My daughter still hasn't started to walk. She "walks" around on her knees all day long, but she will not get on her feet. She cruises VERY well but won't let go. We have tried to work with her, but when we do she immediately drops to her knees and starts whining. She has taken one step a couple of times, but nothing consistently. Is this normal?
Just wait....it will happen. MY pedi said that it's really a 15 month old milestone, yet many think it's a 12 month thing.
One day.....poof....she'll be running aroud the house. My son started walking the last day of his 13 month.
NO WORRIES YOUR ARE NOT ALONE!!! I have a little boy who is 15 months old and just started walking right before Christmas. We worked with him all the time at around 11 months and just kinda gave in and figured he will when he's ready. She won't crawl forever I PROMISE! Right before he started walking we would stand him very close to us and hold our arms out and he'd take a step or to and that seemed to move things along and now there is no stopping him. I'm sure its right around the corner!
My son didn't walk til 15 months. He had absolutely no interest, and was content to crawl and cruise, until one day (Easter, actually), he was cruising along the couch, then just let go and took off across the living room.
But I remember thinking he'd never walk!!! Hang in there, she'll do it when she's ready.
Ali
My son didn't walk until he was 16 months old. It is all on a continuum. Your daughter will walk when she is ready. I wouldn't worry about it. I was mildly concerned at first but now it seems silly. He went straight from wallking to running and hasn't slowed down since!
The developmental milestone for walking used to be between 12 and 15 months. Now, experts say between 12 and 18months. So, your daughter is probably just on the later end of the developmentally appropriate spectrum. However, if you're mommy gut is telling you something or you've noticed she has missed other milestones and you think she's going to miss this one, you can contact your local Early Childhood Intervention and they can send someone out to assess your daughter. Or talk to your pediatrician, but I'm sure you know that already.
Also, have you tried walking wings? (www.walkingwings.com)It allows her to be handsfree while you support her walking.
You can also put her toys up high like on the couch and then put some more on a footstool a step away from the couch so that maybe the distance will be too short for her to crawl, but not short enough that she can cruise w/o letting go.
Although my daughter didn't walk on her knees, she would take only a step or 2 until a day before she turned 15 months old. Then, she TOOK OFF! We started counting her steps that day and stopped when we got to about 60-something. So, not to worry...each child has their own timetable - and then you might wish she WASN'T walking! ;-)
Hi N....my daughter walked around on her knees, too! She crawled at 9 months, walked around on her knees for a while and finally started walking at about 13 months or so. I wouldn't be concerned just yet as it sounds like she is developing and moving forward. The normal range is 12-18 months, so she's still within that. I thought my daugther was behind with crawling and walking, but my pediatrician said she was perfectly normal. Don't worry...I bet she'll be walking very soon.
Take care,
N. K.
I am not a professional but it sounds to me like she is perfectly normal. My son finally walked at 15 1/2 months and I wish I had not spent as much time worrying about it as I did. He is 19 months old now and has caught right up. It sounds like she is getting close. We were seeing an occupational therapist for my son's gross motor skills. The only thing I can reccomend is the use of the toys that she can walk behind and push to encourage walking and moving things a little farther away to make her try to take a step by herself. We moved our ottoman a couple inches at a time away from the couch. Good luck. She sounds like she is doing great. I know it is hard but try not to worry too much, they all do it in thieir own time.
I "walked" on my knees until 18 months according to my mother. She said my pediatrician said it was much more difficult to balance on knees than on feet so when I figured that out, I'd be up and around. I walk just fine now, so don't be too concerned that it's completely abnormal. My daughter started walking around 14-15 months and it seemed to happen almost overnight. You might check with her pediatrician just to rule out any issues with her joints/bones (because of the whining).
S.
