Piglet is rocketing towards 15 months old. He is healthy, he is happy and he is learning every day. But he is not walking. He is like lightening when he crawls – that kid can move – but he has little to no interest in getting up on his feet to get around.

As with just about every other mother out there I have watched his peers and inadvertently compared his development. I’ve made excuses “oh well he was premature so his corrected age is only 14 months“. I’ve made jokes to shake off the comments, but I shouldn’t have to. Because it’s ok to not walk yet.

My Toddler Can't Walk And That's OK | As a parent I get sick of being asked if Piglet can walk yet. Every child's development rate is different and what Piglet can and cannot do is nobody elses business https://oddhogg.com

I get asked a couple times a week if Piglet has walked yet. Not by family, but usually by strangers or people we don’t know very well. For those who know Piglet’s age I am usually met with surprise when I say he’s not up on his feet yet, even more so when I mention that I don’t think it’s going to be happening any time soon.

I get the impression that others think I should be worried about Piglet not walking – or at the very least be practising with him at every available opportunity. He has no desire to walk, and so far no sign that there is anything physically stopping him. I am letting him do things at his own pace.

My Toddler Can't Walk - And That's OK | 1 year old standing https://oddhogg.comOf course, there have been occasions recently where it would be good for Piglet to be up on his feet. When he turned one we moved to an older swimming class. It is really obvious that he is “behind” the rest of the class in many of his abilities. Our pool is really shallow and so the little ones can walk around at the shallow end, apart from Piglet and I who have to be away from everyone else in the deeper end so that I can hold him in the water. The children also stand on the edge of the pool to jump, but Piglet has to sit. He is happy though, and he doesn’t realise that he is different.

When you look at a group of similar aged children in Primary school it isn’t possible to tell which of them walked at 10 months, 12 months or even 16 months. They are all running around and are as competent as each other. If I ever find myself wondering when Piglet will walk I just remind myself of that, of that fact that in a few years time he will be the same as everyone else.

My Toddler Can't Walk - And That's OK | In The Garden https://oddhogg.com

We do practice walking. He has a walker that he pushes around if the mood strikes him, and we toddle around the living room a bit. But we don’t spend hours on it every day. He clings on to your hands, often shaking with fear, and is like Bambi on ice. I’ve seen some toddlers that are completely kamikaze, but Piglet is a lot more nervous in general and doesn’t seem confident in his own abilities.

Piglet has always been a bit behind the curve with all his milestones. He didn’t sit until 8 months, commando crawled at around 10 months and didn’t get up and crawl properly until nearly a year old.

He’s following his own path and doing things in his own time. And that means he can’t walk yet – and thats ok.

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