When Will My Child Walk? Tips on Childhood Motor Development

Rolling over, sitting, and walking are all important motor milestones in the life of an infant. And the exact timing of reaching these milestones vitally important… to the psyche of parents.

The mother of my four-month-old patient was ecstatic when she rolled over (all by herself!), and then devastated when she seemed uninterested in trying this new found skill again for nearly two months. She would sit by the crib pleading with her daughter: Roll over, honey, you can do it.

Every day in my pediatric practice I hear from parents who are worried about the rate that their child is developing motor skills. Parental worries come from watching friends’ children who are developing at different rates, or are triggered during a review of the prior generation’s baby books that detail how precocious other family members were.

The majority of parents who come to me anxious about their children’s development have normal, healthy children. Most parents don’t realize that the age at which common motor milestones are met varies widely. While some babies start rolling over at 4 months of age, others don’t roll over until they are 7 or 8 months old! And while some early walkers are toddling independently by 10 months, 10% of normal children have not walked by 15 months.

There is a point at which, of course, delayed motor development is considered abnormal, and your pediatrician is an essential partner in monitoring your child’s rate of development, and intervening when necessary.  Here are a couple of tips to help you know when to worry, and when to wait.
Tips for Parents:

• Do not compare your child to your friends’ children.
• See your pediatrician at regularly scheduled intervals: we will monitor your baby’s development closely and take appropriate action if we see delays in development. Trust us!
• If you’d like to follow your child’s development, the American Academy of Pediatrics has an excellent reference book about child development: Caring for your Baby and Young Child, Birth to Age Five.
• I will repeat myself on this one: 10% of normal children have not walked by 15 months of age. Normal children. So don’t go on thinking that your child is slow if he’s not walking by 15 months. He is, one more time together now, normal. Excellent work: now repeat that to yourself 20 times before bed every night.

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