My Son Isn't Walking Yet!

Hi Steph, Try not to worry I know that is easier said then done. We have absolutely no reason to believe that anything is wrong with him and now he is taking steps! Unless he starts presenting with other things I would just let him be and he will be running awaty from you before you know it ! Love you , Sissy

My little girl is now 9 but she did not walk until she was 23 months old.It was scary but she was behind in him gross motor skills.Have you talk to her doctor?

hi i have twins and they didnt walk on there on until they were about 17mo and they are fine now hang in there

HI! I just went for my sons one year visit today and was telling her the same exact thing about my son. He takes a few(4-6) steps and then falls down laughing hystaricly. She asured me that those few steps is walking and that soon enough he'll be running but right now it's jsut a bit slow.

My son was 17 months when he first walked...and even then he still preferred to be carried until almost two. But watch out because once he gets it he's not going to slow down. He might be waiting until he has really good balance so that he doesn't just take a few steps, he will walk clear across the room. That's how my son was. There wasn't any baby step transition. The day he walked, he walked clear across the room, picked up a ball and came back. You can always double check with your pediatrician. Just remember, each child has his or her own time frame. Just stay positive and keep working with him!

What you are experiencing is NORMAL, there is a range for a reason, and the age reange for walking is between 10 to 18 months.....its kinda like potty training, it may seem forever, but its not and eventuly he will get up and start running. He is a cautious child, that is a good thing, and you should be thanking your lucky stars he cant walk yet...LOL You will regret it when he does....make sure that house is proofed!!!

DONT WORRY HE WILL SOON GET THE IDEA OF WALKING ON HIS OWN. MY SON DIDNT WALK TILL HE WAS 14 MONTHS. I WAS CONCERNED TOO, BUT EVENTUALLY HE DID IT. ENJOY THE TIME WITH HIM RIGHT NOW. NO WORRIES.

It's okay. I walked at 21 months of age. Take your boy to the doctor for a well-being exam to be on the safe side...

My son never crawled, never! He butt scooted everywhere. He didn't walk until he was 17 months old. And like the other moms said, he seemed to not be very interested in walking, it was like he knew how, but didn't want to. We had to almost force him at 17 months, and he cried and complained like we were being sooooo mean. But I remember it just seemed to click one evening, it was like he realized Oh, this is easier then butt scooting or holding on to furniture, and the light went on and he was running in circles, NO KIDDING. My peditrican said that they don't worry about a child not walking until they are 18 months, and that is for children that are not even showing any signs of trying to walk, ie: hanging on to furniture and walking. So if you son is talking 4 or 5 steps, he's fine. He's just going to do this in his OWN SWEET TIME :)

Both my girls walked early, like 9 and 10 months. But please do not worry!! As a child care worker (before staying at home) I saw many children walk at all different ages. One of my favorite kids did not walk until 20 months. Her parents toook ner to the doctor but he told then not to worry, when she was ready she would walk. And sure enough she did. Based on what you have said about your sons progress he seems to be doing well. Walking may seem easy to us, we do it all the time. But for someone just learning how to coordinate moving there legs and balance at the same time it can be challengeing. Do not worry, soon enough you'll be chasing him around the house and wishing he was still crawling.

I feel your pain! I have a 17 month old who took his sweet time deciding to walk. He was about 16 1/2 months when he finally took off on his own. We had spent 4 months previous, thinking, "any day now", because he acted like he was going to walk, but then just wouldn't! It was really frustrating, especially since it seemed like was SO close, but just being stubborn or something. <grin>

And rest assured that it is perfectly normal. Our pediatrician said they don't even begin to worry until 18 months, and as long as they are moving in one way or another, everything is probably just fine. I would be reassured by the fact that your son is trying, and even if he falls down, I think that is good news. Our son did the SAME thing for four months, and then when he started walking, he just TOOK off! Now... he RUNS everywhere! :-) It's amazing what a difference a month or so makes.

Best wishes, and happy thanksgiving!

I didn't read if someone else suggested this or not yet, but you should take him to an eye doctor and get his vision checked. I didn't walk until about that age myself, the reason being that I couldn't see well. They can make glasses for very young children these days if it's necessary.

I haven't read any of the other responses yet... maybe, you'll get a lot of responses where they will say "He's normal. Each child developes differently. Have you given him enough belly time? Do you hold him too much? Be patient... he'll walk someday. Enjoy this baby time."

But, today, you are just going to get the witts scared out of you from me. Keep in mind that I'm extremely sensitive and probably over alarmed due to my personal experience here, but this is what I've got to say.

It could be neurological. My son is a cancer survivor of a neurological brain tumor called Medulla-blastoma. This kind of brain tumor is rare but there are some things that the Docs know about it. There are several things that cue a parent or doctor into checking into the "neurological" diagnosis for symptoms.

The most significant symptoms are these:

- The child doesn't walk on time... they can't balance themselves. What happens is the tumor grows in the 4th ventricle of the brain (base of the head, top of the spine)and it blocks the spinal fluid. The pressure from the tumor causes an imbalance where the child doesn't walk on time, may revert from being able to sit up to being tippy again, can't close their legs/feet together without tipping over. A mistake can happen if the Doc just thinks it's a developmental thing and just refers the child to physical therapy or an occupational therapist -missing the cause all together.

-The child gets severe nausia, like a stomach flu that doesn't go away. Or vomits easily causing significant weight loss. What usually alerts Docs to the neurological diagnosis is that the child ends up on IV hydration and even with that and anti-nausia drugs the vomiting and nausia persists. Which eliminates the "sour stomach" or "flu" option and they begin to look into a neurological influence.

-The child's verbal skills don't develop on time. There's a slurring or with baby's a persistant slobbering that isn't resolved after teeth have come in. Even around age 2 or 3 years old the child can still have a slobber/drooling problem. This tumor can cause so much pressure on the brain that stroke like symptoms become apparent with droop to one side of the face. But, often, it just surfaces in the tongue not working properly to form words.

How is your son in all of these other areas? Does he have a good appetite? Is he verbal?

Note: Not all of the symptoms happen at once. They are independent symptoms that may occur.

My son displayed no symptoms at 16 months old; we only found out about the tumor because of an incidental accident at that time. It's the first occurance of this Doernbecher has ever witnesses with this kind of diagnosis. Salem Emergency Hospital performed a CAT scan the night he fell down the stairs and that's the only way we knew he had the brain tumor.

Medulla blastoma is a fast growing cancer. The Docs say that he would have been displaying symptoms or dead in 3 months if it had not been found so miraculously. And that it had probably been growing for apx. 3 months considering the size (grape).

Most often it's found when the tumor is the intrusive size of an egg or baseball along with symptoms that may have been mis-diagnosed or treated as developmental physical or learning delays. Speach therapy won't cure this. Physical therapy won't cure this. Even a nutrionalist won't cure this. Due to these mis-diagnosis and just the treatment of "symptoms" not the cause, the tumor continues to grow and is typically discovered (most commonly in boys) around 2,3,4 years old. Without discovery so early the result is usually death.

So, that's what I have to say ???? Sorry to scare you. If I were you, I would step up to the plate and advocate for your son tenaciously. If something in you says,"BS, something's not right...I'm not going to continue to just be patient and hope. I'm really concerned here", listen to that inner voice. Pursue answers. Talk with your pediatrician about neurological causes. Feel free to tell them Hunter's story.

His website is: http://huntersfirsthunt.tripod.com

By the way, two children in the Salem area have been diagnosed with this within the past 3 years. And this is still considered rare.

The harm done in insisting upon an MRI or CAT scan is nothing compared to the harm done by cancer. It only takes 45 minutes to get an answer for that question, eliminate the fear, or move on.

God Bless you as you advocate for him and pursue knowledge and understanding. I pray a hedge of protection around you guys and this issue... that the right doors would open at the right time and that doors would close as well so that undo stress or fear would not get a foot hold. And I pray for your pediatrician that the doctoral teachings of medicine would be in the forefront of his/her mind and you will not be dismissed, that this problem will not be minimized if it concerns you but, you will be thoroughly listened to with all consideration. Amen?

Take care and God bless once again.

I have been having the same issue with my daughter, I was so worried she would never crawl! But I learned that the key is patience. All babys go at their own pace, and a lady I work with said her daughter didnt walk until she was almost 2!
Hang in there, it will happen, just keep encouraging him!