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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

OK late walking it's been 'done' before but any one have any reassurances for us?

45 replies

iclaudius · 16/11/2013 21:09

Our son is almost 21 months and although he 'can' walk up to 20-25 steps he isn't walking as such
He crawled late and after much encouraging and almost physiotherapy

I noticed tonight his feet roll inwards which I know is normal ish for this age

He's very fat and has quite small feet

It's not a genetic thing as his siblings all walked a lot earlier

Please don't offer 'I've heard of a child didn't walk till 2' or 'maybe his siblings do everything for him do he doesn't need to'

I've met a lot of babies and never known one so late walking and his siblings do naff all for him!!

It's quite frustrating for all concerned and I'm beginning to worry that it's actually an indication of bigger issues

Thanks so much I'd love any input

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hairtwiddler · 16/11/2013 21:16

You could be describing dd. She walked at 21 months after crawling at 13m. 'walked' on her knees for ages. She also had pronated feet and saw a physio. I think she also had a hip xray which was fine. She's nearly 8 now. Never been any good at gross motor stuff. Late to ride a bike, late learning to swim. her feet are still slightly odd at the ankle. I make sure she has decent shoes to support. Her dad has similar feet and was also a late walker. Is all other development OK?

lougle · 16/11/2013 21:22

I think if he's physically able to walk (20-25 steps is very good for a 'non-walker') then it may be just a matter of time.

DD1 didn't walk until she was 23 months. For her, it was part of a wider problem - I knew something was wrong but nobody would listen - which was picked up when she was 2.9.

You don't mention any other concerns - I take it speech, fine motor skills and so on are developing nicely?

Original poster

iclaudius · 16/11/2013 21:23

Hair twiddler thank you so much for replying. I've just been googling and really shouldn't...

He is ok - sweet and quiet but with a stubborn streak which I think scares me a bit sometimes. Very placid - says enough words although not ahead or anything but none of mine have been that quick off the mark and have all ended up pretty good academically

Is your dd ok in all respects now? Did the pronating feet get special boots or anything?

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Original poster

iclaudius · 16/11/2013 21:26

Lougle thank you too! Errr re the fine motor I'm pretty laid back and haven't really been aware or looking until recently when I have started to think this is beyond 'Normal lateness'
I think the fact that he CAN walk but isn't comfortable doing it or choosing to do it concerns me. He falls over a LOT - his legs seem weak and wobbly. He didn't crawl until 15 months.
He has just started using a spoon if that's anything to go by ..?

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Fleecy · 16/11/2013 21:27

My DD is 2.1 and doesn't walk. Stood up alone for the first time today. My older ones were late walkers but nowhere near this late! We have been referred by the HV and are currently waiting for an appointment with the children's physio or the gait clinic - she wasn't sure which it would be. Perhaps you could ask your HV for a referral?

The thing that bothers us is that she desperately wants to join in with her big brother and sister so you'd think that would be an incentive but no! In her case I wonder if it's balance. She's had a number of nasty ear infections and I thought perhaps that might have delayed things. Am hoping there's no permanent damage to her hearing.

lougle · 16/11/2013 21:32

It is quite a normal developmental stage for a toddler to be physically able to walk but realise that crawling is far far quicker! However, if you're concerned about his function, it may be worth a physio referral.

Just starting to use a spoon is slightly late at 21 months. The general milestone is 13-18 months.

DD1 has piedro boots for stability. They reduce the number of falls she has. She's almost 8 now.

Original poster

iclaudius · 16/11/2013 21:37

Fleecy I wonder if us being more chilled due to older siblings could be a factor?

I've been trying for months though and actively walk training him- it's exhausting

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Fleecy · 16/11/2013 21:53

I've been trying too! She'll walk holding onto my finger and I've got her using a walker but she's never taken a step unaided. I wasn't worried but more and more people are now asking me if I'm worried - so now I've started to!

Original poster

iclaudius · 16/11/2013 22:03

I know fleecy I've been chilled until now as he's not my first and I'm quite laid back but there's limits!

I also have another baby and the non walker makes life very hard!

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howdiditgetthisbad · 16/11/2013 22:03

I've a baby (well 3y now) who had fine motor delay - her gross motor was also compromised - trust your instinct, ask for a referral, they take months sometimes to come through and you can always cancel if you want to.

Also consider bad habits, he could perhaps be hyper mobile, my baby had all sorts of quirky short cuts to gross motor skills, once she was upright we discovered her bad habits made her unstable so she had to relearn tthings. Much frustration!

Original poster

iclaudius · 16/11/2013 22:08

Howdiditgetthstbad!! Tell me more! I'm pretty sure ds IS hyper mobile people laugh at how he can do the splits and stuff and I am very hypermobile

What are these bad habits??

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hairtwiddler · 17/11/2013 16:51

Hi. Sorry took ages to reply, been out Christmas shopping.

No, no special boots. When she did start walking properly there was no stopping her. She's always been very cautious with any physical activity though, which I think is half extremely hesitant personality, half delayed motor skills in comparison with peers.
Fine motor skills in comparison always fine. She's a child who'd rather be deep in a book than climbing a tree.

I just found a pic of her feet - thought we could attach those to posts now. Will investigate!

havingastress · 17/11/2013 16:53

You describe him as 'very fat' - is there a reason for this? Sorry..it needs asking..

I would imagine it's quite hard to walk when you're very fat as a 21 month old

hairtwiddler · 17/11/2013 16:55

Ah can't do it in this topic, shame!

hairtwiddler · 17/11/2013 16:57

My DD was fat too. Because she didn't move. As soon as she finally started to walk she lost it all.

Biscuitsneeded · 17/11/2013 17:02

Sounds like my Ds2. He could well be hypermobile. Does he do the W sit? (Legs either side of him in W shape?). The inward rolling feet sound identical, which coupled with bendiness and low muscle tone can make them very wobbly. Mine walked eventually and you wouldn't notice anything now, although he still finds handwriting etc difficult as his pencil grip is a bit unusual.

Bouncey · 17/11/2013 21:07

My daughter was a late walker and I became a bit obsessed about it. She crawled at 13 months and wouldn't bear weight on her weight until 17 months - if you tried to stand her up she pulled her feet up. But she actually got the hang of it very quickly in the end - went from pulling up to walking in a couple of weeks at 18 months.

What I did discover though, is that there are far more late walkers out there than you might think. One child in the same room as my daughter at nursery didn't walk until aged 2 and I know 2 babies from my tumbletots group who are approaching 20 months without walking. It also helped that we got a referral to an orthopaedic surgeon at 1 year, which ruled out any physical problems - thoroughly recommend doing this as it made it a bit easier to relax.

SimLondon · 17/11/2013 21:17

Don't use a walker - do ask your GP or HV for a referral to your community paediatric physiotherapist - they will be able to rule out any problems and give you specific exercises to do to build up muscles etc and they will keep seeing you to monitor progress in every area.

Nancyclancy · 17/11/2013 23:02

My dd walked at 27 months. I honestly thought she'd never do it and was so worried.
She was seen by paediatricians, physio's etc but there was nothing obviously wrong. Everyone was a bit miffed as to why she wouldn't do it.
We spent months walking with her holding her hands but she jugs wouldn't do it alone.
Now aged 30 months. She's caught up. You would never guess she was so late. She runs now and her balance is brilliant and she rarely falls over.

Her ankles do roll in, she is due to be seen again by the physio. They did suggest putting some special insoles into her shoes to help this.

Original poster

iclaudius · 17/11/2013 23:06

Hair twiddler you are making me hopeful - ours found very very similar

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Original poster

iclaudius · 17/11/2013 23:07

Havingastress - 'needs asking' I find your tone a little odd to be honest as I am clearly faking for help and advice in this matter

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Theas18 · 17/11/2013 23:18

Dd2 knee walked/ran on her knees and didn't walk on her feet at all until 22 months. Physios put her in Piedro boots eventually that held her feet at 90 degrees and stopped her knee walking easily. ( the theory was she may get tight Achilles but it just made her cross!).

She's 14 now normal, and the most coordinated of my 3.

steppemum · 17/11/2013 23:29

My friend's dd is hypermobile, she couldn't pull to standing or weight support at 18 months, her legs just slid away. They were told if not walking by 2 she would be referred. She did (just) walk by 2. Once she started walking, she was fine.

havingastress · 18/11/2013 09:40

Well, it's not 'normal' for a 21 month old to be described as 'very fat' by his own mother!

Is there a reason for his weight issues? Why is he very fat? This could well be the reason for his delayed walking?

lougle · 18/11/2013 10:02

You're not joking, are you, havingastress?

Some 21 month olds are very fast because they haven't got sufficiently mobile to work off the food they eat. It's quite, quite rare for a toddler to be fat enough that they can't walk because of it!

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