Late to walk...need encouragement!

My DD is 15 1/2 months and is not walking yet. Every other baby her age in my playgroup etc is already walking and I'm quite worried. I'm also getting well intended but hurtful comments from other mums and family. I'd like to hear from other mum of late to walk babies to assure me all is okay!

As it stands DD will cruise the furniture no end and seems to love doing this BUT she can't pull herself up at all. She never crawled (although she can actually do it chooses to bum shuffle instead).

Yes, I have seen a physio who has given us exercises and she tells me nothing is obviously wrong. DD seems normal in other ways - she is a great communicator (has a handful of short words she uses readily and is very keen to parrot whatever we say) and is sociable and interested in the world. Just need some reassurance that it's not an indicator of something more serious...a worried mum I guess...

i have eard it's quite normal up until 18mths not to be walking but have you spoken to your GP could it be a middle ear/balance issue? Does she walk if you hold her hands, have you tried walkers and those push along toys/bikes? hope you get some reassurance

So long as she is meeting all her other milestones, then there is nothing wrong with her not walking yet. Even in our baby buddies group on here, there were some who started early, some who started around the 'average' of 12mths and some who didn't start till later and one who has only just started in the last few weeks and they are all 18mths old now, so our group is quite a good representation of what you can expect across a range of babies and every single one of them is right where they should be developmentally. You may notice that what your DD lacks in being able to walk, she might make up for in other areas like communication etc, but I can guarantee that they do all get to the same level sooner or later.

She sounds like she is doing just great to me, so just ignore any of the 'well intentioned' ;) comments that you get from other people, she will walk when she's good and ready too LOL

I had one son walk 1 week prior to turning 19mths. My youngest never walked till around 22 mths. Both of them never had anything wrong with them to delay walking. She'll do it when she is ready :)

Hi,
It's hard not to be concerned, my DD is nearly 17mths, not walking, not pulling herself up or cruising around holding onto furniture. She started crawling at 10mths but does a sort of worm crawl instead to get around. She has a very large vocab and my MCHN has assured me not to worry and often when they are advanced in one area they may be slower in another. My DS#2 never walked until he was 24mths and he is now 10 and perfectly normal. Every child develops at different rates. I know how frustrating it is when people make comments about not walking, believe me, I get it all the time. I always respond with "she'll walk when she's ready".

Regards,
Dianne

There were a few kids in our playgroup who didn't walk til 18 or 19 months. Nothing wrong with them, they just weren't ready yet. My DD was I think 14 months? And there were only a couple who were earlier than that too. So don't panic - your group isn't really representative of the larger range of 'normal' by the sounds. Rest assured, before you know it she'll be cheekily running away from you in public places, LOL!

My daughter was 17.5 months when she walked

My DH didn't walk til he was 17 months old.
I've also heard of kids waiting til they are 18 months or more.
A friend of mine was still on her knees at nearly 2. She used to drag her toys around by getting up on her knees, til her mum had her at a friends house on a concrete drive way. It hurt her knees, so she up & walked. She simply didn't need to before then!

Yep I was a bub who was nearly 2 b4 I started walking.

I did have physio though as I used to walk on my toes and walked quite pidgeon like.
My toes are now hammered because of it :(

anyways...you have nothing to worry about , IMO, my first DD was around 16 months when she first walked. :) Its better that they are a bit more mature when they start to walk coz hopefully that may mean they'll take the steps gradually and wont RUN away.

It's not considered "late" yet!

You might have a bub like my DS. He was cruising for ages (like, from 9 months!) but the first day he took an independent step without holding onto anything was the same day he started walking.

He was crawling one day and walking the next with no transitional period like I have seen with so many other babies...no 3 or 4 steps between a table and chair, maybe ten toddling steps before falling down, or toddling until they get impatient because they can crawl faster, so they drop down and crawl the rest of the way to their destination. None of that for him.

Seriously, one day he walked and that was that (at a week off 15 months). For about 3 days afterward he would sometimes start to crawl and then pause...you could almost see the thought process written all over his face..."hang on, I can walk now" and up he would get and walk. And he was great on his feet from the get go, hardly ever fell over.

Some kids just do it differently!

I understand your concerns.....my DD#3 has only just started walking - and she is 18 months......:lol:....i had people constantly asking if everything was ok, if i was worried etc. If she had gotton to 18 months without walking i would have gone to see someone about it...but she beat us to it.
She now not only walks, but runs. After she took her first step that was it, no turning back, and no more crawling (she only started crawling at 13mths).
I know its realllllly hard not to do, but try not to compare your child to others.....yes, you will find the majority of chidren this age walking, but theres a percentage that arent too, and your child is in that lot.
My youngest also has two sisters (3 and 5 yrs).....if she ever wanted anything, she just needed to grunt or point, and they would give it to her - why did she have to learn to walk when she was getting everything given to her !!!@###@@!!!.
DD#3 also only has 5 teeth, doesnt talk nearly as well as my other two did at 18 months...but its each to their own, she's her own little person, and i know in time these things will fall into place...just like walking.
Good luck.....i found the most frustrating thing was having to pick her up - they are HEAVY at 16ish months arent they ???!!!!;)

Like I said in a previous thread just a couple of days ago. My DS didn't walk until he was 21 months old. He was pulling himself up - but the problem was he was getting heavier and heavier and it's difficult to carry around a 21 month old.

He just got up and walked. It was like an epiphany for him. Hasn't stopped since.

Quite apart from this, his speech was brilliant. He was spending a lot of time sitting on the floor reading books with me. He speeks extremely well. I think he was expending his walking energy on excelling at something else for a while.

Apparently bubs who get around shuffling on their bums as opposed to normal crawling are a bit later walking as it is harder to get up from the floor. I was a bub who never crawled but shuffled around on my bum and according to my mum I didn't walk till 19 months. And I don't have any trouble walking at all :).

My Ds2 was not walking till 18 months. He literally stood up in the morning took 9 steps then by that afternoon he never crawled again..

my ds is the late walker sherie refers to in our belly buddies group LOL!!! he has just started and i would say is now at 50/50 walking and crawling... i was kinda worried but not at the same time. i knew it was normal and expected him to be late (DH and i both were and he was a v late crawler) - he cruised around for ages etc etc etc. i go tmore worried when i hung around lots of other babies (esp younger ones who ran everywehere) and especially with all the comments and questions... and i agree with MBear picking him up all the time is the worst bit (do NOT attempt a petting zoo LOL).
That said he is incredible in other areas - talks, imagination etc etc etc - so i guess the lesson is that they all do diff things at diff rates - walking is just a milestone that is so easily comparable and obvious IYKWIM....
I know it doesnt help now but it will happen eventually...
that said i dont even think yours is late yet LOL!!!!

Wow! Thank you all SOOOO much for your replies. It is so encouraging to hear of other perfectly normal babies who have taken their time to get walking. Maybe my mum's group isn't so representative of the general population - they will all walking by 12 months and many before then...

It's true about bum-shufflers taking longer to walk too...I'm convinced it's hereditary too as my DH was a bum shuffler and late walker (I was 15 months or so). Believe me I tried EVERYTHING to encourage crawling (my local gymbaroo was particularly harsh with their judgements on shufflers!) and in the end decided if she wants to shuffle there is very little I can do to change it...no point in stressing...

Goodness this trying not to compare with others is a real challenge for me...as is trying not to take on all the unhelpful advice from those who seem to think they know better....

Again thanks so much! I hope others have found this encouraging too...

Comparisons......... bah humbug.