Pros and Cons of Having a Late Walker

My son is a late walker. At 20 months of age he is still yet to master crawling or standing up on his own, let alone walking or running around. There is nothing physically wrong with him apart from being “Hypermobile” – Or extra flexible. He is just a late walker. This has its good side, but most definitely has a bad side…

Lets take a closer look at the pros and cons of having a late walker…

PROS:

I don’t have to chase after him!

This is probably the number 1 positive thing about having a late walker. HE CAN’T RUN AWAY FROM ME!!!!!

In fact, I am lucky enough to have one of these children that I can put down in one spot, duck to the loo and be fairly confident he will still be in that same spot or in the general vicinity when I return. I know many parents who would kill for that!

Plus, its a lot safer having him not running away. Kids can be fast little critters, and I have watched many a mother have to sprint to chase their child to prevent them from getting into some sort of trouble. My child’s version of running away is bum shuffling at an extremely slow speed to get where he wants to go. I don’t even have to rush to catch him! I can finish my cuppa!

The Guns

Yes, my arm muscles are looking pretty damn awesome! Having to constantly lift a 13kg sack of potatoes has its advantages I guess..

Childproofing Can Wait a While

Yeah, my son couldn’t even get himself to the cupboard easily, let alone get into it or on top of it… While other mothers were frantically childproofing everything in sight, I got to do it later. And steal the best child-proofing ideas.

Saving Money

Do you know how much a pair of decent toddler’s shoes cost nowadays??!!! I can probably put him through university with the money I’m saving on shoes!

 The Cat is Safe

My son loves our cat… Loves to pull her ears, grab her tail, chew on her face… Thankfully the slow bum shuffling allows her plenty of time to escape when he sets his sights on her… Although she is getting old and doesn’t move fast – so she is in for a rude shock when he finally does start to chase her on his feet!

Patience

Patience is a virtue apparently… And I’m getting REALLY good at it…

CONS:

The Embarrassment of Bum Shuffling

Yes, having a bum shuffler is EMBARRASSING!!! Not because they are slow to walk, but because when they shuffle across the floor they look like a dog that’s wiping its bum on the ground.

Other Mothers

Yes, fellow bum shuffling mothers can most probably relate to the annoying and sometimes downright rude comments of other mothers. Much of the time they don’t mean any harm, but you still want to wring their necks!

Here are a few examples I have encountered:

• “Oh look at him shuffling around there. He moves well doesn’t he? For his age?”

“He’s 19 months….”

“OH……….”

• “My sisters friends cousins sisters friend had a child who butt shuffled. He was autistic. You better get him checked.”
• “Oh just put him on the floor love, he will figure it out.”
• “You mother him too much. Stop picking him up.”
• “Well your obviously THAT kind of mother…”  WTF!??

And my personal favourite:

• “He will get there in his own time…” Yes, but what about in the meantime!!???

Constipation

With his limited movement and hypermobility comes constipation… I don’t think I really need to say more. It sucks!

Frustration

You can probably guess. He sees all the other children (many who are younger than him) running around, climbing play equipment, sitting in chairs, etc etc. He DESPERATELY wants to be part of it. He doesn’t understand why he can’t. He isn’t able to comprehend that he will get there eventually, he just knows he is not there now. Its HEARTBREAKING!

It is also incredibly frustrating for me watching him not being able to do things the other kids do. We have some friends who had their child a year after mine. A WHOLE YEAR! And already they are starting to pull themselves up on furniture and will no doubt be walking soon. It feels like my son is over a year behind all the others. It makes me think, have I done something wrong as a parent? Do I not push him enough? (mind you we are currently doing 2 hours a week of intense physical therapy so I highly doubt my motivation is an issue). WHAT HAVE I DONE WRONG?

Absolutely nothing! I just have a child who doesn’t know how to walk, he hasn’t figured it out yet. Hopefully he will soon.

Mel xx

Do you have a bum shuffler??

A child with hypermobility or  is ultra flexible??

Anything you can add to my list??

Feel free to make a comment 🙂

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