15 Month Old Still Not Walking

I have 4 kids. 15 months is the EARLIEST any of them walked. (BTW, 15 months is textbook "average" age to begin walking.) The latest was almost 19 months. They're all healthy, happy, no physical or mental delays, and are now between 10 and 22 years old. Don't worry!!

I would wait. My little guy just started walking at 16mo. She crawls well, so she is coordinated. I worried too!! Don't do it. She will!!! You are just like me. I went thru the same thing!!!!!!!!! Some babies don't walk until 18mo and are perfectly normal. If you DON't think she has coordination, then bring it up. But, it sounds like she does.

FYI...here is how my baby started walking. I just recently had another baby. And so, my parents were here watching my 16mo old. My dad spent a lot of time with him in this "waiting room" area. My dad would put his bottle on the table, and stand him up away from it. He slowly started walking toward it.

My son started walking when he was 19 months old. My motto is that if they don't do "it" (whether it is talking, walking, potty, grow teeth etc.) by age 30, then I'll worry.

I wouldn't worry at all. Both of my babies didn't walk until 15 mos and I have heard that that is still in the "average" range, though on the later end. So your daughter might end up being a little behind the "average, but that is what averages are made of! :) My boys are now almost 4 and 2-1/2 and you would never know they were slightly late. A friend of mine has a son the same age as my older son and I think he didn't walk until 17 or 18 months. He just didn't have the desire. But he is a perfectly normal, physically adept (and dare I say - brilliant?) 4 year old boy.

My sister's youngest daughter was adopted when she was 3. They don't know a lot about the details of her first few years, but she was badly neglected and probably did not get to develop as a normal baby. Now as a young teen, she has been participating in a program that gets kids on the floor and crawling, which helps in brain development. From what my sister has learned, crawling is so critical to brain development, I was happy that my boys crawled so long. Even now, anytime they get on the floor and crawl around while they are playing, I get a little happy sigh, knowing they are doing their brain some good!

So try to be happy that she is such a great crawler. It sounds like she is a strong and perfectly normal baby girl. And she is going to be brilliant! :)

H.,

Walking is one of those things that infants/toddlers do at different times and of course we don't want to rush through stuff. But, I had the same issue with my son...everyone, including his Pedi said it didn't seem bad. But, when he went from cruising to crawling again, I took matters into my own hands. I took him to my Podiatrist and had him examine him...he recommended Physiccal and Occupational Therapy for my son, and gave me a referal for an amazing therapist and center in my area.

My son was diagnosed with calcification of the joints in the hip and ankles...basically, stiff joints. He had been born emergency c-section, and was breech at the time of birth...so, this apparently played into the issue at hand.

We started OT/PT at around 14 months and by 17 months he was walking and very soon after running everywhere!

I'm not at all saying your little one is having the exact same issue, but maybe it's worth taking the extra step to get in there early and see if you can get a referal for an evaluation. I'm all about preventative care and I always push to make sure everything is ruled out before I panic.

Good Luck!

My 4th child did not walk until he was 19 months old. He will be 3 in two weeks, and you would never know that he took so long. I think a couple things contributed to this. He was a very content child and was happy exploring in his more immediate surroundings. Also, he has a rather large head and I sometimes wonder if balancing was tough for him. I didn't care that he waited so long, but I do think that if he had been my first child, I would have probably been worried.

All that said, there is certainly no harm in having him looked at, especially if you feel something isn't right.

H., I would wait to talk about it til the next well baby check- especially since her ped wasn't worried about it.

Hi H.,

My husband didn't walk until he was two--it turned out that he had a benign tumor wrapped around his lower spine. Most of it was removed at that time and now he walks just fine. That's probably extreme--your daughter is probably just on her own schedule--I'm guessing that even though they are twins, they must develop individually (although I'm sure that must be a challenge for you not to compare them).

I'm sure all will be well soon!
:-) D.

dont worry about the baby i think she is lazy and on her own time she will start to move i have a sister that was like that also and let me tell you she is 47 years olds today and move around like a rabbit today so dont worry to much about it because in her own time she will start to walk ..

H.

my son did not walk steedy on his own until 21 months old, he did not say mommy until 24 months old, he did say daddy and other words,, I would not be concerned yet,,, keep working with her.

My brother didn't walk until he was 16 months old. I'm an identical twin and although we walked around 11 months I usually lagged behind my sister in everything. It sounds like she is doing all the prewalking stuff but isn't ready yet. My daughter walked much later than my son did and at first it panicked me but she eventually walked. I might wait until your doc's appointment to see what happens.

Definitely definitely don't be worried. My son walked at 15 months, I never worried about it and twins walk later, my twin sisters walked at 18 months. You say she 's a mad crawler? so she 's probaly not a risk taker and is just very content to crawl.

H., my kids walked at REALLY different ages and I think a lot of it was personality. One was laid back and content to let things come to her, the other into everything.

16 months isn't "out of the window" for walking steady (esp. if she is getting around in other ways) but... That said, I think I would be sure she were fully evaluated at your next appointment to just to be sure. And if, at ANYTIME, you get a gut feeling that things are "off" don't hesitate to push for further evals with a PT or OT.

Good Luck

Were your twins preemies? My son was 2 months early and didn't walk until he was 18 months. He was also a great crawler and we had a big dog that knocked him down sometimes when he was cruising which could have caused the delay. But when he started walking, he took to it quickly. Now at 22 months, he is just as fast as other kid his age.

Dear H.,
12-18 months is considered alright for walking...I am told I did not walk until 18 months. I would wait for the check up, but since she sounds healthy and active and is pulling up, she may just take a little bit more before she does it on her own. I would help her walk with you for fun.
Sounds like you have an adorable pair.
God's blessings,
H.

It's hard to not worry as a mom but it doesn't sound like a big deal to me. If she is crawling then you know her legs are working...and her brain to move them. Twins especially are known to develope a little slower. I would just wait until the 15 month check up. My nephew was born full term and didn't walk til almost 2...he still doesn't really talk, but understands everything. All kids are different.

Neither of my kids walked until 16 or 16-1/2 months. That's later than most kids but still within the range of normal development. She's probably just a cautious kid by nature. Definitely talk to the doctor about it at the next checkup, but I wouldn't worry about it before then unless there's something obviously wrong with her legs, her balance or her overall coordination. Most likely she is just a late walker and she'll be fine.

My youngest also wasn't walking at 15 months and it turned out that she had a problem with her ears that was messing up her balance.

Although not walking at 15 months is still in the normal range, have her Ped check her ears at her next visit just in case.

Good luck!!

My 15.5 month old daughter isn't walking either.
I read that 90% of kids are walking by 15 months.
She is just part of the 10% that isn't walking.
She is a super fast crawler and is talking all the time.
I figure that she is just spending her energy other places.

My friend's son didn't walk til 19 months.

So I am not worried. I don't think that you should be either.

Good luck.

W.

Make sure you raise this concern to the pedi at the 15 mth check-up, if she's still not walking by that time.
I have a 16mth old who's a FAST crawler and just started taking a few steps recently. I read that crawling is very important for brain development and kids get more neurological stimulation from crawling that walking. In fact, kids who don't crawl or don't crawl enough have a much harder time learning to read when they get into school.

Hi H.,
I have fraternal twin girls that are 14 months and one of them can walk and the other one walks on her knees. The one that walks also had 8 teeth when the other one didn't have any teeth until recently. I would ask your doctor the next time you go but if it would make you feel better then maybe you you can leave a message for your doctor to call you back, and then discuss it with him/her. Hope this helps!

The average age to walk is 14 months. So she doesn't seem to far off. If she was born early, that can set them behind a little in mile stones. I wouldn't worry.

I would not worry yet. They say some do not walk until 18 months or so. Maybe you held her alot?? I did that with my dd and she is just starting to take steps on her own at 14 and a half months! She is a HUGE talker though. I have heard that if they talk alot they are not as physical because it is hard for them to do both. My dd has a says over 20 words and actually puts together sentences sometimes, but she still does not walk on her own. I am not worried. As long as you don't see other problems with her development don't worry. Just give her alot of practice time. My hubby and I sit on the floor and stand her in between us and let her hold on to our hands and walk back and forth, then we let her go and try to get her to walk alone. She takes a couple of steps and gets really excited and falls. LOL My best friend has twins and finds it hard not to compare them. Try not to do that, they are individuals and will go at their own pace. Good luck and enjoy, once they are both walking mommy will be really tired!

I would wait some kids don't walk until 16 mos. HOWEVER, if she isn't walking by then I would INSIST on a PT exam and NOT wait any longer!!

early interventionist to kids birth to 3

This can go either way. It is up to you on what you decide. My oldest son was partially deaf when he was born and he didn't start walking till he was 16 months. This was because he had no balance because of fluid behind his ears. The fluid was caused by chronic ear infections. Usually, if a child doesn't walk by the age of 18 months, the doctor will start some tests.

If you are worried about it, have her walk around with you at the doctors office letting them watch. They should be able to notice if something is wrong with how she stands and if she is real wobbly.

J.