Q&A: "Late" walker

Anon writes:

"I'm getting concerned about my son. He's almost 14 months and isn't walking yet. He crawls, and pulls up, and he can hang on and kind of sidle around furniture, but he can't walk on his own yet. All the moms in my baby group keep telling me 'He'll do it on his own time,' but it's really easy for them to say when their babies were all walking before a year.

At what point do I mention this to my doctor?"

This question honestly made my heart hurt.

The range of "normal" for starting to walk is 9 to 18 months. Let me repeat: 9 (nine) to 18 (one-eight) months. Think about that: A 9-month-old is almost a different species of creature than an 18-month-old is.

Also, I'd like to submit that my grandmother started walking at 8 months, and one of the kids in my moms' group from my older son started walking at 20 months. So even outside the range of normal can still be normal, if you get my drift.

There are two ways I want to go with this: One is that I think it's way easier to have a kid who walks on the later side of normal. Mine both started walking at around 14-15 months, so we basically skipped over the drunken sailor stage of bumping into things and having poor spatial judgment that the earlier walkers went through. By 18 months they were all walking equally well, except for the kid who didn't walk until 20 months, and by 24 months who even remembered anymore who walked when.

The other way I want to go is that milestones are only guidelines. If you're worried about your kid (and there's definite worry in this email), there's only a limited amount of usefulness in checking off stages on a list of milestones. A better guide is to pay attention to the way your child interacts with you. Is he engaged? Receptive? Does he understand and respond to what you say (in words or not)? Is there something that makes you think there's just something different that you can't put your finger on? Those are the things you should pay attention to.

I have never, in writing Ask Moxie or in talking with parents in the same room, heard of a parent who was taken totally by surprise by a delay or special issue with their child. A parent who pays attention knows there's something going on, even if they have no idea what it is, if there's something not on the usual path.

So if your child is happy and engaged, since he's moving well (with the crawling and sidling), it sounds like you can relax and stop looking at the numbers and let him walk when he's going to walk.

If, however, you're focusing on the walking because there's something else going on that you just can't put your finger on, put the walking out of the picture for the time being and see if you can find other clues, and bring those to your doctor. And if s/he doesn't listen, keep gathering clues and get a second opinion.

Can we hear from people about when their kids started to walk

Comments

[Septembergrrl]

Parent of a late walker here -- our daughter didn't crawl until 11 months or walk until 17 months. She's now three and, as Moxy suggests, totally normal. By he time she was two, if not before, you couldn't tell there had ever been a difference. I think she just liked being carried.

[Kate]

Oh, I feel your pain. My son made every motion toward walking early and we thought that he would be an early walker. Then he learned to crawl and was really happy to use that to get around. At 15 months, I was about to panic-then he just started walking, almost perfectly.

I should mention, we went through the same thing with talking (although I was less worried) and potty training (which I decided to let him do entirely on his time frame...he is 3.5 and decided that he had enough of diapers a few weeks ago)

Anyway, I have learned that my son is stubborn and the more I push him, the more he pushes back.

If you are really worried though, bring it up with your pediatrician. Mine is really good at making feel better while not making me feel stupid. So, when I brought up my concerns at my son's 1 year appointment the pediatrician showed me how he puts weight on his feet and moves them and how he interacted with people and talked about what to look for and gave me a three month plan to bring him back if he wasn't progressing.

It is so hard when you want to do well by them! But, you are doing a great job

[hush]

Moxie's answer was spot on about pretty much *everything* developmental milestones-wise: "If, however, you're focusing on the walking because there's something else going on that you just can't put your finger on, put the walking out of the picture for the time being and see if you can find other clues, and bring those to your doctor. And if s/he doesn't listen, keep gathering clues and get a second opinion." AMEN!

My family's data points: My grandmother walked at 8 months. My parents walked at 9 months. I walked at 8 months. My DD took her first steps at 8.5 months, and was running by 10 months. My DS took his first steps at 9.5 months and was running by 11 months. Early walking just runs in the family!

[mmms]

My daughter is 16 months and not walking independently. She can cruise around the room barely touching the couch or the table but she is always touching something. I am not worried.

[Beth Wolfe]

My son walked at 16 1/2 months. There were no other red flags in his development; he just reached gross motor milestones slowly, but once he did, he achieved them all at once. He walked and then started running and jumping, in the space of a few months, and he never went through that stumbly baby stage. He just wanted to wait until he knew how to do it perfectly, I think.

It's OK!

[Irene]

My daughter started crawling early, around 5 months - and I thought for sure she'd be one of those 9 month old walkers. But nope, she started at 13 months. I seem to recall reading that that's right on average, so 15 months isn't terribly late.

If you haven't already, check out Dooce.com and/or Heather Armstrong's book about her experience with her first kid. Most of her writing is about other stuff, but her kid refused to put any weight on her legs until she was 18 months old; she was in physical therapy and her parents were told she might never walk; it turned out she was just stubborn! Now she runs and jumps like any other kid.

[Camilla]

Anecdotally, tall babies are often later to walk. My oldest was at the bottom of the growth chart when he started walking (early) and he could walk under the kitchen table without ducking, for several months.
If your kid is tall, you're not only comparing to age matched kids who have less of themselves to maneuver, but to older kids who only look the same age.

[Melissa]

My son was 17 months when he began to walk. We knew he was physically ready -- he had been sidling/cruising for months. Finally, at daycare, the friend he was playing with walked across the room, and my son followed him. (Alas, I missed it -- such is the plight of the full-time WOHM.) Today he has absolutely no issues: if anything, he's quite agile.

[Molly]

My daughter wasn't a late walker (she did it around 13 months), but I worried because before she started, she'd been pulling up and sidling around the furniture for almost 2 months and didn't seem interested at all in walking independently. She didn't want us to hold her hands and help her walk, didn't even want to try it on her own. The one day she just did it, and that was it. I was shocked at how quickly it happened, and how little practice she seemed to need before doing it.

Now she's almost two and eats nothing but breastmilk and crackers with cream cheese, so I worry about that instead!

[Jacquie]

My son walked at 10.5 months and it was terrifying. He careened around the room and bonked his head so many times that I considered renting space in my pediatrician's waiting room.

My daughter walked at 15 months, and she was much more controlled and stable--and it happened very quickly: one day she was happily cruising around the room; the next day she just let go and walked.

[paola]

Noah: 15 months
Zoe: 13 months

And Noah didn't do the drunken sailor or hand holding at all, which probably saved my back.

Also, he is still the type of kid that will not try anything unless he is 100% sure he can pull it off. Zoe is much more adventurous.

[Beth Wolfe]

I want to also add that my husband and I were both late walkers -- 14+ months -- and that my younger son is just now starting to pull up to stand at one week shy of a year. A lot of this late gross motor development seems to be linked to heredity, in our cases.

[MrsHaley]

Both late walkers -- DD born 12/15/06 walked at 16 months and DS born 9/25/08 walked at 17 months. Both tall. No delays. Steady, sure walkers now (3.5 and 22 months).

[Mom2One]

My 9 month old just started walking and I really wish he would have waited. As Moxie stated, he has poor spatial judgement and falls on a regular basis. We've wrapped the corners of the coffee table and other sharp edges of our furniture but somedays I feel like wrapping him head to toe in bubble wrap to keep him from getting hurt.

It's difficult not to become preoccupied with the developmental milestones and whether or not your child is meeting them "on time." Don't worry, your little one will walk when he's ready and he won't have as many bumps and bruises!

[SarcastiCarrie]

My kids walked at 10 months and 15+ months, respectively. Since the one who walked at 10 months was my first, Of Course, I was worried about the second child. All I knew was that my kids walked at 10 months, and here I had a kid who wasn't walking at a year (and couldn't even really stand up on his own for his 1-year photo).

But, I knew there was a large range of normal and he was crawling, able to sit on his own, cruised, could push a cart around (somewhat), and had a "normal" looking walk when held around the waist (not by the hands) and allowed to walk with help.

However, all that "knowing" aside, I was still concerned. I'm a worrier by nature, so a lot of my family kept dismissing my concerns by telling me I read too much.

I brought it up with the pediatrician at the one-year visit, and he told me to keep an eye on it until the 15-month visit. At the 15-month visit, the pediatrician did some assessments and the next thing I knew, we were being evaluated by speacialists and early intervention for a speech-language delay and possible hearing loss (we had M-CHAT, autism screening, hearing test, referral to an ENT for ear tubes, lead test, etc). The walking was just my canary in a coal mine since I couldn't put my finger on exactly what delay I thought my child had.

The early intervention people were great and sent a team to the house to evaluate Bobo for speech and all other delays (gross and fine motor, social-emotional, feeding, etc). He's getting speech therapy now, and he walks well (at 21-ish months...has been walking well for a while now...trying to run and jump but doesn't know how to have both feet off of the ground at the same time...it's adorable...and normal).

I won't tell you not to worry because that's not helpful, but I will tell you to google things like Denver Developmental Assessment and whatnot so that you know whether your child is truly hitting the milestones (including social-emotional). And if he is, enjoy this time of limited mobility. Really.

And if he isn't, you can self-refer to early intervention.

[Lisa]

My husband and I were both "late" walkers (me=13 months, him=about 14) so when my older son started walking at 11 months, we were all, "Hm." He did the drunken-sailor thing, too, and it was simultaneously hilarious and scary. He stopped the walking for about two weeks, then picked it back up, which was. . .different, but he's always been a cautious child. Had to make sure he was ready, I guess.

But my youngest son? Was born with perfect coordination. He never crawled, only creeped for a week or so, then pulled himself up on my MIL's coffee table and took 15 steps. At nine months. And he never looked back. He was running before he was a year old. It's amazing to watch, this totally natural athlete born to two people who trip over air.

[theklamsays]

Our guy was on the later end of walking I guess, he didn't walk until 14 months and a bit. He is generally a very cautious kid and didn't walk until he knew he could do it without falling. He totally skipped the stage where kids take a few tentative steps and fall on their bums. He practiced cruising on furniture and behind one of those little walker toys, and then one day decided he knew what he was doing and let go and just started walking like an expert. It was nice to skip the in between stage; I never really had to hover over him ready to catch him when he fell. Also, I was grateful for those additional months of immobility when friends were chasing around after their earlier walkers!

For what it's worth, he was late to crawl too (didn't crawl up on his hands and knees until a year, although he did a version of army crawling before that).

[L.]

My daughter's 14.5 months and just took her first steps last week. She's a scooter, not a crawler, so she'd already been unconventional. My son started walking around a year. I actually worried a little bit more with him because he was my first. Both kids have been very light for their ages and very bald, and my son didn't have much in the way of teeth for a long time either, so I consider that maybe, overall, their physical development just takes a little longer to get going. (My son is now 3.5, talks like a champ, and is as active as I could ever want him to be!)

For me a big help in combating worry was to notice whether the child is showing improvement. My daughter might not be at quite the same place as a lot of other children, but she moved from sitting to scooting to pulling up to cruising and now walking at a fairly consistent pace. She's getting there.

I really do want to echo what Moxie said. Even 18 months is normal. Late end of normal, but it's like weight. By the nature of the bell curve, some kids are going to be on the high end and some on the low. That's just how it goes. My daughter's 3rd percentile for weight or some such, but she's very happy, healthy, and eats like a horse. Who knows why? But it's okay.

[Heather Freeman]

I very often seem to see that kids concentrate on either walking or talking first, being early in one and late with the other. (Not that it's abnormal if it *doesn't* happen that way.)

My son started walking relatively early - 10 months - but was very late to talk, well past his second birthday before he used more than a bare handful of words regularly. But he caught up with lightning speed and now (a month shy of four) his speech is perfectly on par if not ahead of his age group. People kept telling me to relax and enjoy it, because once he started talking he'd never stop. They were right ;)

[Betsy]

My son will be 14 months in three days. He just started walking a couple of days ago. Out of the blue, too; we didn't think he would for a couple more months, honestly.

[Mary]

14 months.

[House of Waffles]

My daughter didn't crawl until almost 11 months and walk until 15 months. She's a TOTALLY normal 3.5 year old now. She can run and jump and climb and do everything else that her peers can do.

Don't stress. (Easier said than done).

[Alisha]

My daughter was a late walker--maybe 18 months. Milestones are the worst-- no kid could possibly meet all of them at the "right" time, so there's always something to be waiting for our children to do. I got worried because my 3 month old had never smiled, for god sakes. He finally started a few weeks ago, and now I'll move on to the next worry!

Mrs. Haley, is everything okay? Last week you posted something about being ill? Just hoping you are okay. Since I've been reading this site so often, I start to worry about everyone who posts regularly!

[Cloud]

Pumpkin walked at 11 months.

Petunia is 10 months old, and not really pulling up yet. She gets to a kneel and stops there. Sometimes she pulls one leg out and gets that foot flat, so that she looks like she's doing the captain pose from those rum commercials. Very cute.

Petunia has been a little slower to reach her motor milestones than Pumpkin was. I put that down to her size (she's a chubby little thing, and Pumpkin was, and still is, a skinny little thing) and her more laid back personality. She rolled over once at about the right time (which I can't remember now) and has only recently started doing it with any regularity. It was like she couldn't be bothered before- "I'm happy here on my back/tummy, why would I roll over?" Anyway, I won't be too surprised if she's not walking until after her 1 year birthday.

I think Moxie's answer is spot on. Is the walking really the thing that is bothering you, or is there something else that is worrying you, too? If it is just the walking, I wouldn't stress. 14 months isn't really late.

[Melba]

My Rosie crawled at 10.5 months and walked at 15 months. I wasn't worried, and wasn't going to worry about it until she was 18 months.

I think my 6.5 month old Annie may just get up and walk tomorrow. Kidding of course, but she just is so much more interested in moving aroudn than Rosie was. Rosie just laid there on the floor and cried for her out-of-reach toy, whereas Annie will make an effort to go get it.

Rosie's 3 now and no one would ever know how old she was when she started walking. She runs around just like 99% of 3 year olds do, some of whom walked at 9 months and others at 18 months... it all evens out in the end!

[Kristy]

My daughter, while she could walk well holding one of our hands, did not walk by herself until she was 17 months. One day I walked into the kitchen expecting her to be following me by crawling - I turned around and she was walking! (Right before our Disneyland trip too - whew!)

Over the years (she's 3.5 now), I have seen that she is so independent and is definitely one who will do things on her own time. (Don't even ask about potty training! But - that's done too!) I also think she was just so FAST at crawling she didn't bother with walking until she was ready. She's also quite physically advanced now.

[MEP]

I walked at 18 months, and my daughter walked a week before her 18 month checkup. She had been cruising for several months and would walk while we held her hands, but as soon as we let go, she would go down on her knees! Once she started walking independently, she was very steady and never fell. She's 8 now and still cautious (which everyone says I'll appreciate when she's a teenager!)
There are 4 pediatricians in the group I take her to--I like all but one of them. She has a mental checklist that you can see her working through, and that seems more important to her than parental input. We saw her for my daughter's 15 month checkup, and she was concerned that my daughter wasn't walking (even though I wasn't). She said that if she wasn't walking at 16 months, I should call for a referral for physical therapy. I blew that off and then got the same doc for the 18 month checkup. She asked when my daughter started walking, and when I said "last week", she looked at her notes in the chart and gave me the stinkeye. Since then I have avoided seeing her--we'll see the other docs who are in that day even if it's a longer wait. I've talked to other moms who go to this practice and this doc is universally disliked.
I guess my point is, trust your instincts!

[Liz]

My daughter crawled for a long time and never really cruised that much. She finally walked at 15 months and even then, she was very tentative about it.

I was fine with it all until she fell a month later and knocked out her front tooth. After that I hovered like crazy, trying to make sure she wouldn't fall like that again.

She's now 26 months and running/jumping/being crazy and active like a champ. I'm still wary about it all but trying to let go. The tooth incident totally scarred me. Luckily she won't remember a thing.

[akeeyu]

Fitz-Hume was crazy early and Millbarge was...later. Sleep deprivation is keeping me from remembering when, exactly, but I remember that it was difficult at times NOT to compare and assign a "this is the normal timeline, this is not" judgment to the girls, since they were the exact same age.

Still, we weren't stressed about Milbarge walking, because mostly she just didn't FEEL like it yet. Also, she was closer to the normal weight range and Fitz-Hume was crazy tiny, and their doctor said the tinies usually walk faster because they have less bulk to lift, so...eh.

As far as delays, Milbarge didn't have any gross motor delays, but she had/has other developmental delays, including speech, and what Moxie said is true: We KNEW something was up, and pestered her doctors unmercifully so we could get her services.

By the way, if any family members or friends are making that face and saying "Ohhhh...he's a LATE WALKER, EH?" and then helpfully rattling off their baby's stats ("Oh, my little Miffington wass sooooooo advanced! She walked RIGHT out of the nursery at the hospital!" just ignore them. Next year, nobody will care and you'll barely remember exactly when your son walked.

As far as when to mention it to the doctor, good grief, feel free to mention it NOW, not because it's a problem but so your doctor can shrug and say "Meh, he's perfectly fine." Doctors are used to these questions, or should be.

[Cloud]

@Kristy- you give me hope on the potty training front. Because I really don't think I should be calling them "accidents" anymore... she could clearly stop them if she wanted to. She just doesn't want to. I guess she'll do it when she's ready....

[Shandra]

My son walked at 17 months. Since he then progressed to climbing EVERYTHING I felt sorry I had been so eager. He also was a slow kid on the gross motor stuff and it's made little difference long-term.

Legend has it that I walked at 9 months, fell down, and did not walk again until I was nearly 2. This personality trait probably explains why I gave up on grad school too. (Just kidding. Sort of.)

I know how it feels - you want to check more boxes off your checklist. I am kind of still waiting for "learned to read" and then I think I will exhale about the three glasses of wine I drank before I knew I was pregnant. I share this so you don't feel alone in your concerns. But seriously - it's fine unless you're seeing some broader pattern.

[Jennifer B]

Son crawled at 10 months and was superfast at it. Guess he saw no reason to walk until 14 months. Totally skipped the stumble/fall stage and went right into walking/running.

Same deal with daughter - crawled at 6 months and walked at 13 months. But she's now 20 months and doesn't talk (will say mama and dada but that's it), so I'm starting to get a little concerned there. They're all different!

[Wilhelmina]

My daughter walked at 18 months and she walks, runs and jumps as well at 30 months as any other of her contemporaries.

That said I have already posted in the past about the Battle of the Walking so regular readers please forgive but I was one of those worried mothers. Who look more and more miserable as all the other kiddies take to their feet.

My DD crawled like lightning and was never an early walker. But she cruised from 11 months and set those hesitant first steps between mummy and daddy at nearly 12 months. On Christmas Eve! I shared the news with friends and families.
Not that she was walking but had begun.

My daughter stopped the walking abruptly after a virus just after new year. She restarted it, then stopped. And again. And again. When she stopped she looked uncertain and sort of dizzy when she stood up. She sat right down again and crawled fast.

Speech, as in repeating words and hearing words stopped too. She made up her own words for things.

I suspected ear issues and got no help from the doctor who found no pus in the ears or a high temperature. And who thought it was all in my head.Pushy middle class mummy.This went on and on, many visits.

Then at 17 months the GP wanted to send her for developmental delay tests and physio therapy. Your GP needs to refer you but this I didn't want.I asked for a private referral.

The doctor must have thought of delay/genetic doom as she referred us to a neurologist.

The neurologist wanted to do an MRI and lumbar puncture to prove DD had a major declining syndrome. I freaked out,went back to the GP and staged a sit-in for a private referral to an ear specialist.

Got one, fluid in the ears, intermittent episodes. Explained all symptoms.Enormous relief for the parents.

I took DD out of all classes and the ear infections stopped and the symptoms eased over time and we walked around the park a lot while I held both her hands and then one hand and then no hands.

Repeat tests on DD's hearing showed that no recurrence as her Eustachian tubes were now at an angle as she had grown.She has had colds since without ear involvement.

She's not an early talker either but her hearing's fine so I didn't worry. She was significantly behind other girls and then she caught up all at once.

Long story to say that if the OP feels something is wrong to stick with that instinct and go to the doctor whatever anybody says.

[Charisse]

Mouse crawled at 12 1/2 months, pulled up 14 months, took first steps at 15 1/2 months, didn't really walk until over 16 months. In both cases, she only did the "final" form of the motor activity - no army crawling, scooting, or toddling for her. She ran within a month or two of walking. I was worried sick, because somehow all my friends had 10-11 month walkers, so she looked super, super late by comparison. We did take comfort in the fact that she followed the early talk/late walk paradigm - she had more than 20 words before she could crawl, and was into sentences before she could walk.

She's 6 now and fine - she's still a bit of a perfectionist on trying physical things; she doesn't want to try unless she's pretty sure she can do them *well*. Ahem, I have no idea where she gets this.

Disadvantages: lots of worry. Advantages: minimal baby-proofing, since she understood and mostly followed "no" before she could crawl, we just did outlets and stair gates and left it at that.

[G's Mum]

I agree all kids are different and most reach milestones on their own time, etc. But some kids need a helping hand. Try googling "infant development program" for your area (across Canada we have some excellent programs, not sure where you are IRL) and self-refer. At the very least you can get reassurance, and if your child has a special need, you can access help. Why torture yourself any longer with worry?

[Stephanie]

Another mom of a late walker here! My 3 year old son was 12 months when he crawled and 17 months when he walked. This was simply due to his temparament. He had to feel comfortable with the skill and when he did, he went all out. I remember noticing that he was learning to sit down from a standing position first, like he wanted to test out how falling would be. And then one day he just started walking and never stopped!

As an aside, I do remember everyone saying to me "oh just wait until he walks, you'll be sorry." But walking was so fantastic, because my son wanted to crawl everywhere and move around, and of course you can't put them down to crawl just anywhere. So walking was a relief for both of us!

Good luck and it sounds like your son is right on track!

[the milliner]

DS (tall) was cruising at 16 months, with the occasional step now and then. Fully walking at 18 months. Now at 26 months he's running and jumping.

As @Paola mentioned, the being older, and therefore taller really helped to not kill my back. Since DS started to walk, I've been able to just hold his hand while standing up straight. Really a life (well, back) saver.

@SarcastiCarrie, thanks for the Denver Developmental link. We're keeping a watchful eye on DS now for his language development (single words, but not really using 2 or 3 word phrases yet). Luckily our family doctor has a level headed approach and we'll watch for another few months, and if no change, go back to see him. I suspect it's all just related to the 'learning 2 languages at once thing', but of course I'm always wondering if I'm missing something else.

Anyhow,to the OP: I've found that things do get easier (i.e. less stressful)in this regard (hitting milestones). I was SO stressed that DS wasn't turning over by the usual age, and then it was the crawling, and the walking, and now the language. But with each one, I'm less stressed because I've become more confident as a parent, more in tune to DS and who he is. Experience does help.

[J]

My son is 15.5 months and only cruising. It is hard to see so many other younger kids walking while my guy won't... And he is my 2nd (and last), and came sort of right on the heels of my first, so my arms are tired of always holding someone! I think what is hardest for me as a mom is that I (erroneously) see early development on something and think "oh, what a smart child!", so when he is learning something late, my mind (again erroneously) wonders if his future will be fraught with difficulty. Just so wrong, and I know this, but I think it is somewhat natural for parents to worry and think a lot of their kid's future. I am catching myself on that now because it is so not true -

Anyway, my husband reminds me that my guy is learning something new and improving his skills every week. I am doing my best to see his improvement instead of focusing on the walking itself...

[MLB]

My third (and final)child walked the latest at about 16 months. I knew he "could" walk, he was just refusing to. The doctor actually laughed after watching him move around the room at his 15 month well visit and said he was just choosing not to walk. My advice though would be that if you are worried at all to double check with your pediatrician. A good doctor will listen to your concerns and take them seriously and explain why there is not (or is) a problem. The intersting thing among my 3 kids is that the one who walked the earliest (before 12 months) is also the one who is the clumsiest. So early walking doesn't necessarily indicate any sort of advanced physical capacity.

[Lynnette]

That playgroup community is valuable in so many ways, except in the way that you end up comparing each others' children. My 1-year-old walked at 10.5 months, and is starting to run, (with the bruises and fat lip to prove it), and I have heard concern that other children in the group are worried that their children are not at the same place.

As someone who watches a lot of baseball and is addicted to statistics, all I have to say is "SMALL SAMPLE SIZE!" The playgroup and your few friends and family members with small children are not the end of the spectrum. It seems like I talk to my group a lot about how different each of our children are, and how totally normal that is. Also, that a lot of their weird behavior can be explained by the simple phrase; "babies are weird." It's a very liberating sentence. I use it often, especially when someone says, "why is he/she doing that?"

[MG]

If it's worrying you, I don't think it ever hurts to mention it to your doctor -- either the doctor will reassure you or will find out what's going on, and either way that's good. (Or they might laugh at you, in which case you can find another doctor!)

Our twins were 27-week preemies, and one of them had significant medical complications and a long hospital stay, so we were referred to Early Intervention as soon as he came home. And one thing that I've been amazed about is how much difference some very simple little exercises can make -- helping him pull up to a sitting position by his arms after a diaper change for a week or two really helped him develop the arm strength to raise his head during tummy time, helping him tuck his knees under him for a few days got him going on crawling, and so on. So, even if there's something more going on than just being on the later end of the curve, it may only take a session or two with a physical therapist to get him right on track. (Sounds to me like your little one is doing just fine, though!)

For data points, our one twin walked at 14 months actual (11 months adjusted), and the other one is still cruising around on furniture at 15 months (one year adjusted). Our friend's son, a perfectly-well coordinated four year old, walked at around 15 months.

[T]

My son, now 20 months old, was "late" (I hate using that term) with every milestone except teething! He started crawling at 10 months, walked at 14 months and wasn't saying a word at 16 months. Now at 20 months he runs, jumps and climbs better than some 4 year olds. He was a very steady walker and didn't walk until he was sure he could. As for talking...he now says things spontaneously like hippopotamus and delicious! As a parent, it's hard not to worry. Talk to your doctor so that s/he can reassure you.

[lisa]

My son has done almost everything physically development on the late side of normal: crawling, walking, talking, potty training. He didn't crawl until almost a year, being perfectly content to scoot around. I thought he was going to be one of those kids who skips right to walking. Then he learned to crawl & did it SO FAST & SO HARD (ow, knees!) that he almost had no need to walk.

He probably started cruising on the furniture sometime around 14 or 15 months, but crawled much faster, so didn't seem that interested in walking. It made me crazy because it seemed like he COULD, just didn't WANT to. (he's a bit strong-willed!) I used to come home from work & do laps around the house holding his hands.

And then right at 18 months, he just started doing it. After about 3 days of the wobbly drunken walk, it was like he was born doing it. Probably less than a month later, he was running.

Now he's 4 & has 2 speeds: running & asleep. Why walk somewhere when you can run?

FWIW, the pediatrician was never concerned, feeling like he was strong enough & able to, just not interested.

I, too, learned that I cannot force him to do anything he doesn't want to do, developmentally speaking. Hence, the potty training at 3.5. But it's all good.

If you are concerned, I'd see what the ped thinks, if you trust him/her.

[wealhtheow]

Sam walked at 10 months. He was a late talker, though--not late enough to concern anyone, but consistently late on all areas of speech. I knew there was something wrong, and sure enough, we're headed into speech therapy as soon as the school district gets its act together (he'll be 3 in November). If you are concerned, get your son checked out. Chances are it's nothing, but if it IS something, the earlier you catch problems the easier they are to treat. And if it's nothing, then you can sleep peacefully at night knowing that he'll walk in his own time.

It's frustrating when your child does things on his schedule instead of when he "should," but those guidelines are just averages.

[My Kids Mom]

Two tall boys, both 14 months.

My neighbor had a child at the same time as my first, but she already had two teenagers. She puts things into perspective for me. I ask "Do you think somethings wrong because he isn't walking/ hasn't potty trained/ isn't reading..." She'll answer that all the kids she knows at the middle school/ high school have made that developmental milestone and all I have to do is be patient. So good for me!

[Jillian]

Amen to asking your doctor if you feel like there's an underlying issue. You will/should either get help or reassurance, and both are good.

My Julio never crawled, just scooted around on his behind, and then walked at 15 months. He had lead poisoning and I was worried that it was a sign of the damage. But it wasn't. He was just working on talking instead. And it may have had something to do with us toting his precious little behind every minute of the day. He's 2.5 now and doing just fine.

Little brother Fritz is 10.5 months, crawls lightning fast and cruises with one hand. It's much harder and I wish he would chill out!

[MrsHaley]

@Alisha - I just updated on the Primal Scream Thursday thread ... Short story: everything ok. Pretty much.

[the milliner]

@MLB Had to smile at the last sentence in your post..."So early walking doesn't necessarily indicate any sort of advanced physical capacity."

DH and I always joke about how our nephews are blessed with 'strategic' gifts. One is generally very strong and agile physically, yet is more timid and fearful. The other one is more fearless but is not as strong or able. Either way, it prevents them from getting in to too much trouble!

[KB]

Ah, the frustration of seeing all the other kids in playgroup walking while your kid crawls. Our data point: At our daughter's 15 month appointment, her pediatrician recommended we get her motor skills tested, which we did. She qualified for free occupational therapy (if insurance doesn't pay, the state (Washington) will pay), which led to her walking a few days before turning 18 months. Now, at 21 months, she walks and tries to run but her feet still turn in, so she falls more often than the other kids. The testing and occupational therapy has been helpful -- for getting a diagnosis of hypotonia (low muscle tone) and for learning about exercises to strengthen her motor skills.

The walking milestone was one that I looked forward to the most, and it was very upsetting to not see any progress on that front prior to the therapy. I am glad that we got things checked out before we reached the 18 month timeframe for "typical" walking.

[Linda]

One of my twins didn't walk until 15 months and had had eye surgery to correct her vision. Before the surgery she was seeing with one eye at a time - learning to walk without depth perception is virtually impossible. She also didn't roll over until the VERY END of normal: 9 months. Her doctor said "big Buddha babies" tend to be later with gross motor skills because it's hard to move all that bulk. She's a skinny-minnie now (age 6), but still not very coordinated.

My other 2 kids walked at an average age, right around 12-13 months. Moxie's right - I don't even remember exactly anymore.