One year old struggling with walking

[emyandpotato]

DS2 started toddling 2 months ago at 15 months but despite having lots of time and space to play and practice (and he does really try) he's still super wobbly on his feet at 17 months. Is this normal? His big brother has hyper-mobility as well as general delays so he didn't take steps til 16 months and then wasn't steady for ages but I think he was walking slightly more than this two months after starting! Should I be concerned? He crawled at 11 months and is super fast at that, figured out stairs quite quickly and can scale any soft play. He even tried to jump, but just cannot seem to walk?!

 

[krissie328]

I wouldn't be terribly worried since his other gross motor seems good. My ds started walking about 15-16 months and didn't really get the hang until 20 months. He relied a lot on things to push and crawling until then.

 

[MindUtopia]

I would probably just give it some time and make sure as much as possible that he's in barefeet or with socks, rather than shoes, so he can practice. Mine took her first steps at 15 months, but I would say wasn't walking confidently until about 16.5 months, which is perfectly normal.

 

[Rainbow82]

DS started walking just before 14 months but took two months till he was walking more than crawling so I wouldn't worry just yet. He preferred crawling till he could run actually so probably longer than two months. DS was climbing out of his cot and properly jumping on a trampoline before he even took his first steps, we were starting to worry he'd never walk but you'd never know that now.

 

[loeylo]

Gracie is 14.5 months and isn't walking yet. I really did think she would be an early walker because she had great head control from birth and was sitting up holding hands from about 8 weeks. She didn't crawl until she was 9 months and she has just started to stand unaided (but she has been cruising for a while)

I didn't even try to walk until 18 months whereas my partner was walking at 10 months. Kids are all different and I honestly wouldn't worry, he is still in the range of normal.

 

[SarahBear]

18 months is the upper end of "normal," but a few kids who have nothing wrong with them start later. You mentioned hypermobility with your first. What would be the course of action if that was the case with your second? I don't know much about it, but perhaps it's something to consider.

 

[_Meep_]

Mine walked at 12 months but it was AGES before I really trusted her to walk around on her own as she definitely fell over a lot. She also held her arms bent at the elbow like a T-Rex up until about four months ago, for balance. So she was doing that to keep her balance for a full year, until she was about 2. She also has considerable hyperlaxity of the joints in her hips and knees.

She's fine though. Runs well now, and jumps and is really stable these days. I don't even remember the last time she fell over to be honest! It just takes time for some, especially for those with extra movement in their joints!

 

[emyandpotato]

18 months is the upper end of "normal," but a few kids who have nothing wrong with them start later. You mentioned hypermobility with your first. What would be the course of action if that was the case with your second? I don't know much about it, but perhaps it's something to consider.

There's no course of action really!