Toe Walking

DS the past few weeks I have noticed is walking ALOT on his tiptoes rather than this whole foot. He will stand on his whole foot and will walk some on his whole foot but majority of it is walking on his tiptoes. He does it even with shoes on.We go to our 18mth checkup next week so of course that will be brought up then but just wanted to get some opinons or to see if this is normal or not since I did the mistake and googled

 

Our ped said it is normal for kids to experiment with this (Amy did it), but you should have them checked out if they do it exclusively, or if they do it a lot for more than a month or so.

 

It's certainly something that a lot of kids try out, but most revert to whole foot walking quickly (it's easier!). There are quite a few reasons why your DS might be toe-walking... it could be something as simple as a tight calf muscle that will loosen up with a little physical therapy. Definitely bring this up with your pediatrician who can direct you to the appropriate resources, or tell you not to worry!

 

My DD does this as well, has been from the day she started to walk. She will stand flat on her feet & when you tell her to walk flat she will for a few steps then start tip toeing again. Our pedi said not to worry about it because she is walking fine, he did tell me I could message the bottom of her feet as it may be tight. I walked on my toes until I was about 3.5, a few of my cousins did as well too, I guess we all wanted to experiment!

 

agree with others to mention it to your pedi. Sometimes toe-walking is connected to neurological stuff (in addition to the what others have mentioned).

 

Ditto this.

Both my DDs toe-walked.

One did so off/on with no consistency on when or how when she first learned to walk and the other DD only toe walked.

DD that toe walked exclusively had some neurological concerns. She continues to toe-walk off/on at age 5 ( usually when she does not have shoes on) and has had Physical Therapy off/on for 3 yrs.

My other DD stopped on her own.

Absolutely discuss it with your Dr.

 

As others said, it's probably just a phase, but it doesn't hurt to bring it up to the dr. But I wouldn't worry about it yet, and I wouldn't worry about scheduling an appt tomorrow for it All my kids have toe walked at some point, although my girls have done it more than my boys

 

I would definitely look into it further. GL and keep us posted!

 

I think its definitely something that you should keep your eyes on. Try putting a base ball hat on him and see if this helps. Sometimes it can be a balance issues due to him using other muscles to stabilize himself walking. My daughter has torticollis and toe walking can emerge as a result of the tight neck muscle. When child uses other muscles to stabilize themselves other than their core, toe walking can happen.

My daughter's physio said to ensure you are stretching the feet and calve muscles if she is toe walking b/c doing this for extended periods of time can cause the muscles to become tight and perpetuating the toe walking further.

Try to see if you can sense if he is toe walking b/c of a sensory issue, ie. doesn't like the feel of touching his heal to the ground. When he is standing and if he goes on his toes, just gently try to shift his weight by putting your hands on his legs near his knees and encouraging him to touch his heal to the ground. This will help stretch and get him used to putting his heal on the ground.

 

How did he do with belly time as an infant?

 

My son experiments with this sometimes.. usually when there's a lot of cheerios on the ground! Most of the time he walks flat footes though, he just seems to go through short periods of experimentation.

I'd definitely bring it up to your ped, but don't consult Dr. Google anymore! The internet is a lot scarier than real life!

 

He did ok. Didnt really like it but he would do it for a little while

We go for our 18mth check up tomorrow so I will be asking. Thanks and I will update tomorrow!

 

There seems to be a connection with idopathic (no reason) too walkers and infants who don't like or do much belly time. They don't get the practice using the muscles used in typical walking as well. PT may help.

Good luck

 

Well their Pedi doesnt seem concerned at all. She said its normal and they dont start really being concerned about it until they are closer to 4.

 

That's a relief!! Thanks for updating us.

 

Just wanted to come back and say that DS is STILL doing it. Almost all the time Early Intervention wants to evaulate for PT and I have to get dr orders at their 2 yr check up later this month. Will update again!

 

Thanks for the update. I hope you get some answers soon :hug: