My daughter has been walking since right after she turned one. I've recently noticed that when she walks she never lets her left foot toes touch the ground. When I first noticed it, I thought that maybe she had something on her foot, but she didn't. Ever since then I've realized she does it all the time. She even does it when she's wearing shoes. I'm just wondering if this is normal. I have a 3 year old, and I don't remember him doing this. And I haven't seen other kids her age doing this either. Should I be concerned? Will she grow out of it? Thanks!
I would mention it to your doc the next time you take her in. I noticed my daughter sometimes runs funny, kind of a hip twist thing. Sometimes she looks like she is going to fall flat on her face. That's a great momma feeling, :o) The doc said that it is just her way and since she only does it sometimes now, let it go. Her bones are all aligned right.
When my son started walking we noticed he curled his toes all the time. He did it even when he wore shoes. I didn’t think anything of it because I curl my toes a lot (LOL) but my husband thought it was really strange. At his 18 month well check at the Dr. we (my husband) voiced his concerns about it and the Dr. said he would likely grow out of it eventually but that is just the way HE likes to walk regardless of how strange it looked. That made sense to me! The Dr. did have my son walk for him and he said his stance and posture looked just fine. Anyway over time he stopped little by little and he is now 4 and doesn’t do it at all. Your daughter may outgrow it but like my husband did, you can always ask your Ped. at the next appt.
It could be hereditary. I know my in-laws all have these HUGE monkey toes. It affects the way they all walk.. They all look pretty silly.
My niece was doing a similar thing and the Dr. sent her to a specialist. It would probably be good to have it looked at.
Any time a child does something odd on only one side of the body, I always recommend to have it checked out. It may be nothing, and she might grow out of it, but it's definitely good to have someone monitor it to make sure it stops. There may be a tight muscle somewhere that is making it difficult for her to use her left toes properly. If so, it could be very easy to fix the issue. A lot of pediatricians aren't really great at treating walking problems. My suggestion is to try to get a referral to a physical therapist who specializes in children. My guess is you may have to look in Huntsville or even UAB to find one. It might help to ease your mind to have a specialist tell you it's nothing. Good for you for being concerned!
