At what age should no walking be a concern?

[Keznel]

DD is 16months and still not walking. She was late crawling, started a week before her first birthday. She will cruise round the furniture. But will not walk with us holding her hands she'll simply drop to her knees and crawl away. I know they all do these things in their own time but its hard not to worry She will be on her tiptoes a lot of the time when standing holding on to something or cruising.

Based on personal experience (three late walkers, two children with developmental problems) I would ask GP for advice if they weren't walking by 20 months and start to worry if they weren't walking by 24 months.

When I was expecting my second DC I made a comment to DC1's paediatrician that I expected him to walk at about a year old. The Dr said "It is as normal for a child to start to walk at 20 months as it is for a child to start walking at 10 months."

I am glad he said that as DS1 was very slow to walk - took a step or two at 14 months but hardy really walked till 18 months, and then not properly. When I had DD, DS1 was 18 months old and when DD was a newborn baby (so when DS1 was 19-21 months old) I used to have to to get the double buggy out to get from the Doctors' car park to the surgery because I couldn't rely on him to walk 20 years without deciding to start crawling if he met an obstacle.

DD didn't walk till nearly 22 months! I was so worried. Then one day I sat her on my knee to put her shoes on and then she just stood up and strolled off. That was that. The next weekend she walked the whole way around a country house and grounds and refused to go in the buggy. She never looked back.

I wouldn't be too concerned yet about the walking but would about being on tip toes. How is your DD developing cognitively? Any concerns with language?

My son is 19 months and not walking or cruising, just bum shuffling. I took him to the GP a month ago who said they wouldn't normally worry until they hit 2. Very fed up of carrying him though, especially being heavily pregnant!

It is hard when you are surrounded by other dcs who walk. In our NCT group all the other dcs were walking by the time they were 13 months, which made me paranoid as ds didn't even start crawling until 16 months. I used to feel sorry for ds when we were in the park and all his friends were running around and he just sat there.

Dd didn't walk til just short of 18months. She was a bottom shuffler. But when she started she basically took off and that was it. She was pretty much running a week later!

Like others, my dd was pretty late walking (15 and a half months) and I had been worrying, but when she got up and walked one day she was a very sturdy and confident walker straight away, so I think she had been waiting until she understood how to do it! She had been crawling since 7 months too, so just goes to show you can't generalise.
Banana87, was just wondering what the concern with walking on tiptoes is (not being snippy - genuine question). My dd used to go on tiptoes pushing her trolley, before she learned to walk - but her language development seems fine.

Banana87 I too am wondering what the issue with tiptoes is? In my limited experience of other children I thought a lot of them started out on tiptoes when trying to figure out the mechanics of walking. I have no concerns about her in any other way. She has a pair of pre-walker shoes, when she has these one will walk round furniture flat on her feet. I am also confident that there are no muscle tone issues, she can support her own weight and stand for a few seconds not holding on, until she realises and quickly grabs onto something again

I boy at the nursery I work at has just this week started walking and he is 18mths old. When I started there in March he couldn't move from whereever you sat him. He didn't crawl at all, but eventually would kind of slide along the floor.
He then started standing and finally walking. The cheers in the nursery were so loud, and his little face was so happy

My DD started walking at 18 months. She hadnmt even crawled before then, just kind of half heartedly bum shuffled or mostly just sat on her bum and whinged for things to be passed to her. I was worried at 16 mths, but GP dismissed and said come back at 20 months if she has made no attempt to pull up at all.

For the record, my DS walked at 10 months and is autistic, so late walking certainly doesnt mean there is a problem, and vice ersa for early walking meaning nothing wrong.

As the mother of a child who didn't walk till 22 months, my favourite piece of mumsnet advice for these situations is:

You never see someone walking down the road and think, gosh they're good at walking, I bet they started early

DD (9, sitting opposite me, eating cheese sandwich) walked at 16mo, having crawled at 14mo - so I'm surprised to see 11 or 12mo described as 'late' for crawling! Mind you, I was a bumshuffler so didn't really expect her to crawl at all.

She was way outstripped by her NCT peers, totally immobile on their first birthday while even the child with delays due to months in NICU was commando crawling.

She came good in the end and, like other later walkers, was rock solid when she did start. Tool her first step at nursery though, the toad.

My dd took her first steps 3 weeks ago aged.............27 months!! She's a bum shuffler and just showed no interest.
I have worried myself sick over it. She's been seen by 2 paediatricians and physio. She's a little bit hypermobile in her knee joints, but fine otherwise.
I think the older she got the less confident she became. She's been so angry and frustrated but she's finally done it. She's still wobbly but she's getting better every day.
Today we went to the park and it was the first time she actually enjoyed it, she spent the whole time just walking.

Walking on tip toes (and not getting past the stage or constant walking on tip toes) along with language delays can sometimes indicate brain damage and is most often seen in children with autism.
I never worry about a little tip toe walking at a young age (my DD2 is 22 months and still does it occasionally), however constant tip toe walking would concern me. Not even from a developmental delay POV but also from a physical one, are the tendons too short, are there underlying physical problems that are preventing her from walking flat footed.
And of course some kids just DO take longer to walk, walk on tip toes, and are absolutely fine!

ETA: Keznel I wouldn't worry in your case, as long as she can and does stand flat footed and you have no concerns regarding her development :)

I would start worrying at 18 months.

I didn't walk until I was nearly 3.

Sister walked at about 14 months I believe.

Obviously, parents worried about me, lots of tests, hospital visits, doctors assured them that nothing was physically wrong, that I'd do it eventually.
Went to a playgroup for children with special needs, where I remember having physical therapy.

Then, after lots of practice, coaxing, bribery, I started walking just before my 3rd birthday, to the massive relief of my parents!