My 2 year old really struggles with walking up the stairs. He has to pull himself up with the railing or my hand. He seems to have weak legs. I am wondering if he just has mild low muscle tone or if it something more serious. He has always had kind of "noodle legs". When he was a baby he would not really put weight on his legs. Anyone have experience with this.
thanks
I had a noodle baby, too. We did occupational therapy--he's six now and doing great!
good luck
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I'm assuming you're in Arapahoe County and I haven't worked with them directly. You could do an evaluation with Child Find for free and they will give you good answers, even if he doesn't need therapy, they'll give you things to do at home to strengthen him. Also, Children's in Littleton is at Broadway and County Line. We've worked with them for 2 kids and have been very pleased with the care. We did speech and feeding, nothing physical, all OT. Their main number is ###-###-####. He's probably okay, but it doesn't hurt to check.
Definitely talk to your pediatrician about it. My son is in physical therapy due to weak muscle tone and we didn't even know it until he was seen for some other issues and it was noticed by an physical therapist. If he needs physical therapy the sooner he gets it the better off he will be.
Hi K., Our two year old is a stout little thing! She has just started walking up the stairs on her own. I would not worry if I were you. I think it is normal but, I will be looking forward to see what your responses are. Maybe, I should be expecting more from her. And here I was so pleased that she stepped up two steps all by herself this afternoon! K. K.
Hi K. - this is definitely worth looking into with your pediatrician. Sounds like your son could use some help from either a physical therapist or occupational therapist. The good news is that with directed exercises, they come along very quickly.
Your doc will also want to rule out any underlying conditions that could be causing the weakness. In addition you could consider a chiropractor's help - my kids have both been seen by DC's since they were little babes.
all the best!
Here is an explanation that some parents don't think of - but I know it can be a possibility due to my own experience and research I continually conduct. I'm a consumer health writer and real food advocate, and many children have varying types of problems simply due to lack of proper nutrition. In the modern world, we have become distanced from real foods so much that we often don't think of such a simple solution as a fix for our problems. My son used to get weak legs, and still does to some extent. Some of it is from growing spurts, yes, but the recommendations for nutrition from the FDA are only minimal requirements, and growing kids need much more than they are often getting. And their recommendations never take into account all the toxins in our environment and stripping of nutrients that occurs from conventional and industrial farming of our food.
A traditional diet can often solve many problems, whether behavioral or physical. We went from what I believed was a healthy diet (still had many processed foods, although some organic)to a whole foods, real food-based diet. My son used to have many behavior problems and physical problems, but over time, his health and behavior improved drastically.
When I say real food, I mean whole, real fats, no preservatives, chemicals, hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, emulsifiers, etc. Our society is so used to purchasing foods with these ingredients and additives, we just don't stop to think how it could be affecting our health - and in particular, our children. Children have a smaller body size, and some of these substances are positively toxic to little ones, whereas in adults the effects may be less noticeable. In our house, we eat plenty of butter, raw cheese, raw milk, meat and poultry from grass-fed sources, and organic fruits and vegetables. We also take probiotics, natural fiber from a whole-foods source, use real oils for cooking like butter, extra virgin olive, coconut, and palm oil, and fermented cod liver oil (from Green Pastures dot com). It may seem like a lot of trouble, but it is so worth it and makes a huge difference.
We have also eliminated processed grain products such as cereals, crackers, bagels, etc. Processed grain products are extruded and have had all the nutrients stripped out and added back in. We eat whole grains that have either been sprouted or soaked. You can buy Ezekiel bread products, and you can also soak your own bulk grains from the store overnight in a bit of filtered water with a little apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to neutralize the phytic acid in the grain.
If you'd like more information about healthy eating, please visit www.agriculturesociety.com - a non-profit advocacy site for sustainable living through natural remedies and real, traditional foods, as well as other related topics. Good luck!
