19 month old DD cannot stand yet, advice

[SamJay1990]

Hi all,

My daughter is 19 months old and cannot crawl, stand or walk. She bum shuffled using her right arm behind her and legs bent, she has mastered this method of movement and is extremely quick on her bottom.

She has a referral to see the paediatrics at the hospital in October. Our GP hasn't said much, just to await to appointment which is an assessment.

Her father isn't concerned about her lack of gross motor skills, but I really am. I guess I've done more research which has made me panic. She can only weight bear when holding onto a table but is very unsteady, she cannot get herself into the standing position. She cannot stand if we hold her hands and is no where near taking a step. Her legs go from very wobbly/bendy to very straight and stiff. She doesn't seem to be in any pain.

All other aspects of her development are fine, her speech is great, social skills and fine motor are perfect.

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to deal with when people laugh at the way she moves, and say "can she not stand up? How old is she" it really upsets me I guess because I'm so concerned about it, I know they mean no harm, but I just wish people wouldn't look so much, at play groups.

She's a big girl tall for her age, so I guess it does look 'odd' for her to be bottom shuffling. It's upsetting that she is unable to play with others her age as they just ignore her being on the floor, she tries to get involved but cannot keep up.

I find I'm spending all my time thinking and worrying about this, yet I know there's nothing I can do.

Anyone else been in a similar situation and what was the outcome? Also any advice on dealing with my emotions when people ask questions, sometimes I feel silly for being this emotional about it, but I can't help it.

Thanks x

My son also struggled with the same issues, he was diagnosed with low muscle tone in his legs and hypermobility. He was only cruising at 18 months, walking at about 19 and did not crawl until he was almost 2.

The HV missed it, was picked up by the nursery so we then pushed for a referral. We paid for private physio, was really helpful as we were given specific exercises to do with him. I found that a toddler gym class called Tumble Tots also really helped once he started to move on his own.

He is now 2 and 1/2 and is starting to climb and run.

I would wait for the October appointment but in the meantime do as much as you can to encourage her to move and use her body - pull up, stand up, balance as much as possible. Baby soft play might be good for example, or like a pp, put things slightly out of reach that she wants. That’s the main thing you would get told to do if there was a diagnosis anyway (my DD has mild CP and some hypermobility).

It's good the ball is rolling for a professional to review her.

My own personal experience though, I was a bum shuffler, as we're two of my 3 DC. Latest walker was DD who was waiting for a referral when she finally started walking at 22 months! Was very reluctant to weight bare and didn't pull to stand prior to walking but could scoot across the floor at high speed. Once she started walking she was steady and running within days and is now a healthy 11 year old with no issues.

I used to try putting things she wanted out of reach to encourage my DD to stand up. She would just point at her 3 year old brother and say 'Sam get it'😂

samandpoppy... Clever girl, with initiative, she'll go far! 😂

Hello, I know this is a old post, my 19 month old is currently going through the same thing she still doesn’t walk, she does crawl. Her legs go from very wobbly/bendy to very straight and stiff.
Did your daughter end up walking and what age? Thanks.

Hey, my girl didn't take her first steps until 2 years 9 months old, after much help from physiotherapy. Turned out she had some low muscle tone and hypermobility x