Development anxiety and grumpy toddler...

[QueenJane]

This is a bit of a moan to be honest. Our 13 month old DS is our first child. Recently he has been going through a very grumpy stage. Nothing I do makes him happy. Physically, everything seems fine. Normal eating, drinking, nappies, bit of a runny nose but well otherwise.

He has tantrums regularly over really small things. He whinges constantly, and I feel deeply guilty saying this, but sometimes I just can’t listen to it any more. DH is great, and we share the load 50/50.

I’ve been night shift this week, and so far today I’ve had to leave DH and DS and go and hide because I just can’t take the whinging and moaning anymore.

Our HV is doing a routine development check soon and sent us questionnaires to fill out about all the things DS can and cannot do. It’s made me feel quite anxious, because he’s not walking independently (cruising and climbing confidently though) and only says two ‘words’. I deliberately don’t read much about milestones, because I know it would make me worry.

Have I got anything to worry about here? Just tell me if this all sounds normal at all...

Sounds perfectly normal to me, please don't worry!

My DS is nearly 18mo and doesn't really talk - he can say mama, nana, dog, hot, and fish...but he doesn't say them unless he's copying us saying them and even then it takes a lot of encouragement. He's very physically able though so I think he's just more focused on that and the rest will come in time.

That said, he was only just walking independently at 13mo, he would fall over after a few steps. He now zooms around and also climbs everything.

Children grow at different rates so please don't worry a out what he is and isn't able to do. Inches cruising in furniture I bet he will be walking before you know it!

Also have a look at the Wonder Weeks App, you might find he's in a "leap" whixh would explain rhe behaviour. My usually lovely and happy and content little boy is currently in his final leap and is basically a demon right now!

It all sounds really normal for his age OP. Including the whinging I'm afraid!

Thank you so much. I feel like I was just getting the hang of all this and now he’s thrown a curve ball.

It doesn’t help that any time I speak to family members, the first thing they ask is always “is little (DS) walking yet?” as if it’s a problem that he’s not. I then get told how early all their children were running around 😳

QueenJane I feel your pain! Curve balls left, right and centre right now!

Honestly though, don't let people compare your child to theirs. A lot of their development is to do with their due dates as opposed to their birth dates too - so my best friends son who is a week older than my DS, but who was two weeks overdue as opposed to my DS who was 9 weeks early, puts him more than two months ahead of my DS developmentally despite being the same age.

But even so, they really do learn things at different rates. Just keep doing what you can to encourage him with walking and talking but he will get it when he's ready

I have noticed that when they started to walk they because less whingy.