17 Month Old Son Will Not Walk

My daughter didn't take off on her own until she was 18 months old. I had her evaluated by the Infants and Toddlers of Johnson County which my pediatrician recommended and they came to my house for free. Come to find out my daughter is very limber in her hips and also has flat feet. They had me keep her in good shoes all the time and work on quit having her sit on the floor with her knees bent on the sides...she was walking within a week.

Are you sure we are not related??? My son did the same thing. Would stand, would walk holding both my hands, would occasionally walk down the hall with both hands on the wall. But, if I stood him up in the middle of the room with nothing to hold onto, plop down he would go and crawl to where he wanted to be.

Turned out he has flat feet. One pair of heavy orthopaedic shoes later and he was up and, literally, running. And that was the only pair of special shoes he needed - once he outgrew them he was in regular sneaks.

So don't stress out - go you pediatrician and I bet you child will be walking just fine!

See if there is an ECI program in your area (Early Childhood Intervention) they deal with children under 3 and it is through the school system. They will evaluate your child to see if they are where they need to be. They will have ideas and programs that can help to encourage him to walk.

Speak to your Pediatrician.

I had my daughter push the stroller when we were out and about. She liked to be out of the stroller and I got her to walk by pushing.

If he is fine developmentally, I would simply ignore it. He will walk around when he is ready and is probably smart enough to know that his crawling is getting him extra attention at this point. Just say to yourself, "if he is still crawling when he is 2, then I will worry." :)

Good luck!

My daughter didn't take ANY steps on her own until 21 months!!! We did have her in some physical therapy but I really think she would have done it on her own. Nothing wrong with her - just a lazy baby! She didn't even attempt to crawl until 15 months. At 20 months she started cruising. She's running and jumping with the rest of her peers now.

My sisters little girl did not want to "walk" until they got her shoes that squeaked, we called them squeakers, I am not sure what the brand name is but they work. Just google squeaky shoes = ) I did and saw several sites.

couple of thoughts - if you are concerned you can ask your pediatrician for a pediatric physical therapist evaluation who can assess if there are any underlying reasons why he doesn't want to walk.

another thoughts is walking wings:
http://www.amazon.com/Upspring-Baby-Walking-Learning-Assi...

good luck!

I wouldn't worry about it yet. It sounds like he can do it...he is just choosing a more comfortable, easy path. Does he show any signs of discomfort when he walks? That would be the only thing that would have me worrying.

My little one was an incredibly late walker...it was 22 months before she was going strong and steady. It wasn't due to any delay...she was just stubborn and liked to crawl.

Have you talked to your pediatrician about this? Also, I used Parents as Teachers when my son was younger because his speech was delayed. A lot of times they'll ease your fears. Good luck!

hmm.. I would have first said there is a developmental or physical problem but you said he CAN walk if he wants to right? He doesn't show signs of pain when he does walk does he? Does he straighten and move his legs normally when he does walk? (think about whether the muscles and joints are functioning properly.) Have you talked with your pediatrician about it?