18m old BabyG still not walking - his feet seem to roll inwards as he stands - any experience?

[MamaG]

i can't think how best to describe his feet - he sort of rolls onto the inside of his foot (so the weight is on the "edge" of his foot at the big toe side.

He's been referred to paed

he can stagger around a bit, but he seems to ahve trouble balancing and I'm wondering if its his feet?

Maybe he has hypermobile ankles? My DD does..some supportive boots and insoles sorted her out.

I've never heard of hypermobile ankles did you buy the boots/insoles or were tehy "prescribed" if athat makes sens?

They were provided by the NHS physio They are very cute.

Thanks fanj

does the "rolling inwards" sond familiar to you? Was your DD a late walker?

Totally...my DDs ankles used to really roll inwards...she walked at 2 exactly (she has other issues though, didn't even bear weight until 20 months, sounds like your DS is well on the way to walking!) and her ankles straightened up.

Thanks, thats really helpful

If referral is taking ages you could try him in some chunky boots, like Kickers, and see if they help!

dd4 has hypermobility, and only just walking at 18months. she still prefers to crawl thougfh. her ankles roll, and her hips are very loose.
def see someone, as good footwear can help.

I think the feet thing does correct itself when they start to walk properly - he's not really using his feet at the moment in the way they're designed to be used so it makes sense that they're a bit off I have known two children walk at 18 months plus and I think as long as he will weight bear it's unlikely to be a problem. Hope your appointment comes through soon.

Thanks all. He does seem very flexible around the legs! HV said it would be about 6 weeks (that was last week) so hoping not too logn now

Glad that you have an appointment to see a paediatrician.

Dd2 didn't start walking until she was 21 months, she never crawled (bum shuffler), and hated bearing any weight on her feet. If we stood her against something she looked like she was standing on her ankle bones, because her feet rolled in so much.

We saw a physio paed, who checked for hypermobility in her limbs (hips I think can present further problems), but said that she had over flexible ligaments. Normally as babies start to crawl and weight bear they stiffen up, but dds hadn't started yet, and because she bumshuffled, it had exacerbated the rolling in. She told us to get some really solid walking shoes (she gave us a letter to take to clarks in case they were reluctant to sell us proper 'stiff' shoes), with a lot of support across the arch and ankle. We bought some lovely chunky boys shoes (not a big fan of pink anyway!), and she started to walk within the week, the more weight she put on her feet the more solid her ankles became. I still notice a slight roll on her left foot, but she is 3 now and runs and around like a lunatic.

Good luck.

Thanks for posting hazy. It's really helpful to read tohers' experiences

I think most childrens feet roll inwards as their arches don't develop until they're 4-6yo.

DS's feet roll in and he walked at 12mo, so ime (and not being able to see babyG) I would say it wouldn't stop your ds from walking.

He's got older siblings hasn't he? Do they dote on him and do everything for him?

Yes, two older but they're at school all day - his feet are really quite noticably rolling in, whereas DD and DS1 didn't. He also has very flat feet (good point re arches). His litlte toes are properly lifted off the floor (does that make sense) but look straight when he isn't standing up, so teh bendy ankles sounds plausible, I think!

dd3 has some pretty sturdy boots. i did buy her cruisers from clarks but they didnt offer enough support

Its not banana feet is it..it was on embarrasing bodies the other night

DD has severe hypermobility syndrome and pronated ankles (roll inwards).
She was diagnosed at 3.5 and now has custom made orthotics for her shoes and sees a physio for exercises to help strenghen her muscles.

Pronated ankles tend to run hand in hand with hypermobility, so the likelyhood is that your son is hypermobile.

Lots of people are hypermobile including sportsmen like David Beckham! It's not always problematic but if your son is clumsy,starts to compain that he hurts (tummy, legs, back) and won't walk (once he is!!), the chances are you may need to see a paed rheumatologist.

Not sure where you live, but in London the team at GOSH is AMAZING.

Good luck and keep us posted.

In then meantime, get some boots or shoes with proper ankle support. Kickers are the best. Ricosta are also very good.

Thanks for taht moosky - I only just saw your reply sorry for not replying earlier.

HV told me to hold off buying him shoes/boots until we've seen teh paed - should only be a few weeks now