Advice on Toddler Who Doesn't Walk or Talk

My son walked at 18 months and didn;t start really making sense until about 2-2.5 and talking at 3. Based on what you said, it sounds normal unless there are other warning signs.

I wonder if his core muscles are weak. He may need some physical therapy. He should be evaluated by Early Intervention. You could teach him some basic sign language so he can communicate what he wants a little. E.I. would know if he needed speech therapy too. My daughter needed some physical therapy and speech therapy and E.I. was wonderful with her. She LOVED both her therapists and was thrilled to see them every time.

Kids are all different. Just with my own three, there were vast differences. The oldest walked at 13 mos, the middle one at 18 mos, and the baby at 15 mos. My middle child was just very cautious, and is still fairly cautious and not as rambunctious as most boys. My baby is a wild man. Once he started walking, he was running and climbing-no fear. The oldest two were both late talkers and needed speech therapy, but the youngest started talking early. They are all just so different.

As long as he socializes, and follows commands and seems to understand what you're telling him, I wouldn't be too concerned.

Kids develop at different ages. I'm sure his pedi has seen him and I'm sure if there were an issue they would have found it.

Of course there's always a chance that everything I just said is not true, but what are you going to do? Call CPS? Lecture the mother? Give her the benefit of the doubt, and accept that some children just develop more slowly. My oldest walked at ten months old, my youngest not until nearly sixteen months. My oldest was speaking very clearly at age 2, but my youngest, I still can't understand, and she's 4!

I'm so glad he has such a caring babysitter, though, I wish all children got the same loving care!

Some completely "normal" children don't walk until 18 months but they are usually on target or advanced in other areas. The fact that he topples over while sitting is a major concern. At this age he should be saying a few words plus mamma and dadda. There is enough to be concerned about to tell the parents and give them info regarding Early Intervention or Birth to Three, whatever its called in your state. If they brush you off don't assume that they wont call because they might feel embarrassed. They are obviously making excuses for him. In a non-judgmental way, tell them you have a friend whose child wasn't doing these things at say 14 months and they called the EI and the child got help and is doing great today. Or just say whatever you feel comfortable with. My babysitter told me my son seemed speech delayed and I told her that I already contacted EI in my state so her opinion concurred with mine. My son got help and now he is doing great! If he does need help, I can tell you every mom questions herself if she called early enough.

I'm with Denise S. on the ear thing. It would explain both the balance problem and the fact that he doesn't say real words.

I agree with Dawn B. and Julie L.

I once did child care for a child just like that.
She was... and still is, developmentally behind. But is now an elementary age child.

As a baby even at 9 months old, she could not sit up with out being propped. She'd fall over.

At 2 years old for example, if you asked her her name, she couldn't even say it or point to herself.
She would just sit, had low motor skills, did not comprehend things on par per her age etc. Delayed in many areas.

But sure, there are some that are this way and nothing is wrong.

I have a 15 moth old in my daycare that just started walking with some balance, my first child didn't walk until 13 months (held to much) until you got this little boy do you know how much space he had I mean was he kept in a crib or playpen for the most part? I know Robin said that stubborn and lazy can;t be used for babys/toddlers but that's not true, I have seen both in my 14 years of running a daycare, for example my 15 month old will walk towards me for me to life him in the high chair to eat, and he will stop like two feet and will not budge he wants me to go pick him up, I have a 10 month old that at 3 months was capable of holding his own bottle, his momma worked with him so he could take a bottle while she got ready for work (Military) and as long as someone was standing in front of him he would hold his bottle no problem, but as soon as we stepped away to attend another child he would drop it and start crying. I think this little guy should get check out it's always best to be safe and not sorry, he may have a middle ear problem that is causing him to topple. You are an experience mom so you can work with him while he is in your care, that may help. J.

My son didn't walk unassisted until he was 22 months. Yep. 22 months!! We took him to a neurologist and got him PT through early intervention.

I am a SAHM and played with him all the time. He was never left in a playpen or his crib. He interacted with other children all the time. He was just really content to stay in one spot to play. He just wasn't ready to walk yet. I'll admit I did not appreciate the extremely judgmental looks and comments I would get all the time from other mom's in the playground.

He did however begin talking, full sentences, at 15 months and hasn't stopped since.

In terms of being physically behind his peers, he is. He simply isn't as coordinated, but doctors have found nothing at all wrong with him. They have all assured me that he will catch up eventually and that he is just more advanced and focused in other areas. His is a happy running, jumping (sort of), scootering, biking 3 1/2 year old.

I do have to say though, that just because you raised five children it doesn't mean that you have seen it all.

My grandmother is famous for saying, "I haven't seen that before." or "I've never heard of that before." and then she shakes her head. LOL. It drives my husband and I crazy. It's just so judgemental. Yes, she raised 3 kids, but that doesn't mean she's seen and heard all when it comes to children.

If you are really concerned sit down with the parents and share your concerns and provide them with information for Early Intervention. That is what I would hope any childcare provider would do with a child under their care. It can't hurt.

Your best bet is to have him evaluated by your states birth to three program. It could be nothing but he could have a delay that he can get help with. I work in Early Intervention in IL and it sounds like he may benefit from some intervention. Your pediatrician should be able to give you the info.

I agree with other responses that it may be he is developmentally behind, but if his parents are responding that he is being lazy or stubborn then it will not help him. You said that he listens right away if you say no, get down, or come here... do you ever notice aggressive behaviors with his parents? Does he listen that quick when it's positive things like You want to have a crayon to color or something like that. Without seeing the parents obviously I have no idea, I would just personally be concerned if it was my daughter at that age (she's 2 now) so I guess I can't imagine parents who don't care about it.

Maybe you can try and work with him to walk on his own and talk... again, I don't know his parents but I get the vibe that they probably aren't paying attention to his development or something.

My kids were late walkers: they sat until about 13 months, crawled for a few weeks and then got up and walked and ran! I don't think kids are "lazy" at that age, but perhaps he is more of an observer and wants to check things out before he tries them. By 16 months my kids were talking, so it is also possible there is something neurological going on. I don't know how long you have known the child, but perhaps observe him for a while longer and then bring it up again. He probably sees a pediatrician for check ups, so perhaps around that time ask if the pediatrician said anything you should know about just for his safety. Then again, maybe the parents do know or sense what is going on and are in denial? Hard to know from a distance.

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have them check his ears . mine only babbled till he was about 26 months. he has major ear issues infections and tubes and fluid you name it he has it. now fluid will screw up their equalibruim. neither of mine walked till at least 14 months and both had fluid issues. and babbled where you couldnt understand them. my oldest was an instant fix with tubes my youngest we are still having issues with. he is going to turn 3 in may and says less than 50 words and they are hard to understand.when he says sit it sounds like sh*t. byebye sounds like dada. cookie is ookie and banana is nanananana. cat is gat. and almost all of his words are screwed up like this. the only one really reconizable is chris his brothers name. he can walk and climb but wont respond to words coming from behind him. you actually have to hollar at him to get a response. my youngest is outgoing and social with other kids too. and mine topples for no apparent reason too. and he is like a pig stuck in mud trying to get off his back. mine has memorized no, get down or come here but as far as following directions he cant for the most part. ex you tell him to bring you the toy car. he will bring you everything in the vacinity till he gets it right. you say go get your shoes he brings you what he thinks you want. which is usually wrong. lets put your shirt on he will lay down and give you his feet. he thinks shirt is pants. if you say go get me a diaper i get a stupid look like what are you saying. tell them if he has fluid or and ear infection and it goes untreated it can cause him to be hard of hearing like mine to humor you and get his ears checked. but listen to his babble he is saying words they just arent coming out right. mine is in a monkey see monkey do phase right now he wont talk unprompted. he will repeat your but like i said it comes out wrong but to say banana for he wants a banana he wont do until i say it first. saying mama, drink or eat and milk is non existant. i think he cant figure them out. just an idea for thought

I think that before 18 months, I would encourage the walking but not be concerned. My daughter "knee walked" til well over a year, she was a very nervous walker. I finally got her to be more OK with falling by letting her fall on our bed.

If he didn't interact with others or do things to get his point across, I'd be more concerned about his babbling. Have you tried sign language?

However, if that were my kid and he toppled a lot while sitting, I would like it if the sitter at least mentioned it so I could bear it in mind at home/with the pediatrician.

I agree with Jeannie C. Every kid develops at different speeds and he's only 16 months old. It would be a different story if he were three.

Also, maybe you haven't heard him say mamma or dadda, because you aren't either of them...just a thought. :-)

my kids didn't walk until 16 months and 19 months, so that wouldn't concern me. It could be possible that there is something going on with his ears that no one sees. My son had chronic ear infections until he was 3 and we were totally clueless because he had no symptoms other than a speech delay. He was too stubborn to do the in depth hearing test so they only did a quick look at his check ups. Its worth checking into, it could contribute to the balance (my 1 yr old nephew once toppled over and it was the only symptom that he had an ear infection ).

I agree with other people who have responded about 16 months not being much of an issue for not walking since many kids walk later. When you mentioned the part about him toppling over for no apparent reason, it made me think of hypotonia. This is a congenital condition that exhibits as low muscle tone. You could try suggesting that the parents consult with whoever provides early intervention services in your area. I did a quick search on google for Salem, VA and came up with this resource - Early Childhood Intervention, 201 E Main St, Salem, VA ###-###-####. Usually these types of services are free. They will evaluate the child to see how his behavior compares with that of his same-aged peers. It's actually an informative process because the parents will learn a lot about appropriate developmental expectations and appropriate age ranges for certain behaviors. Usually the evaluation is free. Hope this helps.

Stubborn and lazy are adjectives for a teenager-not a baby.It's not unusual for a baby to begin walking at 15 months-so a month later-he's still holding on-no biggie-I'm surprised the parents don't get this checked, though. He's probably ok in the speech department-is his weight normal? Does he have interesting toys to play with and books and pictures and mental stimulation?

My oldest daughter didn't say anything anyone could understand until she was 2 yrs old and she is twice exceptional ( ADHD and gifted)
She walked early.
It really is perfectly normal for a baby to not walk till later.
My youngest didn't start walking until he was perfectly sure of what he was doing.

He's probably fine but either spent too much time in a playpen or swing so he didn't get enough exercise. And if a child isn't played with and talked to they don't learn to interact with others. I would start playing with him and see what happens.
Does he crawl? My Mom told me I didn't walk until I was 18 months old but I crawled so fast I didn't need to walk. All kids are different.

The normal range for walking is 9-18 months. And generally they like to see 5-10 words by 18 months. He is still within the range of normal development, and boys sometimes have an even later onset of words. The family could check into an EI eval as others have said at 18 months if he still isn't doing these things.

my 2nd son, now 21/2 didnt walk untill 17 mons and he is currently recieving speech therapy-he has just statred using 2 word phrases. if the pediatrician isnt worried then dont stress it, he'll walk when he's ready!

I babysat a little boy EXACTLY like that. However, he started talking in complete, incredibly audible sentences once he hit about 20 months. He's also incredibly athletic as well. I used to think there was something wrong with him also since he didn't start sitting until he was very close to a yr old and wouldn't hardly crawl until about a yr as well. I voiced my concern to his parents, they took him to a ped and were told he was fine, all children are different.

I dont have any advise for the walking part, but for talking most boys dont start saying alot of words intill between 18-24mnths. my son didnt say to much intill this mnth (he is 19mnths) then all of a sudden he learned three words in one day! and mimicks whole sentences (like saying "who is it" when he picks up the phone)