My Son Doesn't Want to Walk!

Mama, who told you to be worried about this? Somebody is not being nice to you if they said there is something wrong with him not walking. You should be perfectly content for him to be standing and holding on to things. Soon, if he isn't already, he'll be cruising, walking while he holds on.

You know how babies have milestones they master, like turning over, pulling their heads up while on their tummies, scooting on the floor, then crawling on the floor, then pulling up to a knee position, then to a standing position? Well, then comes the cruising, and then finally, the walking. While these physical milestones are being met, they also start language. Sometimes when they are really focusing on one milestone, the other gets left behind for a while. So some children stop trying to talk when they are trying to walk, and vice versa. Learning to walk and to talk is very hard, Mama.

In your child's instance, he is VERY young to meet either the talking or the walking milestone. I urge you to ask your ped or look up childhood development to negate whatever people are saying to make you worried that he isn't walking yet or just because you want him to. He has to be ready for this physically and in his brain. And no amount of wishing is going to make it so.

Don't put him in the position to cry with walking - it's a real mistake for you to do this. I know you didn't know any better, but you do now. If you doubt what I'm saying, show your pediatrician this thread and he or she will let you know what's right.

All my best,
D.

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Um, why is this a problem?
Dr. Sears "The Baby Book" is a great reference guide for what is "normal" I suggest you get a copy from the library, or any other early child development book, I'm sure it will help you understand and feel better about your son :)

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Let him be. He will walk when he is ready.

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I would back off. He may not be walking because you are pushing him so hard. You know he can do it, so no physical problems, he's just not ready. I bet if you let him do it in him own time and back off for now, he will be walking independently in no time :)

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He is just not ready, do not worry. Kids do things on their own time and there is not some magic age at which they must be doing this or that!

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It sounds to me like he just doesn't think walking is as important as you do at this point. I think the more you fuss with him about it, the less he'll be inclined to take an interest in it.
Before you know it, he'll be all over the place and you'll have a tough time keeping up with him.

I wouldn't be worried just yet.

Best wishes.

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You said it yourself, he knows how to do it. He just doesn't feel like it when you want him to. I used to be like that with my son. I had to learn that nature will take its course. My son is now 15 months and running. Just 2 months ago, he offically learned to walk after taking his first step at 11 months. Give him time. Enjoy him. He'll get it in due time.

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I would continue to give him opportunities to walk, but before 18 mo. or so, it's not something you should worry about. My DD was over a year old and would prefer knee walking to standing for a long time. She's fine and runs everywhere as a 2 yr old. He'll most likely be fine. Something that helped my DD was to allow her to stand and fall on our bed so she learned it was OK. Give him more time.

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Why are you so worked up? Who told you that 12 months is "late" for walking? Are you serious that you make him cry when you try to "encourage" him? I would be more concerned that you let him "zone" out watching tv than with this so called problem. You need to get some realistic expectations for your son or you and him are going to be doing a lot of crying in the future. Sorry, I had to keep it real with you.

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12 months is pretty young. My daughter didn't start walking until 15 months.
Give him some more time.

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Lol. My DD does the same thing for every milestone. I will SEE her do something, so I KNOW she can... but once she's done it once or twice she will REFUSE to do it again, until 1-3 months later when all of a sudden she just takes off with it. She did it with rolling, scooting, crawling, and now walking. She actually took her 1st steps at 8 months (Walked about 5 feet) then didn't walk again until she was 10 months old.

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Please don't worry!!! My son start scooting when he was 8 months old. Not crawling but a weird scoot only using his arms to move. He never tried to stand or put weight on his legs. I took him to a top ortho doctor at Emory (Yes, I was paranoid) when he was 14 months old and he basically just chuckled and told me I had nothing to worry about. One week before Christmas, at 15 months old, he just got up and started walking. Now at 20 months he just runs everywhere!

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He's fine. You don't have to do a thing, so leave him be. He's developing perfectly normally and he'll do it when he's ready. He has until he's 18 months old before you have to worry about whether or not he's walking on his own.

My daughter was the same way at 12 months...and then a week after she turned 14 months, she just started walking on her own all at once one day and never crawled again. There is a huge range of ages of when babies start walking so I wouldn't be worried right now. Sometimes they choose to work on something else and different skills are mastered at different times.

One of my really good friends has a son who will be a year in a few weeks. He would only walk if he was holding on to something and would otherwise crawl - he seemed so close to walking on his own but kept holding back. Then they think he realized he could carry stuff in his hands if he was walking, and that was it!

Give him a chance, he's only 12 months old! He's pretty darn close to walking, so just let him be and he'll be wandering through the house in no time.

haha. my daughter is 16 months old and can walk but refuses to. she can crawl faster i think so she just does but i've seen her walk around a room and walk around carrying a step stool LOL. battle of the wills i guess :-) he'll do it and then you'll be wishing he wasn't running away from you!

My son was the same way - in fact he didn't walk without holding on to anything until he was 15 months old. He would stand up, but not take a step. He would walk with me holding both his hands or holding onto furniture.

When I took him for a check-up and asked his Dr. I found out he had flat feet. One pair of orthopedic shoes later, and he was up and walking. Once he outgrew those shoes I just switched him to sneakers with good arch support.

Ask your pediatrician. If nothing is wrong, then just give him more time- some children just walk later than others. Each at their own "pace".

God Bless

Its ok! I have twins (Girl & Boy)
My girl walked by 12 months. Boy however, JUST started walking. He is 15 months. He never showed any kind of interest in doing it. Would rather crawl than try to walk. It was almost as if he hated it! Anyway- One day we were outside and he was standing (Holding onto something, of course) and we started blowing bubbles into the air. He took one look, let go and stood there by himself reaching for the bubbles. We didnt make a big deal about it. We just kept doing the bubbles, soon enough- he started to take a step to get to the bubbles.... About 4 days in a row of this, and he started trying to walk by himself!

Don't worry over it. He's still young. Don't push him at all. Babies learn to walk when they are ready;-) I know a few babies that didn't walk until 17 months old (I think 19 months is the top normal range). It's totally okay and normal that he's not interested yet. It doesn't mean he's less intelligent or has any learning problems or anything.

Hi
Let him have sometime. My daughter was a preemie so she did some things slowly and some right away. They know what and when they want to do things. Also if your son is learning to say talk or something else at this time he may put the walking aside until he feels comfortable with what he wants to learn now. He will do fine.Remember encourage don't spoil or control.. Lots of luck.
H.

My daughter did not walk until she was 14 months. She didn't even try! I was so worried! My son walked at 9 months so of course I thought something was wrong with her! Nope, my son was just a early bird! He will get it. Don't worry!

my son didn't walk full time til 16 months...which is RIGHT at the cut off (i was told) before you "call for help" - i.e. early childhood intervention. that little stinker always waits till the last minute basically. :)
it's all good mama. he's gotta get used to how it feels. if at 17 months he hasn't done it then maybe repost & be concerned. he's got time & you sound like you're giving him plenty of attention to help him, so he'll get it, with time. :)

Do nothing, he'll walk when he's ready. Doesn't sound like there are any developmental issues. My youngest daughter didn't walk until she was 17 months old. My other children were 13 months and 11 months when they walked. Every child is different. Relax . . .

My daughter was also a late walker. She was able physically months before she was walking on her own. Try getting him a push toy so he can walk with some help balancing.

I wouldn't worry just yet. Just because he can physically do this doesn't mean he should. Maybe it tires his body because all the right muscles aren't quite there yet. Does he crawl or scoot a lot? He may find that a faster way to get around because he knows how to do it. Just some ideas. It's amazing how things can change in as little as 1-2 weeks, let alone a few months.

First off, I want to say that I agree with all of the posters who have said at 12 months old, it is perfectly fine that he isn't walking yet. If you relax and back off, I'm sure he'll be off and running in no time. My daughter turned 13 months old yesterday. She's taken her first few steps, but would much prefer to crawl because she's faster at it. I know eventually, she'll realize that she can be fast at walking. But did you know how important crawling is? Crawling helps a baby down the road by developing their left to right eye movement which is a precursor to reading. So just relax and think about what a great reader he will be!