# My toddler walks on her toes



## Izzybee (Feb 20, 2004)

She doesn't do it all the time, but quite a bit. This doesn't bother me any, but it seems to bother DH and his mom as they are always telling her to get off her toes. Is there any reason to discourage her from doing that?
TIA


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## kathipaul (Sep 24, 2004)

Dr. Sears says this is normal but if it persists your doc should examine your child for tight muscles or tendons. My dd did the same thing, which is why we loved Robeez. I think it was just exploring. I would call your doc and ask, just to make your MIL and dh satisfied.


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## Ione (Jul 22, 2002)

Does she do this barefoot, or only when wearing shoes?

I ask because my mother claims that walking on tiptoes is a sign that their shoes are too small... she says that too small shoes pinch the feet less when on tiptoe. (My DD doesn't when her shoes are too small, though... she just starts throwing screaming "I don't want to wear shoes" fits when she's outgrown her shoes.)

If it's not due to too small shoes, I don't know if there is any reason to discourage it or not, though. How long has she been doing so? Is it a new phase? Maybe she's just having fun?


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## Izzybee (Feb 20, 2004)

She only does it when barefoot. She's been doing it for a while, a couple of months now. I know that DH used to do this too when he was little


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## annakiss (Apr 4, 2003)

My sister ran on her tiptoes when she was little for a LONG time. Not while wearing shoes, but just in general. She walks normally now. Well, almost normal. She is a complete goofball, so sometimes she falls down, but it has nothing to do with her ability to walk normally.

I always thought it was really cute.


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## Sandrine (Apr 14, 2004)

My dd1 does the same thing. She does it also just bare foot. I not too worry yet but my dr is sending us to the ped to get it check. Ii think that if they are still walking on their toes pass age 2-3, we need to start looking for reasons for it.


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## sweetfeet (Jan 16, 2003)

Has she been in an excersaucer or walker? Those can make a baby walk on tip toe because the only way they can push off is on tip toe and the tops of their feet the muscles become quite strong and it sorta of shapes their foot differently until they've been walking a bit. I saw that all the time at stride rite when I worked there and when I asked the parents a good portion of the time they had been in an excersaucer. I'm not saying you do use one or leave your dc in it for very long. We used one occaisionally and I knew that could be a side effect if you will.


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## annakiss (Apr 4, 2003)

I really see no reason to be concerned about this after having witnessed my sister do it until she was at least 4 or 5 (AT LEAST) and is now a normal, functioning 16-year-old.


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## AppleOrangePear (Apr 17, 2004)

Walking on toes provides lots prorpioceptive feedback.. toddlers have much of their sensory input through there feet that is why it is recommended to go either bare foot or soft shoes... sometimes if a child is wearing hard soled then goes barefoot they crave the input so they will walk on their toes.. most cases its experimenting and a few it could be tightness however they are more apt to do it most of the time then. I wouldnt worry to much .. i forget how old you said your DC was exactly however if older kids do it say 3 and up when i was a therapist we would make a game where they would wear flippers ( that you wear= to go diving.) it help them to be more aware where they were in space and they HAD to keep their feet down..lol

another thing is you can also scrub DC feet when giving a bath etc etc.... however its most likely just part of Dcs normal development

michele


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## Izzybee (Feb 20, 2004)

Amber is a year and a half. She goes shoeless most of the time, and she was in an excersauser only a handful of times for brief periods of time.


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## FancyPants (Dec 25, 2004)

My ds1 used to walk/jog around on his toes a lot too. We just figured he liked being taller.







He did this off and on until 3.
He has stopped doing this since turning 4 and walks and runs perfectly normally.

There is no harm to have your tot's legs checked out if it is worrying your MIL and DH.


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## kofduke (Dec 24, 2002)

Posting very hesitantly so as not to freak you out...

Is your DD meeting speech and similar milestones? Is she interactive with people? Is she pretty okay in new situations? I am asking because to my understanding, toewalking can be in some cases symptomatic of autistic spectrum disorders. Obviously, the things everyone else mentioned (like normal devlopment or tight muscles) are much more likely; but if there are other developmental things going on too it may be worth mentioning this as well.


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## Izzybee (Feb 20, 2004)

No, not at all. She's 18 months, she can count to 10 and can say about 25-30 words, and she went on the potty today!!!


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## Red (Feb 6, 2002)

My husband is 54 and walks on his toes agood part of the time. He has a very physical job, is perfectly healthy.
]
Tell your dh it' probably hereditary, and all his fault!


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## JodiL (Nov 19, 2004)

I walked on my toes regularly till I was about 9yo. Nothing wrong my my muscles or tendons, I just did it unconciously. My parents harped on me to stop doing it, but it didn't make a smidgen of difference. I still do it when walking barefoot, especially outside.

The only downside I've notices to this is that I have very large calf muscles. :LOL

I've noticed my 16mo doing it more often.


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## Izzybee (Feb 20, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JodiL*

The only downside I've notices to this is that I have very large calf muscles. :LOL

Ahhhh, that's so funny. Back in the day I have spent A LOT of time at the gym working on my calfs. I soooooooooo wanted large calf muscles :LOL


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## mommyofshmoo (Oct 25, 2004)

Kids learn to walk by walking on their toes. It helps build their arches. I walked on my toes for a long time and when i went to catholic school they went to great lengths to make me bang my heel into the ground as I walked. I think it messed up my gait for years.

They used to think it was important to stop toe walking, bu now orthopedicsts think it's an important part of toddler foot development.

18 months is totally too young to worry about this. It is very normal at this age and appropriate.


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## heatherdeg (Dec 30, 2003)

Have your ped check for tightness in the heel chord. If they are tight, s/he can show you some very simple exercises to help it. My son has this, but it doesn't appear to be affecting him severely yet--he's not usually on tip-toes. They just caught it during a well-baby check and he happened to have a PT eval coming up with Early Intervention. I kept my mouth shut, but the PT also said they were very tight (as were his hip flexors). They told me that if it gets any worse (like if he's tip-toeing alot at 15-16 months) they will assign him PT once/week just to make sure it doesn't affect him negatively long term.


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## mraven721 (Mar 10, 2004)

I did a search for this thread because my 19 month old is doing the same thing. Thank you all for the great answers!


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## musingmama (Oct 31, 2004)

interesting! my ds (20 mo.s) walks on his toes often, too, and his calf muscles are huge! :LOL interesting about the sensory experience on their feet, he recently loooves for us to tickle his toes, he even does it to himself (while saying tickle tickle tickle, very adorable!)


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## KalamazooMom (Apr 26, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mraven721*
I did a search for this thread because my 19 month old is doing the same thing. Thank you all for the great answers!









Me too. My 2 yo DS walked normally (flat footed) for over a year , then a couple months ago started walking on his tip toes a good part of the time. He rarely wears shoes these days since it's summer time. I really didn't think that much about it but we just got back from vacation and saw lots of relatives and there were many remarks made about him walking on his toes, so it started to have me a little concerned. He is very interactive, has lots of words and I think is developmentally O.K. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it for a while and mention it at his next ped appt. Nice to hear that it's a fairly common thing.


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