Still not walking?!

[eoinsmom]

What is the longest you've ever had a daycare kids take to start walking? I have one who is almost 18 months old and still refuses to bear weight on her legs most of time. she can't even pull herself up to standing, and if I put her into a standing position leaning on something she just locks her legs and doesn't move then start screaming when she wants to get down again. she also doesn't do stairs yet either even though I've been practicing with her for the 3 months. She just stays frozen on the stairs and screams, I left her on the bottom step to finish the stairs for up to 5 -10minutes and she just screamed the whole time. she bum scoots everywhere and has been getting increasingly screaming since she's frustrated that she can't keep up to the other kids, and since a new 12 month old little girl has started last month who already cruises around and takes a few steps. This just seems to be taking forever and the screaming out of frustration is driving me batty.

[Artsand crafts]

The oldest dck was 16mo, but I met a mom at the park with a 3 year old boy some time ago and she told me he started to walk at 22 mo. The boy looked very healthy and active at that time.

[torontokids]

I wouldn't be too concerned as I am sure their Dr is aware and monitoring it. Have they gone for their 18 mos check up yet?

My cousin's baby didn't walk either at that age and wouldn't put weight down. The Dr. started to get a little concerned but wanted to continue to wait and see then she started walking. The screaming would be hard for anyone but I am sure with you ignoring the screams, not carrying them everywhere and the baby missing all the fun, they will learn soon enough.

Having just had a 14.5 mos old start walking I think it was almost better when she couldn't walk as now she is everywhere and always the opposite direction of where I want her! She was easier to keep tabs on when she was a non-walker.

[sunnydays]

I have one who didn't walk until 19 months. Like Torontokids said, I am sure their doctor will be keeping tabs on it. The child is mobile, just not in the traditional way. Every kid is different. I'm sure the parents know that this is not the norm.

[playfelt]

My daughter was a bum scooter and it was the first time I had seen a child use that as their exclusive way of mobility compared to occasionally to get to a toy instead of standing up and sitting down again. Sure took it's toll on her pants.

I am finding a lot of children are walking later and later in general these days with 18 months not that unusual. The fact she isn't even pulling to a stand is a bit of a concern.

I am guessing the parents may be giving in to the screaming and the child has learned to scream and wait for help rather than doing it herself so a vicious circle of dependence has been created.

At the same time working on leg strength through games can be fun - laying child on her back and moving her legs like bicycle riding. Also sometimes it isn't the legs that is the issue but arm and trunk strength so make sure she is on the floor and not in a contraption of some sort so that she needs to use her trunk muscles to support sitting instead of lounging in a seat. Do arm games with waving things over her head. Also watch her eye movement and hand/eye coordination. A child that can't see properly is too scared to walk. She may look like she can see but the world could still be very fuzzy. That is one of my daughter's issues although she refused to wear the glasses prescribed. When younger she bumped into things a lot because her depth perception was dreadful but now she more or less has it figured out. Cut corners short still and ends up with bruises but rarely falls anymore.

I guess my point is that this could all be very normal. On the other hand it could be an indicator of developmental issues. I would observe the child as much as possible looking for skills she can do and what she gravitates towards as well as what she avoids and that might help to figure out what to do to help her along.

[eoinsmom]

Thanks everyone, this is just the longest I've had a kid go without standing or cruising furniture. Most of my kids have started walking around the 13-14 month mark, or earlier. I thought she'd at least get the hang of stairs by now, that's the most frustrating. I know her parents are getting frustrated too because they like to do a lot of camping and its camping season now and she's wearing through all her parents and her ankles are just raw. I keep hoping she'll just stand up and start running one day :-)

[playfelt]

Get the nylon splash pants that have the thin liner to them - it seems hot but they are not that bad and then sew on denim or twill patch the bum part and patch as it wears out. It will give the bum scraping support and keeps the legs from getting injured. In hot weather remove other clothing except diaper and just wear the splash pants when going out to play and remove when in the house. Have other ones you use for in the house. Make sure she is wearing pants that move such as sweatpants or leggings and not cotton or jeans that are rigid.

Working with a stability ball is fun for a lot of kids. Hold child in sitting position on exercise ball and bounce her up and down. Gradually move from holding her under the arms to holding her arms as she learns to balance sitting on the ball. Look up information on trunk control and strengthening that skill. That is what she needs to master before she will be able to stand/walk.

[momofnerds]

sounds like maybe the parents need to stop carrying the child around. She's screaming because she knows that they will carry her from spot to spot.

this is what I do, because I've had alot of kids who refuse to walk and would rather scream than walk. I would first do some leg excercises, you will get an idea if something hurts.
then I would do the two hand walk with them. Every time they sat down I would get them back up. Mean I know but it works, they need to start using those muscles. When I'm done changing I would stand them up. Every second I had a chance I would walk with them. then I would move to the one hand walk.

also, get those walking shoes for this kid. they have support on the ankle. Make sure they wear them all day (except sleep) they do help. Also, most places can tell if the child is flat footed too.

and make sure that the child is not in an excersaucer. I had a 13 month old who lived in his and the parents couldn't figure out why he wasn't walking, amazing what happens when you take it away.

[playfelt]

I agree on getting the child some shoes - the old fashion ankle support type shoes would be ideal. They give the child confidence and a base to stand on. When the child does stand do her feet go flat on the floor or are the tendons in the ankles tight. Again for Brianne we had to do exercises to make that joint more flexible before she could be fitted with her AFO ankle braces. I have always found the children that come to me in shoes rather than the slippers walk on average a month earlier than the other ones. Make sure child is not in sock feet as they have a tendency to slip and feel unbalanced. If they won't buy her shoes then make it bare feet - she needs grip support.

[playfelt]

I know the child is getting too old but depending on size will she still fit in a jolly jumper as that would allow her to be in an upright position but exercising the feet as she will need to push off the floor. You can also do a lot of exercises while in the jumper.

Another thing to look at is the hips. I had a child that was born with dislocated hips and had to wear a brace at sleep time and she was nearly 18 months before she could start to go without it. I'm sure the doctor would have picked up on something like that soon after birth but it never caused the child any pain really just didn't have proper use and support of her hips because they slipped around in the sockets so easily.

[2cuteboys]

I'd encourage the parents to go to the pediatrician, but I heard from a friend that her pediatrician told her not to be concerned (when her child was 17 mos and not walking) until 21 months! My sons ped told us 18 though so I suppose it depends on the dr.

Not sure here you are, but in AB, parentlink has an ages and stages questionnaire and I think the 24 mos one has quite a bit on gross motor, if you get a chance to fill one out, they're pretty helpful! We had one done with my oldest when he was around that age. If you aren't in alberta here's a link to the online version, but I haven't gone through it, so hopefully you get the full version.

https://asqonline.com//family/1393-screening-family-access-open-asq-3-english/start