Our youngest is almost 14 months old and still won’t walk without holding onto my finger. He also skipped crawling and only butt-scooted instead (he’s our only one who has done this). He cruises everywhere and can stand independently and squat down by himself to pick things up. But he’s been right on the cusp of independent walking for, like, the last three months, it seems.
In terms of his overall development, he is right on track otherwise. Says lots of words, stacks blocks, etc, feeds himself and even uses utensils sometimes. I’m kind of getting worried and impatient about the walking, though. It seems like he’s never going to let go of me and walk by himself!
[name_u]James[/name_u] and [name_f]Elise[/name_f] walked at 12 months, and [name_m]Will[/name_m] was closer to 10 months old, so I guess I’m surprised Zachy’s not already running away from me.
No kids, but just wanted to say that I wouldn’t worry too much about him being a late walker. I didn’t walk until 15 months, and turned out normal. Also, I used to work in a daycare type of place, and there were a couple kids that wouldn’t walk unassisted until 17-18 months and they were fine. You could mention it to his pediatrician, but I’m sure he’ll get it eventually.
I was a late walker!
My son is 12 months and he has only been crawling for a month, he cruises like your son and squats and picks up but he doesn’t look very close to independent walking to me.
I wouldn’t worry - they really are all different
Our boys didn’t walk until 14 or 15 months. One of them was just like you describe- had been holding my finger almost walking for months before he finally got up the courage to do it on his own. And we sort of tricked him into it. We put a toy in his hand instead and he thought he was holding on to us while we walked along right beside. Now at 3 they are running, jumping etc as normal and have above average verbal skills.
I also have a cousin who didn’t walk until she was 18 months. No other developmental delays or anything. [name_m]Just[/name_m] not really interested in walking.
I wouldn’t worry, although I understand the impatience.
My son is only 8 months old so we’re not there yet, but my youngest nephew only started walking at 16 months after what seemed like an endless time cruising and being “on the cusp” of independent walking as you put it. My brother and sister in law’s take on it : he was one lazy boy and was also enjoying being the baby of the family (the youngest of three), because other than his reluctance to walk, he was (and still is) developing without a problem. As Zaelia said about her cousin : just not interested in walking, thank you very much. But he got there eventually and I’m sure your son will too, in his own sweet time !
PS: your kids have beautiful names and your daughter is my twin, name wise (I am an [name_f]Elise[/name_f] [name_f]Marie[/name_f] too, with [name_f]Renee[/name_f] as a second middle)… Congrats !
My niece didn’t walk until almost 18 months when they found out she needed tubes in her ears. She practically walked out of the hospital it happened so quick once the tubes helped her equilibrium.
Is your kid big for his age? I have two friends whose kids were big (90-100 percentile) and they were both slow to crawl and walk. Apparently it’s very common with bigger babies since they have more weight to lift up.
My son walked at 15 months. And my nephew was like 16 months. It really varies kid to kid about when they walk. And my nephew was a peanut so it wasn’t size related for him.
@pansy, he’s not super huge, but somewhat taller than average. He’s skinny and has an average-sized head, but has a long body. So I don’t think it’s his size. But yes, I have heard that bigger kids can be late walkers, too.
My little one isn’t even near the time we expect her to walk yet, but we have quite a few late walkers in my family! One of my nieces was not able to walk by herself until she was around 17 or 18 months old. She is 19 now, and perfectly healthy. No developmental delays or anything. I’ve had nieces and nephews that didn’t walk until they were at least 14 months old! You truly have nothing to worry about. However, if this goes on past about 20 months of age or so, I’d encourage you to talk to your pediatrician. But at 14 months, it seems perfectly normal. : )
I have an almost 15 month old (who is not walking yet) and at his last check up the pediatrician didn’t even ask whether he is walking yet or not (she asked other developmental questions). I asked when I should expect our little guy to start walking and she said the normal range is anywhere between 9 and 18 months. There are so many milestones to achieve, walking is just one of many (but one we seem to like to fixate on). Enjoy your kid in his current stage and don’t worry about it!
We actually just covered this in my childhood development class. Anything between 12-18 months is a normal range for walking. At 14 months I wouldn’t be too concerned.
Humans have an innate ability to walk and will walk when they’re ready whether anyone teaches them or not. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if you carried them from the day they were born and you sat them down, if they were ready to walk, they would.
