17 month old not walking yet

[cewillis02]

Please help! My 17 month old son is not walking yet nor standing on his own. He is a twin and his twin has been walking for 3 months. Should I be concerned? He can walk with a push toy but shows no sign of wanting to try to walk on his own. Should I get him tested for developmental problems? Any advice would be great. I beginning to freak out that there might be a larger issue here....

[cay8099]

The fact that he walks with a push toy tells me that he does have the ability to walk. Perhaps he is just going to be the internal (smarter, more emotional) twin; while the other is going to be the more physical (the more athletic) twin. However if it will make you feel better talk to their pediatrition.

[cewillis02]

He is definitely the more emotional twin. Way more emotional and quiet. He has very flat feet, maybe this could be the problem?? I have put a call into our pediatrician and am waiting to hear back on their reccomendation.

[MamaHopkins]

What did your MD say at your son's last well-visit about his development? Was he a preemie? Sometimes they are slower at developmental milestones... esp. if he was the smaller twin and/or has had medical problems as a result.

It SOUNDS like (but, hey, I'm no expert! Just a new Mommy myself!) he knows he can get "catered" to, and doesn't feel like he NEEDS to walk. Stubburn kids... oh am I framilar with that ;)

My son DEFINATELY inherited my F-L-A-T feet as well, but he'll be 1 in a few weeks and is just about walking. EVERY LITTLE ONE IS DIFFERENT, so try not to compare him to others too much.

Can't wait to see what your MD says... good luck :)

[cewillis02]

Doc said that he didn't see any reason why he shouldn't be walking. He can climb stairs, so he has the leg strength. They wanted to wait it out and see if he learns on his own, but that was 3 months ago. I called my Doc yesterday and they are going to send a referral to a specialist to have him evaluated to rule out any muscular issues or something else. They both were born a month early, and have had no medical problems at all. I'll keep you posted....

[bluegrassmom]

I would talk to the pediatrician about it, but don't worry too much. My nephew didn't walk until he was 17 1/2 months old and my sister didn't walk until she was 20 months old. As long as he's growing and learning other things, than he's probably just a late bloomer with the walking. As hard as it is, try not to compare your twins with each other. They are different children. Like I said, my sister learned to walk when she was 20 months old and I learned when I was 10 months, so every child, even if they're related, is completely different.