TRIPPING TODDLER -Always Falling or Tripping

Toddlers fall for a lot of reason. They are developing but you may want to see if it might be an eyesight problem. My 20 month old tripped over things a lot. I happen to notice her eye pulling in so I took her to the doctor. Come to find out she was farsighted and needed glasses. She doesn't trip as much now. Just a thought. Don't worry to much about it. At that age they just fall a lot. : )

The best infant/toddler shoe is the "Pediped" they are a little pricey, but do last for a long time.They are recommended highly by doctors. Hope they work!

I've not tried them myself, but I hear the Pediped shoes are excellent walkers. They are soft soled and very flexible. Also, make sure that your little guy has some growing room but not too much which could make him a little less balanced. My 13 month old son wears New Balance running shoes and does very well. They're the suede ones so they breathe well and are pretty flexible. Good luck!

How does he walk without shoes on? If he doesn't have a problem in stocking feet or barefoot then it may be the shoes. You can try the soft leather ones-one brand name is Robeez, but you can find the same thing at Target for around $12,they are very cute, best for indoors, but will hold up okay outside too and he can wear them with or without socks (for summer.) My girls loved their soft shoes.

My brother did this very same thing when he was little. Turned out that he needed glasses, b/c he couldn't see very good.

hahah, but this reminds me of our just turn 2year old daughter. We tried everything and found that she was just clumsy around this age. We even bought high top converse, pink ones and black ones to help. She just grew out of it though :-) Now she runs into doors and walls, but she may just be a bit clumsy the rest of her life like her daddy! :-) Good luck!

Take the shoes off and let him go barefoot for a while making sure that where he goes is safe for those little toes. If he continues to fall frequently without shoes, have him checked. It could be a number of things, the first of which is vision. Good Luck!

Try robeez shoes for outdoors or thick socks with a non-skid bottom for indoors. Take some videos of the tripping/falling. Years later, it will look cute.

Hi,
We had the same problem with our son when he was 18-20 mts.old-at that time he was wearing his "croc" shoes alot. He loved them but we found that he would trip when he wore them. Our theory is that the rubber material caused his foot to grip to the floor and then he would trip. Or maybe it was just an age thing that he outgrew....We since put him into New Balance tennis shoes that velcro across the top-we love them! We bought them for around $20 at Academy sports store.
Good luck-hope this helps....sorry if I rambled on....

try pediped shoes. they are great. they even have toddler sizes now.
http://www.pediped.com/Home/flex.aspx
they are soft and hold up great. my son would even stomp in mud puddles and they would clean up great!

It may not be the shoes. My daughter was the same way and we just figured she was clumsy. However we got her eyes checked and she needed glasses. A mild scrip, but she is falling a lot less.

Our pediatrician said to let my daughter go barefoot as much as possible.

My 2nd child was just clumsy. We used to joke that if there was a piece of string taped to the floor, she would trip on it. And she would. At about age 4 she grew out of it, but she is still not the most co-ordinated kid in the world! :-)

all of these sound right. my vote goes in for Pediped. we've tried everything from new balance, walmart shoes, robeez, and knock off robeez. the robeez were great when he wasn't really getting around, but pediped are the most wonderful shoes anywhere. the toddler ones only go to 24 months, but they also make shoes for kids too, a little sturdier. we bought one pair and i'm hooked and already bought 3 more pairs, one the same size and two for the next size up which we'll be in soon. they have sneakers, sandals, dress shoes, you name it. and you can find some for a few dollars less on ebay, still brand new. there's one site that's offering 20% off of them right now. good luck and i hope it helps.

I have you cked your babies ears?

My now 7 year old had the same problem. I asked a pediatrician about it and he said that it is because babies/toddlers are flat footed. He said that as the arch in her foot became more prominent her balance would get better and it did. I also agree with some earlier advice about letting him go barefoot whenever possible.

robeez or pedipeds are great!

stride rite have the best shoes for walkers, they measure and fit toddlers feet. I love them

Hi, I'm a pediatric physical therapist. It's very normal for some kids to go through periods of falling, usually as they hit growth spurts. However, there are some kids who keep falling, and they can often benefit from physical therapy. There are lots of mild physical problems, such as flat feet or a tight ankle muscle that can cause falling and can be easily treated. I would keep an eye on your child for a month or two and see if it doesn't improve. If it doesn't, you might want to get a PT referral from your pediatrician...it can't hurt. I also recommend you find a pediatric PT and not just your neighborhood PT. Often, a pediatric specialist can spot small problems that an adult PT may miss. Podiatrists are fine if you can tell there is a problem with the feet or legs, but they are not trained to spot some minor coordination disorders that can cause falling.

As far as shoes, the best shoes are not always the most expensive. You can find great soft sneakers at Payless. The most important, and hardest to find feature, is good arch support. For some reason, they don't put much arch support in most toddler shoes. Stride rite sneakers are great, but I've seen some cheap sneakers that are pretty good too. The other important thing about shoes is that they fit properly. I have met many kids who fall who are wearing shoes that are too big so they can "grow into them." Some kids fall less barefoot and some fall less with shoes, so try both. Good luck!

We took 25 month old J to the Podiatrist because he was falling over his feet a lot. His father is very bow legged and J is a bit pigeon toed. The Doctor took his high top white lace up flexible sole shoes from Wal-Mart that he wears for ankle support and twisted it from side to side, heal this way and toe that way. He could nearly twist it all the way around. He said it didn't matter what the sole bent like but that if you could twist it there wasn't any real support. We put a regular leather lace up shoe on him and his toes nearly touched when he walked. He fell 3 times before he could take one step. We were told to put them on the wrong feet and see if that helped, it did but I just couldn't take him out in public like that, it was totally funny looking.

So, what are we doing? He is wearing a stiffer sided shoe that still has a very flexible sole. He seems to walk okay in it and doesn't fall as much. We plan on changing out his shoes more often even if his feet don't out grow the shoe, if it twists it is getting too soft.

Children, toddlers, are top heavy. Their little heads weigh more than anything else on their body. It is the most natural thing for them to fall a lot as toddlers. As their bodies catch up they will tip over less and less. If he has foot/ankle issues take him to the Podiatrist and have him evaluated. I think most insurance requires the Pediatrician to do a referral, it wouldn't hurt for the Pediatrician to check this out at his 2 yr. check up anyway.

Are you sure that he hears ok? Something in your hearing creates your sense of balance and those that don't hear as well often have trouble with their balance. I have a deaf daughter, who's balance is fine by the way, however, she's a living example of what children with hearing impairments can accomplish when it is diagnosed early. Early intervention is the key. She is now 17, a senior in high school, plays basketball has cheered, reads lips and speaks very well (she also uses sign language with those that cannot speak or lip read) and she has been accepted to TU in the fall. If you decide to have his hearing checked or have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Good Luck!

My daughter gets "trippy" every time she grows out of a pair of shoes. We have her in stride rites. They are expensive but have always been wonderful for her.
http://www.striderite.com