# My 16 month old won't walk by herself and I am getting worried!!!



## theresa88 (Jun 28, 2005)

My son walked at 13 months and my daughter is 16 months today and will not walk on her own. She is constantly sucking her thumb and I am getting worried about her. She is fine standing by herself for a little bit but unless you hold her hand or she is holding onto something, forget it. Am I stressing over nothing, or is this something?


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## sohj (Jan 14, 2003)

Everyone has their own schedule. Don't worry about it.


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## HollyBearsMom (May 13, 2002)

I agree w/ Sohj. Everyone develops at their own speed. I didn't walk until after I turned 2. I wore out all my PJ's on one side from dragging myself around.


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## Raynbow (Aug 2, 2004)

Yep, don't worry about it.
Actually, if you read the "average" is between 12-18 months to walk. So, even if you believe the "averages", she isn't delayed at all.


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## stiles' mummy (Jan 16, 2005)

Hi theresa88,

I would not worry about your dd not walking on her own yet. I believe the range is anywhere from 10 months all the way to 18 months. Although my ds walked at 11 months, he JUST started talking recently and he just turned 2 a couple of weeks ago. However, my friends daughter who is 3 now, did not start walking until she was 17 months. And, she practically went straight to running! However, she spoke full sentences at 18 months







. What I'm saying is that we as mommies tend to worry when our dc don't seem to reach that "milestone", yet they all have their own schedules.

If you are really concerned then speaking with your pediatrician will probably put your mind at ease.


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## juicylucy (May 20, 2002)

DS1 was almost 19 months. Don't worry!


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## wende (Oct 4, 2003)

My ds walked the day before he turned 18months. Now, at 2, I wish he'd slow down!


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## bobica (May 31, 2004)

i agree- 18 months is within "normal" range for walking independently. will she cruise the furniture? dd was a huge fan of cruising & we started spacing pieces of furniture further apart so she's have to take a step or 2 to the next one.


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## MoMommy (Oct 8, 2004)

DD is 16.5 months and she just started walking a month ago. Try not to worry, she will do it! I know how you feel though because my dd isn't saying any words at this point so that is another thing I'm trying not to worry about!


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## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

I agree not to worry. That said, one of my sons is in physical therapy through early intervention in our state. You might check to see if you could have her evaluated through your state's early intervention. It would probably put your mind at ease. According to our phsycial therapist the average age for walking is 12-15 months (obviously, perfectly normal kids walk earlier and later than average) and they don't get concerned until a child isn't walking by 18 months (at least some steps alone). I think she might qualify for physical therapy to help her catch up. If she does qualify, it would be free or very low cost. One of our twins is 16 months and is functioning at a 14 month old level now (he is walking some independently but not confidently yet and not doing some other things that would put him at the 16 month mark). I have loved physical therapy and the therapist and I expect him to be caught up before he turns 17 months. I know when it was recommended that I have Andrew evaluated (at 7 months) I was devastated but now I realize what a great program it is and that perfectly healthy kiddos can be a little delayed and catch up--and catch up much faster with some expert help!


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## thismama (Mar 3, 2004)

My friend's 20 mos old babe (born the same day as my daughter) isn't walking. She doesn't crawl either... scoots around on her bum.


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## BathrobeGoddess (Nov 19, 2001)

If she puts weight on her legs there isn't a need to worry. However this...

Quote:

My friend's 20 mos old babe (born the same day as my daughter) isn't walking. She doesn't crawl either... scoots around on her bum.
is something to get checked out. Although scooting is one of the crawling positions, at 20 months it can be a sign of a hip joint problem. Somethng common in toddlers, like 1 in 1000 children have this problem. I had a child in my class with this and she wore braces on her legs (her super legs) to help her hip joints develop.


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## bobica (May 31, 2004)

DD was a butt scooter & we had her evaluated at 11 months. She has low muscle tone & loose hip joints & qualified for physical therapy through early intervention. She graduated after a year & is very caught up to her peers, although not the strongest of the group


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## Jish (Dec 12, 2001)

My ds3 will be 16 months in a week and a half, and he isn't anywhere near wanting to walk on his own. He doesn't really want to walk much holding on to hands either. He does cruise everwhere including down the hallway walls. He just doesn't have any desire to take off on his own. If we try to get him to take even a step, he gets mad at us and plops down on his rear and crawls. He won't stand on his own yet either, but pulls up on everything he can find and barely leans against it. I really thought he would walk earlier to keep up with his brothers, but this seems to work for him.

What I really find funny is that while he is so cautious when it comes to walking, he is daring in every other way. He will crawl to the highest point of any play structure to find the spiral slide and go down on his stomach all by himself. My oldest wouldn't go down those slides until he was five. :LOL

I don't think ds will walk much before he is 17 months, though who knows, he could just take off tomorrow ................ though I don't think so.


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## littleteapot (Sep 18, 2003)

A relative of mine didn't crawl or walk until he was two years old. Then one day he just stood up and walked across the house, not even wobbling... as if he could do it the whole time and was just playing. He never did crawl. Nothing was wrong with him.









I have a couple of friends whose children didn't walk until they were over 16 months, too. I wouldn't worry about it.


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## theresa88 (Jun 28, 2005)

I just wanted to thank you for all of your responses. They have put my mind at ease. I think that one day she is just going to get up and start running and never look back.







I guess everyone is unique and does things their own way at their own time. Rachael is a VERY strong willed toddler, who WILL NOT do anything she doesn't want to do. She will cruise and does stand on her own, even takes a couple of steps, but that is it. Before I know it, I will be chasing her everywhere.







Thanks again for all of your advice and responses







.


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## awnja (Sep 1, 2004)

I have a strong willed child too. She can cruise furnature and take a couple steps, but mostly cries for me to hold her hand as she walks. It's getting pretty old. Often, especially around the house, I'd rather she just crawled and went where she wanted to without me. She's almost 15 months old and really wants to walk. I know that chasing her will be more work, but I'm still really hoping that when she starts to walk on her own, she LETS GO OF ME. The comments from less AP types don't help my attitude as she's pretty clingy in general. But I know that once she does take off, I'll miss this so I try not to complain too much.

I remember worrying about rolling. dd never really rolled from back to front until well after she was crawling - 11 months maybe. Before that I could put her on her back and she was like a turtle stuck on its shell :LOL .

It made me feel much better after bringing it up to the doctor at a well baby check up and the doctor said she's got the muscle tone to roll so there's no reason to worry. She just skipped that step and will roll later when she's mobile. Sure enough, that was the case. How do we not worry as mothers?? That's natural too, I think.


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## captain optimism (Jan 2, 2003)

Mine was a butt scooter and also didn't walk until 18 months. It can go both ways: scooting can be a sign of a hip problem or low muscle tone, or scooting can cause a problem with the development of bilateral motion. If your child is scooting and not crawling (hands and knees crawl, my son only did the belly crawl and then switched to scooting) that's worth consulting a PT, I think. It's not that a child in that situation won't learn to walk. I just feel like if gross motor stuff is a struggle and if it's free (as EI is free, and PT is included in some health plans) then why not get that extra help?


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## bayviewbill33 (Sep 15, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *theresa88*
My son walked at 13 months and my daughter is 16 months today and will not walk on her own. She is constantly sucking her thumb and I am getting worried about her. She is fine standing by herself for a little bit but unless you hold her hand or she is holding onto something, forget it. Am I stressing over nothing, or is this something?










My son will be 3 in August. He crawled at 12 months and walked at 16 months. I worried as well. He is "normal" (except that he has me for his father!). As far as the physical milestones, he does them when he was comfortable. I would say 1 1/2 months ago he just started to climb. He can walk down the 2 cement stairs outside - no hands! We talked to his doctor and he said he is fine. I look it at this way: he crawled later, walked later, etc. etc. but it was on his comfort level. Mentally he is fine too. He knows a lot of colors, words, sentences, expressing 2 or 3 emotions, says please, thank you, excuse me. So he is fine.


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## oshkudun (10 mo ago)

theresa88 said:


> My son walked at 13 months and my daughter is 16 months today and will not walk on her own. She is constantly sucking her thumb and I am getting worried about her. She is fine standing by herself for a little bit but unless you hold her hand or she is holding onto something, forget it. Am I stressing over nothing, or is this something?


Hi, our eldest does not walk in 1.3 years. I visited a physical therapist, I saw what exercises to do. We began to do. And my baby began to walk! You can watch the exercises in our video:


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