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Original poster

17 month old not walking!

14 replies

Shootingstar2289 · 19/12/2016 21:01

Hi all, my daughter has turned 17 months and yet to walk. She is very active - crawling, cursing and is an amazing climber. Yet she isn't interested in standing alone and cannot walk. I think she lacks the confidence.

Was anyone else's children like this? Is she likely just to randomly start walking one day?

My oldest wasn't particularly early at walking - 15 months and he has ASD. My daughter isn't showing signs of ASD.

If she isn't walking by January, I plan to arrange an appointment with her health visitor or perhaps my GP? Should I contact them sooner?

Doesn't help that my MIL is constantly asking if she's walking yet and telling me all her children walked at 9/10 months.

We try to encourage her all the time but no luck. Any other suggestions?

OP posts:
MommaGee · 19/12/2016 23:23

I'm assuming she's cruising not cursing? Not judging but... haha

Seriously tho she's on the later end of the curve but she's on it and doing everything right to one day just do it. Is she in shoes? Was told by a few friends that their DC walked better in shoes, i guess it's probably true for my DS too although he keeps learning and then having operations and having to relearn. definately a confidence thing.

How is she doing in other areas? Fine motor, communication etc?

Tell MIL that a recent study linked late walking to intelligence as their brains are so busy developing their gross motor skills get delayed. I made it up of course but she doesnt need to know that hahaha

HelenF350 · 19/12/2016 23:36

My 17 month old just randomly started walking a couple of weeks ago. He would never walk with a walker and wasn't interested when we took his hands to try and help him to walk. He's now running around everywhere like a crazy, drunk little man!

bojorojo · 20/12/2016 00:21

Yep - my late walker is now a barrister. No link to intelligence. If your dd is cruising she will get there. My other dd was an early walker - more sporty.

blowmybarnacles · 20/12/2016 00:28

20 months for DD1. Then we went to an outdoor paddling pool and she couldn't join in the fun so much. So next day, she started trying and cracked it in a few days, it was like a light had been switched on.

TheGhostsOfPresidentsYetToCome · 20/12/2016 00:38

20 months for my niece too. She just didn't fancy it Grin

Within 2 weeks of her first steps she was super sturdy and ran everywhere.

She just skipped the wobbly falling over stage.

scrivette · 20/12/2016 00:51

My 17 month old started walking last week, he still prefers crawling though as it's much faster. He seems quite confident walking though, not wobbly at all.

phoolani · 20/12/2016 00:53

Other than cursing, is she a talker? They always seem to do one or the other. Ds was walking at 9 months, didn't say a word till 2; dd walked at 15 months, didn't shut up from the moment she was born (it seemed).

Original poster
Shootingstar2289 · 20/12/2016 09:16

Damn spell check. I mean cruising lol.

Thanks for the replies. She says a few things but wouldn't say her speech is advanced. My son didn't speak until four, so having a few words at 17 months is great for us. Smile

She is not in shoes. I went to Clarks to get her measured and look at pre-walkers but the assistant told us they learn better without shoes (I was willing to buy some too).

Maybe she will start walking on Christmas Day? Grin

Funnily enough, I was talking to mum. My sister has the same birthday as my daughter (15 years apart) and she started walking at 17 nearly 18 months - on New Year's Day! So maybe mine will too. Xmas Smile

OP posts:
farfarawayfromhome · 20/12/2016 09:53

mine was well into her 18 month before she walked.....

BigApple11 · 20/12/2016 10:08

Mine walked at 16 months, 19 months and 20 months...she'll get there in the end

SheepyFun · 20/12/2016 10:18

DD was 17 months when she walked (12 when she crawled). I was a bit concerned, so asked the health visitor, who told me that anything between 6 and 24 months is normal for starting walking, so you're well within that. We were also told that if a child won't bear weight on their feet by 18 months, that would also be a cause for concern, but if your DD is cruising, then she's already doing that.

Will she walk while holding your hand? We went through months and months of that, but then DD was fairly confident once she did start walking. One plus side was that she wasn't quite as disaster prone as younger walkers - she had just a bit more common sense. Hopefully yours will get there soon.

originalusernamefail · 20/12/2016 10:28

DS1 didn't walk til 17 months then stood up and ran and hasn't stopped since! Like your son though he has ASD and is still pre-verbal at 3.3 Sad. Hearing your story gives me hope I'll hear his voice one day! DS2 has crawled and cruised much earlier (11 mths) but isn't standing unaided yet.

Original poster
Shootingstar2289 · 21/12/2016 06:43

Hi originalusernamefail. Stay positive. My son didn't say a word until he was about four and a half. It was only when he started school (mainstream) that he he started. Now you cannot keep him quiet! His vocabulary is still delayed but he should catch up in time! Good luck!

OP posts:
originalusernamefail · 22/12/2016 16:59

Thank you Shootingstar, I hope something like that happens for my DS. I'm trying hard to stay positive, but his diagnosis is very recent and his struggles seem immense. Thank you for taking the time to reply to me. Good luck with DDs walking Flowers

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