Babies Walker

What pushed my daughter right into walking was getting a push walker (one of those doggies). She pushed it for 1 month and then was walking on her own. She had been cruising for a month before that. I told that to another mom whose daughter wouldn't walk and once she got her that, she started walking fairly quickly. They just want to get around and they are going to do it the fastest way that they can. The push walker keeps there body strong and yet lets them move fast where they want to go.

My son Loved his walker. I feel it was the best investment we ever made. He wore that thing out. He would walk a little take a break, and then walk a little more. It is great. You always know where they are because they can not do places that a walker can not go.

As a mother of twins, I can tell you to be grateful she's not walking yet! Don't worry, it's perfectly normal for children not to walk up to 18 months. There will be plenty of people who enjoy talking about how early their child walked, but it's pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. For example, my husband did not walk until 18+ months. He currently has a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

One year to just begin sitting up is well below the norm. I am surprised that your pediatrician has not talked to you about this. I watched a boy who had a difficulty with his leg and brain co-ordination and he was a very late sitter. Please talk to your Ped about this and if he seems not concerned, seek a second opinion. The recommendation about an evaluation through an early intervention evaluation is the direction in which you should go. Ignore the advice about kids being different, the earlier a neurological problem is addressed, the better.

K.-I'm a pediatric Physical Therapist. It's not so much that she isn't walking yet as that she did not sit independently until she was a year old. That is pretty late to reach that milestone. Has she had her one year appointment. I would recommend referring her to Early Intervention to be evaluated. There could be lots of reasons why her motor skills are delayed but you want to address them now while she is still little. Early Intervention therapists come to your home and work with you to help you to do things with your child that will help to facilitate her motor skills. Let me know if you have any questions on how to refer her. -Julie

I strongly suggest you get her an early intervention evaluation. They can make awesome recommendations--and it's state funded/federally supported so cost shouldn't be an issue. It's for kids ages 0-3 only, so don't wait!!
Just ask your pediatrician for a referral. Occupational therapy can help figure this out with you.

I would call your ped. and ask him. My son didnt walk until 17 months and he did use the push toys but not until 15 months or so. You can have her evaluated so you may want to do that to get her on track, but dont panic.

My younger sister didn't walk until she was 22 months old. She was well-satisfied with scooting along on her behind instead. She was perfectly normal then and has been perfectly normal ever since. She is now in her 40s and happily married, working as a physical therapist assistant, and an active, productive member of society.

This doctor also encourages parents to see late walking as simply a variation of normal...

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t107100.asp

I also agree that the kind of walkers that you put the toddler in are not helpful because they encourage the development of all the wrong muscles--muscles not used for normal walking development.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t110235.asp

Best wishes,
J.

One day she will be off so fast you'll wonder how you could have worried--and how you are going to catch her. My d was already walking when I bought her a car with a handled behind that lets her push it as well. All of my nieces and nephews had these and loved them. My d does also. She will either ride the car (watch out because she will run you over) or she will walk behind it pushing a stuffed animal or a ball in the seat storage area. She also has a Fisher Price stroller/walker that she can still play with.

babies are all over the map with respect to time of walking - anywhere from 9 months to 15 or even 16 months. Push toys can be fun, though my experience with them is that they often move a little fast for a non-walker and I know the walkers that you put a child in are not recommended as they undermine muscle development. I think offering her your hands to walk with and letting her explore her own way is good but she will likely be on her own schedule.

Hi K.! Do NOT worry about your daughter not walking yet. My daughter will be 3 in March and didn't walk til she was 22 months old. She scooted everyplace on her butt - no pulling up, nothing. I was concerned, but luckily I have a WONDERFUL pediatrician who told me to let her be til 2 yrs old and she was sure she'd be walking at her own pace. She was right! Since your little girl just started sitting solo at 12 months (Mandie was late also)she just does things later than some babies do. Again, no cause for worry since she's pulling herself to stand. Trust me, when she DOES start walking she'll make up for lost time and walk like she's been doing it for years. If you'd like more info or support feel free to message me. Hope this helps! -J.

Don't worry she will walk! I have had doctors tell me that it is good for their development to go through all the stages, i.e crawling, pulling up, then walking. Each stage is important for their physical and neurological development. She may just be honing her other skills before moving on. My son didn't walk until he was 14-15 months - now I can hardly catch him! As long as she is going through her developmental stages and you see progress during each stage, don't worry about it. Let her get there at her own time.

My daughter didn't crawl - scooted on her bum at about nine or ten months, pulled up at eleven, cruised at one year, walked independently at 15 months. Almost everyone told me not to worry if she was meeting milestones toward the late end of the range. For my daughter, that turned out to be a mistake. Whether or not yours needs a little extra help, or if she is indeed on track, needs to be determined by a professional. I would speak with your kid's pediatrician and see what he/she suggests.

Good luck!

I wouldn't push the walking, but definatly get down on the flor with her and see if you can help teach the crawling or scooting like that somehow. I was told when my kids were younger that there is something that crawling does that helps with brain developement and it helps kids to crawl. So, don't push walking yet, but do see if you can get her to crawl!

Oh absolutely - your child will probably love this!

But first of all, don't worry that your child is 1 year and isn't walking. She's not behind - she's totally and 100% fine!

Let her take the lead but provide support and enthusiasm as she learns this new skill on her own terms. If she's pulling up, no need to worry; soon she'll be cruising and then walking in no time at all. If you allow her to discover this new skill on her own without pushing and forcing, it'll be much better for everyone and her confidence - her "Look at me - I did it" will soar!

Once our son was cruising fairly well, we got him a push-behind toy and he LOVED it. He'd race around the living room like a mad man. It was fun to see him discover locomotion in this way.

can she sit independently? Can she move from one area to another either by crawling, rolling or butt scooting? If the answer is yes to both of those then you are ok. Walking and cruising may not happen till as late as 18 months and still be within normal range of ok. If a child is bigger on the torso then the legs this is very common, or if they get around well in other ways.

If the answer is no, she can not do those two things then you can get a free early intervention evaluation and they will provide free services if she qualifies that will help her catch up in the skills she is missing.

Please don't worry yourself over this. My daughter didn't walk until 15 months. As long as a child is walking by 18 months, there's nothing to be concerned about. It's natural to worry, but uneccessary :O)

K.,

All babies are different, but my sister-in-law who is a speech therapist tells me that everyone who wants to can get a free evaluation for their children up until age 3. She did it for her own kids just to be sure they were developing on track. It's free & hopefully will give you peace of mine or the resources you need if there is a delay. This website should have a link/info to who to contact in your area. http://www.childandfamilyconnections.org/

My own son is 18 mos. old. He rolled over early & moved around quite a bit (he's still very very active). He crawled at 6 mos. & he pulled himself up to standing holding on to furniture at 7 mos. He never really sat up unassisted until he was much much older. I figured he could do it b/c he didn't topple over when I put him in a sitting position, but then again, he NEVER stayed put long enough for me to really know for sure. Honestly, my head is too foggy from all the sleep deprivation to remember when I knew for certain he could sit up unassisted, but just seemed to be choosing not to do it. Then for a long long time, he could "walk" or cruise holding onto stuff. Around 1 year or so, we saw him take maybe a step or so unassisted, but he preferred to crawl. Actually, he "walked" on his knees. We called it knee-walking. It was the weirdest thing, but he was REALLY REALLY fast. Eventually at about 14 1/2 mos. he began normal walking quite a bit & by 15 mos. the knee walking disappeared almost completely. I suspect that his poor knees getting scraped up outside when he was wearing shorts might have been a motivating factor! We found that our son preferred
to push chairs, the laundry basket, etc. around more than any kind of walking toy. We have one that he stands behind to push & a toy shopping cart too. He probably pushes them around more now than when he first started standing up! Another mom I know has a daughter who sat up on her own, but NEVER crawled. She's a tiny little thing & didn't start walking until she was waaaay over a year old. Now she walks just fine. She wasn't very active early on, but she's got incredible language skills. My son on the other hand, has been moving & exploring for a long time. He's just now starting to talk more. They are all so different & unique, but why not get the free evaluation just to give yourself some peace of mind. You don't say where you live, but in my town there's children's programs where they teach you ways to play with your kids to help them develop skills they need. Not that the staff at those places are complete experts, but they do see enough kids all the time that they might be able to tell you if they think something is wrong & also give you good ideas of ways to help your daughter learn new skills.

Hi K.,

I don't think a push toy is a good idea -- they're not considered safe. Most children don't walk till 15 mos, at least, and you shouldn't be concerned about her not walking until she reaches 18 mos.

While achieving developmental milestones can be very exciting, I think it's a good idea to let your child achieve them on her own schedule. And, your life will get much more complicated once she starts walking -- believe me!

All the best,
R.