Litttone One Is Walking on Toes, Should I Be Worried?

If she's not doing it all the time, it shouldn't be an issue. Some kids have a tight Achilles's Heel and so walk on their toes all the time. They have to be put in casts or braces to extend the tendon so they walk on their heels.

My 3 year old still runs on her tip toes all the time. It's just how she is. Don't worry. She'll be fine. And probably a great ballarina too!

Like the doc said... just keep an eye on it. Let her go without wearing shoes so she can get a better feel of her balance in bare feet. My 18 month old walks on his toes sometimes just to be silly... otherwise, he stomps around flat footed.

If she is walking on her toes constantly and NEVER walking with flat feet, they may 'cast' her or use special orthopedic braces to encourage her to walk flat footed; in this case, she may be walking on her toes because her ligaments (and Achilles tendon) have not stretched enough to allow her to walk properly. While you may think this is horrible, it's really, really not. It will correct her footing and allow her to walk properly... that's IF this is the case.

Most children who walk on their toes periodically (but predominately walk flat footed) correct this on their own. Best wishes :)

I wouldn't be worried. I know some say it is a sign of autism. Well my son who has autism spectrum never walked on his toes and my younger daughter did until she was four. Every now and then she still does, to me not an issue.

My sister did this. She slowly, eventually began walking normally...walking, running, dancing ballet, moving gracefully. It was a concern for a while, but ended up just being one of her early childhood quirks.

A lot of toddlers walk on their toes. Its somewhat normal. But they do need to be encouraged to walk flat footed more often so it stretches the muscles and tendors the right way. If they stay on toes too often it can cause problems as they get bigger and cant walk flat footed. Its easier to get them to correct the problem while young. You might not enjoy the time it takes for PT later to stretch those muscles if she doesnt learn to walk flat footed.

My DD walked on her toes when she was younger and still does it from time to time (27 mos. now) but not consistently. It hasn't hindered her ability to hop walk run, etc. so I wouldn't be too worried about it. Her toes also point in a bit (pigeon toed) as do mine but it's not that big a deal.

NO! Don't worry! My daughter walked on her tippy tippy toes almost exclusively for the first three years of her life. I didn't know anyone could get that high on their toes who wasn't a ballerina. It was the cutest thing ever!

She stopped around 4. I don't think you should worry about it, and I certainly don't think you should "cast" her, whatever that is.

I've never heard the autism thing, but my daughter is definitely not autistic.

He is worried because the tendons in the ankle will not develop properly if she is only walking on her toes. By cast, he means a brace or a cast to force her feet flat, so the tendons will stretch and develop properly.

Worry about what exactly? So what if she walks on her toes for the rest of her life? It might be a little "different", but what could go wrong?

What is the frequency of her doing that?
ALL the time constantly?
Or just sometimes?
This makes a difference.
Some kids just do that and it is a phase and for fun, and it is no biggie.
My son did that too. But he's completely fine.

Then the other question is: can your daughter walk normal like everyone else, on her feet? If so, then she is probably fine.

Our daughter is 2 1/2 and we put her in Stride Rite shoes once she started trying to walk. That didn't stop her from occasionally trying to walk on her toes. Even now, she will prop herself up on her toes to reach something, or stand on her toes to make herself taller, although she's tall for age, but she just wants to be the height of her 17 yr old sister. So don't worry, its normal. We just figure that we will put her in ballet and tap. Why don't use those twinkle toes for good.

any time my little one ever walks on her tippy toes my mom would freak out. she thinks its a sign of a learning dissablity. i finally had to lie to her and tell her that isnt so anymore. she was the only one that i ever heard that from. i know preteen girl that walks on her tippy toes. her issue is the back muscle needs to be stretched and she has exercises that need to be done. when she neglects doing them the muscle is tight and makes her want to walk on her tip toes. if she did it all the time i would ask the doctor how long to keep an eye on it. exactly what you should be looking for and if there are any exercises or other things that can be done to help it. also ask him what type of cast and how the cast fixes the issue. hope your daughter is having fun. :D

My son started around 3 years doing this, at first a little and then constantly, we never worried about it because funny enough both me and Dad did it as children although I was older. However in the end we found my son has Sensory Processing Issues, he is sensory seeking and likes the feeling of the pressue on his feet. It doesn't mean your child is and I'm sure she will grow out of it. We have talked to the Doc about casts and are actually having some made right now. But I would say she is way too young for that right now. Just encourage her to walk on her flat feet, it is better for her development in the long run and keep an eye on it. Good luck.

I am not a doctor but a school teacher and I think your daughter is too young to tell. She is just learning to walk. But I did know of several kids over the years who continued to walk exclusively on their toes even into 3rd grade and it was caused by a medical condition where their tendon or something was too tight and they could not physically place their foot flat on the ground. The child I am thinking of was a boy and ended up having to have surgery to release this tendon so that he could walk normally. Think of the teasing that a third grade boy would get from tip toeing around all the time.
I am thinking that your dr is talking about putting the feet in a cast where it would force the tendons to stretch out and allow her to walk with her feet flat on the ground eventually. If this continues it would be a good solution rather than waiting until they are older and having to do surgery. But I would wait a good while to see if it works out on its own.

I would not worry about it one bit. She is so young and just learning to walk. My kids always walked on their toes and they were really clumsy with shoes on. I am sure you are probably hearing that autistic kids walk on their toes but there is usually other signs to deal with also.

I've had little ones do this. Sometimes, they just think it's hilarious to walk like that. Sometimes they do it to practice balance. Sometimes they do it because their Achilles tendon isn't stretched enough to walk flat footed.

As long as she isn't going it all the time and DOES walk flat footed, it should be fine. Mine all grew out of it.

If she doesn't do it all the time than I wouldn't worry about it. I've known lots of babies to walk on their toes for a while or off and on. I'm sure she will grow out of it. Before the ped does any procedure involving casts, i would get a second opinion! just a word of advice!

If you used to hold her hands above her head to encourage her to walk, it is very common, but she should stop soon and probably will on her own.

Every time I was shoeless, I walked on my toes until I was into my twenties. Now I do it just occasionally. Don't know why - it just felt normal. Didn't even realize I was doing it. Most of my female cousins from my mother's side did the same. We all have high arches and took dance but started walking on our tippy-toes as toddlers. I think it's just a quirk. Or inherent.
I don't know how it could be considered a "problem."
BTB I prefer shoes with a heel; can't stand anything under 1/2 inch heel. Again, blame it on the high arches.