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helene
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| Posted: Sept 21 2009 at 7:40pm | IP Logged
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My little boy turned 18 months last week. He refuses to walk. I am pretty sure he could do it if he tried. But he never tries. He can cruise between furniture and push a laundry cart around on the floor but generally he is very content to just crawl and has lots of teen and pre-teens around who enjoy toting him. He can stand up just fine in the middle of the floor but when we back up and encourage him to come he cries. Its become this thing he absolutely hates.
Other info: all my other kids were walking by 18 months but most of them learned between 16 and 18 months. He is small, but again most of my kids are on the small side (between 10 and 25th percentile mostly). His teeth seem to be coming in on time. He does suck his thumb quite a bit. He can point and name things and can say some two word "sentences" like "I stuck" "What's dat?" "Thank you" "I come". He can crawl upstairs and is also very proficient at climbing downstairs backwards, bum-first. He can say many animal sounds and body parts. He sleeps through the night now. He gets into plenty of trouble daily and has lots of curiosity.
Should I be concerned? Should I do something proactive or just give him some time and space to figure it out on his own? I usually don't panic about later development but this is just later than ever and I wonder why. Help!
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: Sept 21 2009 at 7:43pm | IP Logged
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I would relax. Perhaps he has performance anxiety 
I like it when they still aren't walking, easier to keep track of them! I also like it when they aren't walking until they have better understanding of language. 18 months or so, they start to understand "No" "Don't Touch" and other safety phrases.
All but my first, didn't walk until between 16 and 20 months. Fine by me and they were all running by their second birthday.
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LeeAnn
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juststartn
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| Posted: Sept 21 2009 at 8:13pm | IP Logged
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My boys didn't walk until they were close to 19mos. December of 08...born in May of 07...FAR later than my other 3 children...
Now they are running and climbing and driving me nuts.
Rachel
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organiclilac
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I have tricked at least 2 kids (not my own) into walking by holding them by the waist or under their arms while they walk instead of holding their hands. Get them used to that, and then it's much easier to let go from behind without them noticing. It's fun to have them look back and discover that they've gone the last 10 feet solo. Once or twice is all it takes!
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Tracy, wife to Shawn, mama to Samuel (4/01) and Joseph (11/11), and Thomas (2/15)
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Sarah
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| Posted: Sept 21 2009 at 10:44pm | IP Logged
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My now 2 year old didn't walk until 19 months. He just wasn't ready. I was so worried but DH said there is nothing they would do at that stage yet anyway. Just wait and see. He is a doctor, by the way so I trusted him. He was right. Joseph is just not very adventurous.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 21 2009 at 10:53pm | IP Logged
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I think since he can manage the physical accomplishment of walking.. pushing a toy or such.. that I wouldn't worry too much.
The one thing you might consider is his balance.. could he have a slight ear infection or such? though since he can stand unassisted that makes it that much less likely too.
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Lara Sauer
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My sister used to put helium balloons in her children's hands...it was so cute watching them take tentative steps holding those two strings!
I think he is still in the "normal" range for walking...whatever the means! As long as he has the strength to stand and can support his own weight, i wouldn't be too concerned. He probably thinks he can get to where he wants to go efficiently enough by crawling.
Peace.
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stellamaris
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Sounds like he's just coming along at his own speed! If he doesn't walk after a little longer wait, one possible cause could be vision. One of my ds's had double vision, and he was afraid to walk because of it. My sister also had this trouble as a baby; she would walk, but then she'd "fall off the carpet". Any transition from one type of flooring to another is difficult for kids with double vision...it appears to them that the drop is far greater than it actually is. In these cases, the easy fix was glasses.
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helene
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| Posted: Sept 22 2009 at 1:21pm | IP Logged
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Thank you, these are all good ideas. I didn't even think of hearing or vision complications....and Sarah, how comforting to me to hear that about your own son from your husband who is a doctor. Thank you! Tracy, I will try holding him from behind. It probably is much more secure-feeling that way. A lot of my kids have been the super-cautious types. He is probably another one. But I will also have his ears and eyes checked. Can't hurt!
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: 18 m.o. won't walk
