Should I be worried about my 3.4yo DS who can't run or jump?

[MarionCole]

That's it really. All the other kids I see can run and jump, DS can't. He sort of speed walks with his head down, like a fast shuffle. Everything else seems fine, he walked at 12mo, can ride a bike.

Whadda ya think?

My dd was really crap at running and athletic stuff at that age. Now she's 9 and is mad keen on running and loves playing games. I don't think she'll ever be an expert game player, but she's an enthusiastic player. Oh...and she still can't ride a bike

I don't know if you should be worried or not. But you obviously are. Could you have a word with your Health Visitor?

He's inherited that from me then (along with the knock knees, much to the dismay of DH who wants him to play rugby for England!)

I was thinking about asking a HV, I don't have one though now so I need to hunt one down. Don't want to bother a GP with it really.

My DD was like that at same age, she started getting upset cos she was aware she couldn't keep up with other kids, we saw HV who referred us to GP who referred us to paediatrician who gave her a thorough check-over and said "there's no reason why LittleScallop shouldn't be able to run around like all the other children". Once she'd heard that she sort of gained a great deal of confidence and taught herself to run by watching the other children and copying them (I know, she's a wee bit peculiar!) and I saw her run properly for the first time across a beach when she was one month short of her fourth birthday.

I'd see HV/GP if you're concerned. I would guess if he can ride a bike there's nothing actually amiss, but no harm in checking things out. That's what these healthcare providers are there for after all!!

I gave the HV a call today and she's going to pop round to see us. He falls a lot (for whatever reason) which I think could be making him nervous about running and jumping. I'll feel a lot more confident about pushing him a bit with running/jumping games if I know there is nothing physically wrong. Thanks for the feedback Majestic.

Good stuff. Good plan to have him seen at home I think - all our appointments were in doctors' surgeries, and when they asked her to run so they could see her gait she only had about six feet of floorspace to play with - it all seemed a bit silly. I guess your DS will be able to trot round the garden and HV will get a better idea of the situation.

Good luck with it. Do post an update in due course. As you say, just having confirmation that there isn't a physical problem is a big confidence boost when you're not sure if pushing them to do stuff is actually appropriate or not!