16 Month Twin Boys Not Walking Yet

Just wanted to put in my "2 cents". My oldest, a son, who is now 30 yr old was 15 months old when he started walking which was just before I had my second one. This son is a laid back, calm, easy going person who is very intelligent. He also tends to be on the lazy side. I had to push him to complete his assignments, push him to grow up and move on. He enjoyed the comforts of being dependent! :-)

A.,

Don't panic over what is "average" and "normal". Not walking, when all the other developmental milestones are being met is not huge. My oldest who was a preemie, did not take one step until he was 18 months old. Even with "adjusted age" that was still a huge delay. He's fine. He's always been fine, and is in the same grade level in school as his same-age peers. Some of them just take their time with things.

Hi A.,
Oh, yes. My (now 20 y/o) daughter didn't start walking until she was 15 to 16 months old. We tried and tried, but I guess she just wasn't ready. Everytime we let go so she could take a step on her own, she would drop. Finally, one day, she took off! They will do it when they're ready. Hey tell her to be thankful, because once they start walking they'll be all over the place!

I have a friend whose son did not even crawl really until he was 16 months. He quickly caught up and has nothing wrong with him. He has just always been laid back and calm.

Children are not considered late to walk until they hit 18-20 months of age. I have 2 that are 15 mos and 30 mos. They were adopted from foster care and have delays due to drug and alcohol use by there biological mothers.

They have both been in physical and occupational therapy since they were just a few months old. They both walked rather late. The 15 month old is just now walking. Both of their therapy teams assured me that it was not uncommon for children to not walk until they are 2 years old but 18-20 months was considered to be a time when they SHOULD be walking.

Most all states have a thing called ECI - Early Childhood Intervention that services children with a wide range of needs until age 3. They will come out to the house and evaluate and do various therepies for basically free. If she is concerned, I would refer her to them. If you are in the South Houston / Galveston / Alvin area and need help getting in touch with ECI, lmk and I'll help you. I am sure I could find out thru ECI where to contact in other states to. LMK

I would't worry too much. My daughter was 14 months before she decided to really walk on her own. She is 21/2 now and runs full speed but I've learned she just has a very cautious personality. I would assume since they are twins they were at least some premature and that could also account for the delay. As long as she is taking them both to their regular pedeatrician visits then I wouldn't worry about it.

The high end of normal to start walking is 18 months. After that point if they are still not walking they may need to be evaluated, but their pediatrician can look into that at their 18 month well check.

None of my kids were walking at 12 mos. My first three are 3 years apart, 18 mos and 18 mos spacing. I remember wondering if my 2nd child would be walking by the time the baby was born. He was HUGE and I carried him my whole pregnancy. People always asked how I did it. So, I wouldn't be worried. Sounds like they are showing all the signs. Maybe they are just a little cautious. They will be running around before you know it! Then she will be thinking of the good 'ol days when they weren't getting into so much stuff!

Blessings,
M.
Mom to 5 Wonderful Kids
www.4MyChildrenSake.com

I think there is more need for concern when they reach 18 months. My daughter, now 2, was not even making attempts to stand on her own at 15 months and so we went to physical therapy for about a month and a half, and she picked it up just fine. Come to find out she was diagnosed with low muscle tone. Most children don't walk by 12 months. If there is still concern, then a visit to their pedi would probably be warranted.

16 months is not yet too old to be worried they aren't walking. I started walking at 16 or so months. How I got my daughter to walk is the same way my mom made me walk- she hates crawling on grass so I put some shorts and shoes on her and took her to the park. I stood her up in the grass and walked away. She didn't want to crawl on the grass so she tried walking. She's been walking ever since!

Something I WOULD be worried about is if the boys aren't even cruising (walking while holding on to furniture.) They start cruising between 9 and 12 months. Sometimes earlier. So at 16 months if there's no cruising that would be a cause for concern. Do they have push toys? My girls always enjoyed those. They stand up at them and if you hold on to it you can make it move in small increments and if they want to stay holding on they will HAVE to take a step. My daughters were walking all over the place with the push toys before they could walk on their own.

S., mom to four girls

A.
My second son was just like that. He would hold my finger and walk with me since he was 10 months old but would not take a step on his own or try. He at 16 months decided, on day when the front door was open now was the time to run. He did. There was no stopping him from then on. Some children have a fear of falling or getting hurt. Since his first steps were running out the door he could have been walking for months. This is not a child who is slow thinking. He is very smart. He just took his time with every thing except getting into trouble.

R.

I also have twin boys......(mind you they have just turned 14-time flies by fast).....I would not worry about it....when my boys turned 1, the smallest of the two was not even crawling. Needless to say, of course that worried me.......finaly, one day, he just got up and began to use his little lawnmower and would use it to walk around until he was comfortable by himself. He was 18 months once this finally happened. It was a most exciting day!!..........cherish this time with them......twin boys are the most amazing and i just love mine!!!

I was three months pregnant with twins when my daughter finally decided to walk. They do things in their own time. Be patient.

L.

She should have her dr. refer her to ECI they come to your house/or day care and work with your kids. My twins are in it now. They might even say that there doing great. but it does not hurt to have them looked at.

I have a friend who is a developmental pediatrician. "Normal" walking is between 10 and 18 months. One of my sons walked at 12 months, and the other at 17 1/2 months. If she feels something is wrong, she should take him to her pediatrician to check his joints, etc. I believe that as mothers we have a great intuition about things concerning our children, and if we feel something is wrong, it often is. If she is just concerned because other people's kids are walking at that age, don't be concerned another second! All kids develop differently.

If your sister is concerned, she could talk to her pediatrician or have the boys evaluated for free through the state's ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) program:
http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ECIS/eligibility.shtml

Hi A.,

My daughter officially walked at 15 months, and that was not until we really started working with her and encouraging her. Turns out, she's just an incredibly cautious child, so it had to do with her personality, not development. The normal range is 12 months to 18 months. I would encourage your sister to work with them several times per day. If they don't walk my 18 months, then I would be concerned.

I'm a professional nanny for over 20 years and a consultant for parents of infants toddlers and preschoolers for "Basic Trust: Family Support Services". I've been in the field of early development and education for over 25 years and can tell you that it is well within normal for your children to be not walking quite yet....especially with twins whose developmental accomplishments lag at times in the same way that pre-mies do. If your pediatrician isn't worried about it, I wouldn't worry about it either. It sounds like they are right on the verge of walking and many many babies choose to "wait' To take their first steps until they are SO well balanced that they are almost immediately ready to start running!
Best,
L.

My boys didn't walk until 14 months and 15 months. I worried a little with my first, but with the second, I think I figured out that my boys just didn't have the confidence to take steps on their own until they were a little older than average. They were both cruising all around, but even when we tried to take their hands and help them, they would drop down on their bums and start crawling. My baby (15 months old) took his first steps on July 5, and he just decided to do it all on his own. Before, when we tried to help or encourage him, he wanted no part of it, so I think maybe he was just scared and then suddenly felt ready. Now he's walking all around the house, about ten steps at a time, before he falls on his bum. If your boys seem to be hitting other milestones, then I would guess it's a confidence issue. My older son (almost three) began to run and climb almost as soon as he began to walk, and he's never stopped! :)

I have twin boys (age 5). They started walking around 16 mo. Not to worry, they will get there.

Hi A.,

It depends on whether they are doing everything else within the normal timelines. It's interesting that they are both "taking their time." Since you have a 10 month old child, the twins should certainly be doing more than your child is doing.

Your sister might find these links informative:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-13-to-18-mont...
http://www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/mile1.html
http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm? article_ID=ZZZU126UYDC&sub_cat=105

If they are making steady progress, this is good. If they are not and seem to be lagging behind their peers, this is not good.

If I were your sister, I would call the special education department in the local school district, speak with the person in charge, and ask for an evaluation by a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, and if their speech and language skills are lagging, an evaluation by speech & language pathologist. It is critical to get caught up when they are young and their nervous systems are more "plastic."

Those twins are blessed to have you for an aunt. Good luck! jenifer

Hi! My daughter didn't walk until she was 17 months. She could "cruise" through the living room, but wouldn't let go of the furniture. Our pediatrician maintains that she walked within the normal limits. Hope this helps.

A.,
This is soooo normal, especially with twins. I have two sets of twins and if the children were premature you are supposed to do the age adjustment program. What I mean is that if they were a month early their delay would be at least month later for the average child. My twins were a month early, yet still BIG in size (8.6 and 7.9 and the other set was 8.10 and 7.2). One was not walking until 14 months and the other 18 months and then my other set started at 11 months and 12 months. It varies so much for each and every child. Don't worry because the day they do start walking they will make up in the time quickly! :) One day they will just take off and you will wish they were still crawling!! BTW, boys on average are usually a little slower any way.

Hope this helps,
M. Ricketts
Mom to Brittany & Brianna (11) Charity (6) and Luke & Trinity (3)

My son did not walk until 16 months. ECI told us that they are not considered "delayed" until they are still not walking at 18 months. He is now a little over two and is perfectly fine. Give it a few more months and then have your sister mention it at their next appt. if they still aren't walking. One thing I did, was to spend a lot of time out on the sidewalk/driveway playing. He didn't like to crawl on the concrete, so it forced him to try to stand up. Also, invest in one of those walk/push toy things if she doesn't have one. I think that helped a lot too. Best wishes.

in my opinion, she should have them checked out by a pt and at least mention it to the pedi to see what he/she may suggest... there may be nothing wrong, but from experience it's better to catch these things earlier than later... early intervention yields quicker results usually.. and they need to know what may/ may not be preventing them from taking steps...

Don't worry, my daughter didn't walk until she was about 16 months as well and now I can't stop her from running everywhere and climbing on everything.

If you are still concerned, ask your doctor about programs that evaluate your children; but, I would give it at least another month since they are standing up against the couch.

They just need a little enticement to get moving.

I see you already have some good advice. Give them until they turn 18 months. If they aren't walking then, you can contact ECI (Early Childhood Intervention)for some additional help and support. I understand your concern; my daughter is 36 months old and not walking! ECI has been a great resource.

My youngest daughter didn't walk until she was between 16-17 months. I didn't worry about it though, because she was standing while holding onto things. Your nephews will walk when they're ready!!!!! No big deal! :-) Also, one of my younger brothers didn't walk until he was 18 months, and you'd never know it now! He's one of the most active kids I've ever been around!

Hi A.,
as you know it is rare for a child not to be walking and for 2 not to be walking is strange ,,,she needs to talk to her Dr and she if the boys need some therpy for their legs or just what is going onshe needs to be upfront about it
good luck p.s.you can also look for some info on the internet