My 14 1/2 Month Old Is Still Not Walking-isn't This Kind of Late?

I have 3 children. A 14 yr. old son, a 9 yr old daughter and a 3 year old son. My older two walked around one year. My 3rd did not walk until 18 months! It was terrible because I had to carry him in and out of places and I had custody of my nephew who was only 3 months older than my son! There were so many people to carry him and it was easier for him to crawl. We just kept encouraging him. I think because he was my third, I didn't feel the need to hurry him. Your older son probably did everything faster so you have a recent child to compare him to. I say to wait it out and encourage him for a while. If you feel like he is not developing properly-like not able to walk, you should speak to you doctor right away. If you think he is just being stubborn or refusing to walk, be patient. He won't go to kindergarten crawling!

Hi there!

My cousins baby girl did not walk until she was 19 months old! Not because she couldn't..more because she didn't want to! She has an older sister and took full advantage of being the baby! And when she started walking...she went from walking to full out running in a matter of hours! It was kind of like watching a deer! Her doctor told her Mom and Dad that if she seems to understand the concept, to just wait it out. He'll catch on that walking is indeed much easier and then watch out! LOL!

My daughter didn't walk at all until she was 15 months old, just before I was getting ready to take her somewhere to get her checked. She also didn't decide to come out of me until I had an appointment to be induced. He will get it, be patient.

At my son's 15 month appointment we asked about it and were told that he simply lacked the courage. Two weeks later, my son decided he was done crawling and started walking. Guess he found his courage.

Enjoy the non-walking phase - you'll be chasing him all over in no time.

My son did not walk by him self til he was 16 months old. The doctor said he loved his walker too much. He said some children do not walk till they are almost 2 just like some children do not get any teeth till they have their first birthday.

Good Luck
S.

My son was 14 months old when he started walking and my mom tells me I was almost 15 months old. Just keep practicing with him and he'll be running around in no time. We all do this kind of thing in our own time. Have fun and enjoy him! :-)

www.babycenter.com. That's my best suggestion for checking developmental milestones.

My daughter was just over 13 months, my first granddaughter was just days before her first birthday, and my second granddaughter was 9 1/2 months old. With my daughter and first granddaughter, once they started there was no stopping them, but with my second granddaughter, she could walk at 9 1/2 months, but only did when prompted. It took her 3 to 4 weeks to walk without prompting. Children are so different, even within the same family, as you can see by my example!!! My mom said I was an extremely late walker, but I have many older siblings that were quite content to carry me. They did my walking for me.

Mine just stared walking around 3 weeks ago and he is almost 16 months, but now he's flying around! No worries, as long as he pulls himself up to "cruise" furniture or your leg, do not worry cause he may just take a feww steps soon.

Nothing to worry about. My son didn't walk until 15 months and then there was no looking back. His pediatrician had two girls and they didn't walk until 18 months.

it's within appropriate range. I have twins. My son started walking at 11months (9.5 adjusted) and my daughter at 18months (16.5 adjusted). if you have greater concerns, you could always have him evaluated for free through Early Intervention. :)

N., as long as your pediatrician has not seen any bone/skeletal issues and he seems to be moving in the direction of walking, I would just let him do it in his own time.
Our son was 17 mos when he finally decided to walk on his own and he is perfectly up to speed now at 26 mos -- running, climbing stairs, learning to jump, etc.
Each in their own time.

Don't worry, my now 20-month old girl didn't walk on her own until 16 months. She just loved getting around by speed-crawling and walking along furniture. Once she realized this was "a new way to travel", off she went! :-)

I'm pregnant again so I've been reading everything I can get my hands on, just like I did the first time around. I just read something the other day saying that some children take up to 18 months to start walking. I wouldn't worry about it, espeically if his doctor isn't worried about it. Some kids just take longer.

it shouldn't be anything to worry about, especially since you know he's capable. my son walked at 15 months i believe, and hasn't stopped running since. my daughter sat up and crawled sooner, but actually walked even later -- around 16 months if i recall correctly. some kids are more cautious than others or in no rush to change what works, so as long as their motor skills as otherwise normal, i'd say to not fret and he will be walking very soon probably anyway.

My son did everything late, including walking and talking. There wasn't anything wrong with him, he just chose a time when he was ready. He walked at 15 1/2 months and started talking nonstop right after he turned 2. Everyone would tell me that he would need speech therapy because he wasn't talking at 15 months and then again at 18 months. We had him checked just to make sure there was nothing physical preventing him from talking. There wasn't, so we just let him decide. He's now 2 1/2 and talks ALL THE TIME! And I wouldn't change it for the world!

My son just turned 14 months on the 5th of this month and he just started walking this week just give him time, sometimes kids are early walkers and sometimes they are late walkers. He will walk when he is ready to there really is nothing to do but wait.

My daughter did the same thing at that age. Everyone kept telling me that when she was ready she'll get up and walk. I thought, "yeah, right". But to my amazement when she was about 15 months old, she got up and just walked through the house as if it was natural. As long as your doctor doesn't have any concerns, then I wouldn't worry too much about it. It really will happen when they're ready. Good luck.

My son didn't start walking on his own until he was a week shy of 16 months. He walked if you held his hand but not by himself. I think he didn't want to take a couple steps on his own and fall so he waited til he was steady enough to do it and not fall at all. And he never did fall, he waited til he was really ready to do it right.

I know it's hard but try not to compare him to other kids -- they're all unique and will do it when they are good and ready.

Dear N.,

When I was a baby (37 years ago!) 18 months was considered the upper limits of normal for when a baby would start to walk. I know this because I didn't walk until I was 18 1/2 months old. The pediatrician said that I didn't learn to walk because I was so busy acquiring verbal skills that my brain couldn't handle anything new (I was talking like an adult at 18 months.) However, sometimes late walking can be a sign of low muscle tone. Basically, it means that the baby isn't walking because he isn't strong enough to. My husband was also an early talker/late walker (the two seem to go together, although not always) so we weren't surprised when our kids were all late walkers. The questions to ask are: did your baby sit up by himself around the right time (6-7 months) and crawl around the right time (9 months?) If so then you don't have anything to worry about. If all those milestones were delayed too, then I would suggest mentioning it to your pediatrician. Some pediatricians wait it out, others suggest intervention. This would involve having people from a State run agency called Early Intervention come to your home to assess your baby's physical skills. If they find a delay, they may recommend that your son receive physical therapy. I tell you this because we did this with my first daughter, and I was so upset at first that she was considered "delayed" and needed this therapy. However, it was FANTASTIC and I can't recommend it enough. I wish we had pursued it for our 2nd child who walked around 16 1/2 months but who is much less athletic than her big sister now. If you need the therapy, it is great and makes a huge difference, and babies learn so fast when they are little that you won't be doing it for very long. Good luck!

You've gotten tons of responses already...but I'll add my input as well. :) This is totally NORMAL...so no worries. My oldest daughter (now 3) didn't crawl until she was 13 months and didn't walk until 15 1/2 months. Everyone told me...my second would walk much sooner (expecting her to take off after big sister at 8 or 9 months). WRONG!!! My youngest (22 months) didn't crawl until 12 months and didn't walk until 18 months. The are both normal, healthy little girls, who keep me on my toes. :)
Have a blessed day!

No need to worry - my daughter didn't walk until she was almost 16 months old. I'm sure he'll be off and running in no time!!

Hi N.-

Like most of the Mamas who've responded to you, my daughter was much the same. In fact, she didn't even try to crawl until she was 13 mos. Then at 14 mos. she started walking and a week later actually ran! It all happened so quickly. Don't worry! They mostly do these things on their own time!

Good luck!
D.

I don't think so - Our son could walk but wouldn't at 12 -13 months...he is also very stubborn and didn't walk regularly until 15 mos. For a few weeks after that, we still would tell him to stand up because he decided he wanted to crawl and he would hop right up and start walking.

Wait it out and don't push. Trust me you think you want them walking and it is fun and great, but it does add a whole different dimension to your life. Be patient. He will walk in his own time. Just continue to hold his hand and walk with him. You are right he crawls because he is more efficient that way. My oldest didn't walk until he was 15 months.

My 2 children both started walking about the same time (15 months) but went about it in very different ways when you look at how and when they crawled, what motivated them, what kind of help they wanted, etc.

What really jumps out at me in your post though is the story you tell about this situation: describing your son as "refusing to walk" and "very stubborn." I'm a big proponent of looking beyond specific situations to your thinking about your children and whether it truly serves you or them well. The reason is because people only ever live up to your expectations of them- for good or bad. I can really see those kinds of "difficult child" labels following him through childhood and him "acting accordingly" as it becomes part of his own self-concept. Try assigning him positive qualities and intentions and watch how he lives up to those!

I think a lot of parents get into this habit and don't even realize it. If you imagine what you would like to hear your husband or a friend saying to describe you, it will be easy to get into the habit of talking about your child more positively.

Some alternative descriptions might be:
"the way my son is transitioning to walking is so interesting and unique to him"
"he is very determined and focused which are desireable qualities and will definitely serve him well in the future"
"I trust that he is learning in the perfect way for him"
"He is strong and coordinated and I'm sure he will walk on his own unique timetable"

I realize this is sort of a tangent but I hope it is of some help to you- like I said it's just what jumped off the screen at me and moved me to respond.

My daughter didn't walk until she was 16 months old. She would hold our hands and walk, if we even let go of 1 hand she would stop in her tracks. When she finally did walk she didn't do any of that stumbling or balancing or teetering-- she actually kind of danced to the music that was playing at the time she took her first steps on her own!! I look at it like this: she wanted all that practice first so she could walk perfectly on her own when she finally did! My mom always told me that the babies don't read the books, so they don't always know the time frames in which they are supposed to do the milestone activities. My daughter also crawled differently than most babies. She sat on her butt with her legs straight out and bent her legs to scoot on her butt to get around. She knew how to crawl on all fours, but chose to "crawl" the scooting way. She just had a mind of her own!! People were telling me I needed to teach her to crawl 'the right way' or she'd have problems later. She's 13 yrs old now and very healthy and hasn't had any motor function problems at all. So I think you shouldn't worry and let him do it in his own time. Good luck.

N. in Plainfield

I've read that kids the normal range is up to 18 months or so. My daughter was about 14 months when she started walking. You said he's a speed crawler, maybe he just lacks the desire? I'd let him go at his own pace, especially if he is stubborn. If he thinks you want him to do something, he may decide not to do it just to exert a little control.