Delayed walking

[nancy1]

Hi Ladies,

My son is 16 months old and still not walking independently. He took a few steps on his own 2 weeks ago then got sick the next day. Since then, he has not resumed walking.
Anyone else had a late walker? did they need physical therapy.
I am a bit concerned, although the ped tells me he is still within range.
I would love to hear your feedback.
NAncy

[dys24]

I wouldnt worry just yet, i think the norm is up to 18mo. Do you have good shoes for him? As soon as i bought my DD stride rite shoes she was off and walking, she wouldnt try to walk in anything else since all of our house is hard wood and she would slip easily. She did cruise and take couple of steps in robeez. She also learned to walk from pushing the walker and her little stroller. Is he cruising well? try putting something like a chair or and object he can walk to not far away maybe few feet at first and encourage him to walk to it, maybe place a favorite toy or food (puffs etc.) so he will be excited to get it. Hope that helps!

[angelaezra]

My nephew had a similar situation but he was very flaccid when we would try to assist him in walking because of some problems at birth. He did have to have physical therapy which really worked well. He also wanted to do everything that his friends were doing at daycare so that made him want to walk to keep up. I say try using the toys that assist him in walking and if no luck in the near future maybe consider requesting physical therapy or additional check-up. Sometimes, it just takes them awhile but once they get going you can’t stop them!

Angela

[aims327]

Hi Nancy,

My son didn't walk until he was 16 months. My son has had physical therapy through First Steps since he was 9 months. I wouldn't worry too much about it. He will walk when he is ready. If you have something available like First Steps, it never hurts to get an evaluation.

[nancy1]

Hi Ladies,

thank you so much for your feedback. It is indeed reassuring.
I am going to start PT for my son next week. I feel like he's almost there but it's more like a confidence issue.
Thanks again.
Nancy

[ann d.]

Hi Nancy,

Not sure if you need any more feedback, but my son would cruise FOREVER and would only walk while holding our hand for the longest time, too. My theory was that he is very tall and thin and it was more balancing required for him. He did have PT because he was born with contractures at his elbows and knees, again because he was born so long. Anyway, he's by far taller than babies his age (over the 95th percentile). He finally started walking at 16 months on his own. Like the other mommies have mentioned walkers really helped, and setting chairs/ sofas close enough together but not too close where he would have take a couple of steps on his own to get from one point to another also helped. And if he had to hold our hand, we could only let him hold one finger (and just the tip of the finger). We were told while we were doing that, to place the finger in front of him, not above him to help with balance.

A side note: I've read the benefits of crawling help with speech development, reading comprehension, left and right brain development. So all this crawling is good for your baby!