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Question

My son is 18 months old now but still does not walk or stand on his own.

Is this normal?

Answer

You would normally expect a child of 18 months to be walking on their own, although some won't be very good at it if they've only been walking for a short time.

If your son isn't walking or standing unaided at 18 months I think you should contact your health visitor or doctor so he can be examined.

It's possible that your son is developing normally in every other way - hearing, language, vision, social skills and so on - or there may be other areas in which his development is falling behind that usually seen in a child of his age.

Finding out the areas in which his development is normal, and those in which there may be some delay, should help the doctor or health visitor work out the possible reasons for your son being late to start walking.

If your son needs to be referred to children's hospital specialist, the health visitor or doctor will be able to organise that for you.

Yours sincerely

The Medical Team

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