Why does it seem like people think early walking is a good thing? - Page 2

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by Fuamami

Ds1 walked at 9 months, and I really wished he hadn't because he had a head the size of a large pumpkin. He was ALWAYS falling over and bonking it, I think it was just too big to balance up there. But he was determined to go!

Yes! Ds's poor head is a bruised mess.

[Koalamom]

I have got to say, my 10 month ds is totally cute as he grabbed a wet wash cloth and has been running around the house washing all the walls. He must have seen me do it a while back.

[LindsC]

DS started walking just shy of 10 months old and I loved to watch him run around wherever we were. Sure, he was harder to keep an eye on because he was constantly into things, but he was such a happy little guy.

DD on the other hand is in no rush to start walking and I am enjoying that too. It's nice that she is content to sit still and play quietly instead of always being on the go.

[Juvysen]

My two older children were both early walkers - DD took her first steps a day before she turned 7 months and gave up crawling about a month later since crawling was faster until then. She had been crawling/cruising for a month (she started crawling and cruising the same day - actually a day before she turned six months, strangely enough). DS1 didn't take his first steps until he was about 8 1/2 months (which felt late after DD ) but gave up crawling by 9 months. This little guy (DS2), is already at LEAST as developed as the other two were by his age, but then, he's only two months old, so we shall see. I'm sorta hoping he avoids the crawling thing for a while longer than the other two did... and walking too, but of course, once they're crawling and pulling up all bets are off anyway. *sigh*

So yeah... I actually don't like that my kids walked so early, and it bothers me more because I expect people probably think i'm bragging when I state the fact of when the kids walked, but really it was more con than pro. It feels like I get robbed of the baby phase. It was just so short with the first two.

[sapphire_chan]

I wanted dd to walk--ON HER OWN. We had about two months (5-7) of lovely happy sitting and playing. Then a month of trying to learn to crawl (7-8) with lots of diving forward onto her tummy from sitting and then needing help sitting up again.

Then there was crawling, which wasn't too horrible, but dd was bored with quite soon. She'd be asking to hold hands and walk together starting around 7 months, and that really took off at 8 months.

Silly child refused to even cruise, which would've been a bit of a break from the walking practice, y'know?

dd wasn't early by the standards of this thread. While I would've liked a longer crawling stage, thank goodness we got one at all.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Kmama2

I'm sure an early walker would probably get into more trouble though????

Actually, there's this lovely period between learning to walk and being able to see over the tops of tables. Unfortunately, dd's height is such that her "ooo, I know what's up there without standing on tiptoe!" stage has lined up with her "I know the last 7 billion pieces of wood on this playground were 'barkdust', will mommy say 'it's barkdust' about piece 7billion and one?"

[belltree]

Oh, I am really glad to find other mom's of early walkers here. My little guy is now walking free since 10 days. He does not know how to crawl at all. People keep telling me, that crawling is important for brain development. Our son is just 7 months old.

Since he started walking he needed much more attention from us, because at first he needed our help to walk, and now the house needs to be baby proofed, he reaches higher shelves, falls down and needs help getting up again.

And people assume he is older (he is just average sized), but him walking people think he is 12 months old.

[CrunchyMamaToBe]

Originally Posted by HappiLeigh

I was annoyed by my early walker. It was like she didn't have the sense to be mobile, but her little body allowed it anyway!

Yes, this! My first was mobile from 6 months and walking at 9. Whenever I saw babies who sat and played, I was jealous. I hope my current babe is stationary for a bit longer.

[Bokonon]

My son was pretty significantly delayed and didn't crawl until 15 months or walk until just before his 2nd birthday. He was in physical therapy once a week and it was financially and emotionally draining, just waiting for him to start walking, because he was otherwise completely healthy and "normal".

So I have to say that it was unbelievably frustrating when other moms would tell me they "wished" their child was delayed. Um, no, you don't! On the late side of normal is one thing. Developmental delays are something no one wants for their children!

[boringscreenname]

DS is on the total opposite end of the spectrum. He didn't start walking until he was 19 months old. We had him in Physical and Developmental Therapy and they found no physical reason for him not to be walking. He was determined to do things when he was ready and on his own time and nothing was going to change that.

In some ways it was nice when he wasn't mobile, because he could go fewer places and got into less trouble. In some ways it was really frustrating to watch kids younger than him walking perfectly. Plus add in the fact that I was pregnant, and he had to be carried everywhere. In a lot of places we didn't even have the option to set him down, because he didn't know how to stand up unassisted, and in a lot of places we couldn't just set him down because it was unsafe or not baby proofed. Plus DS would freak out whenever he couldn't see one of us, and a lot of the time he didn't know how to follow us or get things he wanted or go where he wanted to go, so it was frustrating for him too.

Now he knows how to walk perfectly and is quickly learning how to run. He spends all his time chasing after us and the dog, and he's so much happier now that he figured out this whole walking business. His latest accomplishment is discovering how to stomp with his shoes on, which he proudly shows off to anyone and everyone.