14 month old walking on tip toes

[Emz82]

Hi, my 14 month old son is starting to walk well, but he always does this on tiptoes. If he is standing, he will stand on his flat feet, but as soon as he starts to walk he goes back up onto tip toes. He seems to be developing well in every other way, he's ver vocal and good at feeding etc. He was slow at sitting unaided (almost a year) but crawled and pulled up to standing at about the same time.
I thought nothing of it, my mother in law said my husband did the same, but just searched for advice on encouraging him to walk with his feet flat and read a lot of stuff about it being a sign of things like autism or bone problems? So am now a bit worried. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

i think most children do this when first start walking i took my ds doctors about it nd was told its common when first starting to walk once legs strengthen etc by 2 they walk flat footed if not go back,
within a few weeks his feet started to flatten when walking its using different muscle and learning how to take weight properly

My ds used to walk on tiptoes quite a lot, up to about age 3. I did mention it to the hv once and she said that it could be because the tendons at the back of his ankle were tight and that his feet would flatten out which they have done.

I definatley wouldn't be worried at 14 months and just beginning to walk and take weight on feet.

My dgs did this when he started walking and as I have a step dgs with autism I was really worried but we were reassured that it is absolutely normal-most los do it for a while.The autism connection is if it continues for years.I used to look after him and sometimes I would say,'Up on tippy toes,now down on feet.'and do the actions with him and he copied me which was reassuring.The social interaction is a more reliable indicator of asd than physical signs.

My DD 4 did this until quite recently and sometimes still does and so does my DS 2. Both of them can walk normally when they want to and have nothing wrong with them.
Don't worry as they grow out of it by the time they get to school.

If the rest of his development is fine then I doult there is a problem. Its a bad idea to use google, as you get some really scary conditions if you put toewalking into a search engine.

Lots of children toewalk, its really common and only an issue if the child cannot get their heels down. My son was a really extreme toewalker and could not get his heels down. He had 18 months of physio and at the age of seven you would never know he had a problem.

I think that the autism connection is a bit of a red herring. Lots of children with autism walk normally.

Thank you everyone for helping put my mind at rest. I feel loads better now I'm going to take him to the HV on Monday to get their advice on how to encourage him to walk flat footed.

I suggest you get some boots.

Something similar to this.

www.startriteshoes.com/childrens-shoes/3450_0/ADAM

or this

www.startriteshoes.com/childrens-shoes/1105_0/HASSLE

You need a boot with a heavy sole. Laces are better than velco. However it is quite hard to find a boot with laces for a toddler.

My son had orthoric inserts, but if your child is less extreme you would probably get away with a boot. Its really important to have well fitting shoes.