Walk Already!!!!!

15 months is the earliest any of my kids (I have 4) walked. The latest was almost 19 months. Chances are, he'll get there soon. Hang in there! :)

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Dont rush him, he'll be walking soon enough and you will be saying, "sit down and stay there".. lol.
Does he have some toddler toys that he can walk behind and use for stability?
It does take a certain amount of muscle and balance to walk, just keep exercising him and helping him build those skills.

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My younger daughter didn't walk until sixteen months - two weeks before her little brother was born. She didn't have a physical problem; she was just an easygoing kid who did all the motion stuff later than her older (and younger!) siblings. She makes up for it now by being a schoolteacher and running after children all the time.

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Some of the guidelines for milestones drive me crazy! I was worried sick about my middle child when he seemed delayed with his milestones. He didn't stand up until 13 mos, didn't walk until 17 months, didn't talk until 2.5. I was convinced something was wrong, but he was just a late bloomer. So, when my 3rd baby wasn't pulling up at 11-12 mos and the pediatrician started threatening physical therapy and giving me deadlines, I went off on him a little bit. They all develop at their own pace, and I wasn't going to be worried sick again with this one. He started walking a week before he turned 15 months-he took a couple of wobbly steps then took off. Your son will too! Relax and enjoy!

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I wouldn't worry about it yet. Kids who are learning other milestones frequently are late on either walking or talking. You have to worry if they are late on both at the same time.

Get one of those little pushcarts or a little grocery cart for him. He'll want to push it around, and he has to stand up to do it. It will help his mind prepare for walking.

D.

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Be careful what you wish for...
Sometimes they don't start out walking -- they start out running. When they run they are harder to catch...
At first you'll be thrilled, but then in a very short time, you'll be wondering why you wanted him to walk so soon...
LBC

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My first didn't walk until the day after he hit 15 months. He COULD walk -he was cruising for months before that and basically would barely be touching whatever he was touching for security, but it took him forever to finally let go! Talk to your pediatrician again if he's not walking in a few weeks, but don't worry unnecessarily. A good friend of mine didn't walk until 19 months, and she's a professor at an excellent technology university and another didn't speak a WORD until she was almost TWO (they really did think something was very wrong with her) -and then one night at the dinner table she came out with an entire sentence! She's perfectly normal and bright! You just never know with kids.

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I feel your pain, i JUST went through this! Is your kiddo tall/thin? and, were you or his dad late walkers? If so (due to my copious internet research -AKA frantic googling) those are markers of a later walker. My son was cruising around furniture @9 mos and i walked @ a year so i literally was waiting (and worrying) when he didn't start walking till he was 16 and a 1/2 mos old - exactly when the doc had told us to call him if he didn't start walking! If everything else is good, he's just taking his time. If you can, try to out him in situations where he's around other kids walking. Maybe that will motivate him? And, as a bonus, once my son did start finally walking he was much steadier on his feet than his counterparts....

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Is he around other kids at all? I know my son wouldn't show an interest in crawling and I was getting worried, he would barely kind of commando crawl. He was about 8 months when we visited his cousin who was 14 months at the time and running. 3 days of that and he started crawling just to keep up with her and within 2 months, he was running too.

Sometimes it's not a developmental problem, it's that they need to see other babies doing it and have a reason to push themselves. Don't worry too much, encourage him as much as you can and see if you can provide him some competition to get him going.

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My son was almost 17 months. Drove me crazy! He is almost 5 now. He has no developmental issues at all. He does seem to need extra encouragement to try new things so maybe that is just his personality. I wish I could tell you one thing that worked great to get him to walk but it just finally happened. And yup, he had that army crawl down so fast too.

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My son was the same way; we even had to have xrays done on his legs and hips at 16 months to rule out any issues there. The weekend after we had the xrays done my son decided he was tired of scooting everywhere and went straight to running. Don't worry, he'll be walking on his own soon enough!

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both of my daughters were the same way, and both of them stood up around 16 months, took off and never looked back. They were scared of falling and didn't really walk until they were certain they could do it. Hang in there. If he is reaching all of his other milestones, I'm sure everything will work itself out.

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he is still in the normal range, and you are right to NOT freak out or have him evaluated. Obviously he can support his weight as he is cruising furniture, so there is no balance or muscle issue.

I have seen MANY babies who don't bother to walk because they get around in other ways. So, my suggestion to you is to make it less convenient for him to be able to cruise all over the place. Move the furniture so it is farther apart. You and Daddy stand just out of reach so he has to go from one to the other by walking. Have an incentive for when he gets there like a bite of his fav food or a toy he likes.
You may also want to do what I saw an old granny doing at the mall once - she used a scarf and had it around the child's chest under each arm and then she was behind the child holding the two ends to help the child be upright. Then maybe he will see the joys of walking.

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my son was at the same stage at 15 mnths. at almost 16mnths he started walking but would only walk around me, if he can crawl real well he may just think "well I am getting around fine why walk?" my son is now 19mnths and is not only walking real well, but runs around the house faster then I thought possiable with his little legs!

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My first three children walked right at a year, so when my fourth started pulling up at 9 mos, I thought she would walk early. Much to my suprise, although she was cruising and taking the first three steps, she did not start walking on her own until she was 16 mos when she just up and walked across the doctors office while we were waiting for my check up! No worries, they all seem to do things in their own time.

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I wouldn't be too concerned until you get closer to 18 months. My daughter was between 16-17 months before she walked. 17 months for walking well. She could scoot around on her but incredibly fast so she felt no need to walk.

My daughter just started walking (15 months) and I was getting a little stressed too. But each day she becomes a little more solid with er steps and I am reminded to just relax and ler her develop at her pace. I'm sure he'll be walking in no time at all. He sounds perfectly delightful. :)

My sons were 15 months and 16 months. Once they started, there was no stopping them. They were very stable and didn't fall much, so that's the good side! They also potty trained late and didn't have many accidents once they decided to do it. They are 8 and 11 now, and everything is great. If your son is walking around furniture and will take steps with help, he's probably fine physically and is just taking his time. I wouldn't worry at this point, as long as you aren't seeing problems. Good luck keeping up with him in a few months! :)

At 18 months, my daughter was not walking, so she was evaluated through a state program. This step was recommended by her pediatrician, even though the doctor thought there was nothing physically wrong. The state sent physical and occupational therapists to my home. For the next two months, it was a nightmare of red tape. In the end, no therapy was required, and my daughter started walking at 20 months. You might want to put off intervention for your son for another few months.

No worries! My daughter didn't start to walk until she was between 15 and 16 months old. I was a bit concerned, given that my son walked right around 12 months. I know other kids who didn't until they were closer to 18 months. Not to fret! Kids will do it when they're good and ready.

My daughter actually walked REALLY early (10 months, and running outright at 11 months) but my nephew didn't walk until later, he was a bit of a late bloomer. I don't really see what the issue is if he's walking around furniture, he has the ability, maybe he's still not feeling the balance yet?

My son didn't walk until he was 17 months. It will happen - I hear that early walkers are late talkers and late walkers are early talkers. This is was true in my son's case. He had a huge vocabulary at 15 months but refused to walk without his little walker!

My two girls didn't walk until 15 months. They're both strong, healthy, happy kids. They just took their time. It's a scary thing to learn for little ones.

my dr said the same about my 3rd daughter...."we'll see about physical therapy if she's not walking by her 15 month checkup". i cried. :( more than likely if he's walking along things he is sure to be walking on his own soon. he obviously has the muscle strength; maybe he's just nervous/scared to let go and do it. i think that was my daughter's problem, just not sure of herself. she eventually did it - completely on her own and when no one was coaxing her to. it was just a few days before her 15 month checkup.

it's almost as if they know that we're dying for them to just walk and they're holding off on purpose. :) don't stress. now that my daughter is turning 2 next month, i almost wish some days that she was still a non-walker....they're into fewer things. :)

Our daughter didn't walk until 14 mo. Keep the pediatrician abreast of it but our chiropractor said that the longer it takes your child to start walking the better it is for their spine and so we were thrilled that she took her time.

I'm surprised your pediatrician would put that deadline at 15 months...everything I've read has said 12-18 months is the norm. My son wasn't walking at his 18 month check up and so after meeting with the doctor we decided to have early intervention come in and meet with us. Wouldn't you know, within a few days he just stood up and started walking! He'll do it when he's ready!

You probably have nothing to worry about but of course, you want him to hurry up already! My son took his first steps and then he pretty much walked after that entirely at almost 14 months at the playground. I guess he saw all the other kids running around. Some kids walk early but are wobbly for a while or alternate for a long time. In my sons case, and probably in yours too, he is cautious and wanted to be pretty good before he tried. But once he started, he progressed very quickly.

My son did the same thing and then by 18 months, he was walking constantly. Hang in there. I'm sure he's fine!

That's strange...what options did your pediatrician mean? I really believe that children develop at their own pace, and if he's hitting all of his other milestones and seems to be a happy and healthy child, then you have nothing to worry about. My daughter was always a little slower than the "average" age to hit her milestones. She was able to pull herself up and supported herself with the furniture, and she loved it when she could hold onto our hands and we would "walk" her around (basically just hold on to her hands and walk right behind her, so she knew she could grab us if she fell). I could tell that she knew how to walk, but she just wasn't ready to do it yet. She finally was ready at about 14 months, and when she was ready she took off like crazy. I guess she just needed to feel confident enough to do it on her own. Now that she's 8, I'm trying to get her to learn how to ride a two-wheeler and she refuses! But I know she'll get it when she's ready.

Her little brother, on the other hand, started walking at 10 months. He didn't care how many times he fell, he just had to get moving. Every child is different.