flat to the floor but he started walking at 10 months

DaTe = Ds2

Ds1 was a very half-hearted bum shuffler (mostly he just sat like a pudding) - he went straight from that to walking and didn't work out crawling til he was about 16 mo.

Ds2 crawled for about 3 weeks before walking.

They were both early walkers (12 mo and 10mo respectively).

I'd want to know exactly what your HV's concern was about hand use though. Does she feel his fine motor skills are lacking? Not convinced that there would be any link b/w that and bum shuffling though.

Oh and no dyslexia etc - its not a causal relationship.

I've got 21 month old twins. One crawls, one bottom shuffles. It's like they deliberately decided to be different! Neither are yet walking (well, will if you hold their hand, but not independently). So we've got the double delay of shuffling and being a twin (ie when 2/3 of the people in the room aren't walking, why would you?!)

Top tip for shufflers - if you drape a blanket over them while they're shuffling they look EXACTLY like when Elliot disguised ET to take him out the house .

Not that I ever treat my children as sources of endless amusement...