Freaking out - toe walking

DS (19 months) started intermittent toe walking on Friday. It is freaking me out for 2 reasons: toe walking is linked to ASD & continuous toe walking can lead to a shortening of the Achilles tendon.

Add in the mix that I have severe health related anxiety & OCD (PND related) this is absolutely freaking me out!!! I feel like I can't breathe.

So my questions are how many of you had toddlers that toe walked, are they okay and also I'm looking for suggestions to make him stop!

Please, please help me!

Hun my DS used to do that now and then he is now 4.5 and fine... DD does occasionally as well and she 2.5 and is fine too xoxo may be its something they just do???? Though I must admit I was a little worried when DS did because of ASD BUT he is fine...

May be some one is can shed some light on it???

Hi Shiremummy,

Yes toe walking is often something that child with asd do, however I see many children with asd who don't. My nephew toe walked all the time as use to send my heart racing he is now a six year old little boy who appears to be developing typically. I suggest looking up the M-CHAT which is a questionnaire and will give you a better idea if your ds is displaying symptoms of asd. Toe walking alone isn't necessarily a diagnosis but coupled with other symptoms it could be something worth investigating. As you said though toe walking can cause other issues. To help stop him I find tapping on the shoulders and saying 'feet down' helpful. Also putting him in boots or other more 'heavy' shoes can help as
It is harder to toe walk in them. This might help break the habit. Best of luck!

I'm pretty certain it is a developmental thing, a new awareness of their body and it's abilities. If it is only intermittent I don't feel you will have an issue. If he starts doing it all the time, then I would have him checked. If you think his tendons are getting tight you can do exercises to help stretch them

My brother was a toe walker and still is for the most part because he has tightened tendons. That can be corrected. But it hasn't affected him in a detrimental way - he plays B grade soccer.

Mt DD2 is and was a toe walker. It is just her. She has had no problems and is in fact a national champion for cheer and you use flat and toes for this.

It can be good for building their arches. This was an excerise DD1 was given to build her arches

Just remenber, every child is different and because some children do something one way and others so it another doesn't mean there is something wrong. :)

My DD (23 months) likes to walk on her toes. It has never worried me, just another way of her exploring what her body does. I am kinda impressed cos i can't do it.

At just over 2 years my son started toe walking a little bit. We were pretty sure it was just a stage and that he was doing it simply because he had learnt that he could. Just to be on the safe side we took him to a children's podiatrist and she said his feet were fine and suggested boots for a little while to prevent him being able to go up on his toes until he got sick of doing it. Turned out he stopped before we found him boots anyway. He's 2yrs10mths now and he's now discovered that he can walk on his feet with his toes curled completely under his foot. Sort of like a ballerina, but with the toes curled right under. Again, I'm sure it's just a stage. I used to do the exact same thing as a kid and my feet are fine :)

Thank you for your responses. I had him in his boots today and that helped.

I'm just praying that this is just a new trick and not something sinister!!

My DS toe walked a bit and he is absolutely fine. I just put it down to a new skill that he was practicing. It did freak me out a bit at the time though!

You mean just walking on tip toes? My DD2 does it, she thinks it's funny. It had never occurred to me that it would be something to worry about. She has done it since she could stand up and does it lots during the day, but also walks normally too. She also thinks it's fun to try and skip and walk backwards. I just think she's working out all the fun things she can do. I wouldn't worry about it at all.

It can be normal. But I have a friend who had 2 of 3 kids do it and they both ended up in full leg casts as their tendons grew to short. So I would just keep an eye on it.

My DS does it. He'll be 5 in July. He started doing it from the day he started walking and he only does it on occasion.

I know it's a sign of POSSIBLE ASD (and you need quite a few other signs for that to even be a possiblity, not JUST toe walking ;) )... but that in itself is nothing to be freaked out about. Don't stress!
I know lots of kids who have done it. :)