The child is running late, know the causes and how to train it

Children running late is one of the most common concerns for parents. Especially if you see children your baby's age seem to be running smoothly, even almost running. It must be understood that the development of each child is different.

Based on the Denver II child development chart, 12-14 months of toddlers are when the child is able to run smoothly. Then, what if at that age the child cannot walk? Can you call a child running late? The following is a complete review of the causes and therapies for late children.

The cause of the child being late

Referring to the Healthline website, studies show that walking late toddlers can be a risk factor for communication delays, even autism, when children grow up.

Then, what causes the child to walk late? Launching from Patient, there are several things that cause children to be late for walking, namely:

Effect of motor skills

In some cases, children who walk late are influenced by motor skills from genetic factors. If your child is running late, chances are there are family members who have experienced the same thing before. This does not mean a child is disabled or left behind. All motor skills are running fine and normal, it's just too late compared to other friends and this is not a danger.

In addition, children who are late for walking can also be caused by developmental disorders. It could be that the child is not only late in walking, but also late in the development of gross, fine motor, language, and social skills. Patient explained that this condition can be affected by hypotonia (low muscle tone which makes the body weaker) and dysmorphic (psychological disorders when a person is anxious about their physical appearance and feels they have a physical disorder). This can cause the child to walk late.

Muscle abnormalities

In the website of the US National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health (NCBI) explained, hypertonia is a condition of increased muscle tone due to lesions in the brain and brainstem. One of the hypertonia conditions is in people with cerebral palsy. The condition of the child being late for walking can be an early sign of cerebral palsy in mild conditions.

Environmental factor

Not only medical factors that can cause children to walk late, but environmental and habitual factors. Some of them:

• Infections (eg, meningitis, encephalitis, cytomegalovirus).
• Head injury.
• Malnutrition or poor nutrition.
• Rickets or bone disorders caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, calcium and phosphate.
• Obesity and hip dysplasia has not been proven to hinder the development of a child's path
• Baby walkers have little effect on children's walking development.
• The habit of putting children in a baby crib. In very extreme cases, the custom or tradition of placing children on a mattress or crib makes the child's gross motor skills untrained. Although this rarely happens, playing too long on the mattress can make the child's fine and gross motor skills decrease and not develop.

Child's medical history

When the child is late for walking, the child's medical history can also have an effect. Some things that need to be noted are:

• Problems during pregnancy.
• Children born prematurely, which opens the possibility of intrapartum asphyxia or cerebral palsy.
• The child has jaundice.
• Improper feeding of children.
• Parents' track record when walking for the first time (whether they experience delays too or not).

When to worry and take your child to the doctor?

When a 14 month old child cannot walk, of course, there is a sense of worry about whether it can be said that the child is running late. However, referring to the Healthline website, the range of children learning to walk at the age of 12-17 months. Parents need to be vigilant when an 18 month old child cannot walk at all.

To determine the child's ability to walk, pay attention to the child's motor skills. For example, a 14 month old child cannot walk yet but he can stand up on his own, pull a toy, or throw a ball. This includes good gross motor development in child development.

Another important thing to remember is that children born prematurely have a different line of development than children born at the appropriate gestational age. Use an age of correction that matches the child's original date of birth. So, if your child is 14 months old but you gave birth 3 months earlier, it means that the age of the child that is developmentally appropriate is 11 months.

If the child's age matches the expected day of birth, you need to be aware of the following things as a sign that the child is running late.

• Can't stand alone.
• Unable to pull on something, such as rope, tablecloth, or toys.
• Cannot get up from sitting.
• Cannot push a toy while standing.
• An 18 month old child cannot walk at all.
• Child walks on heels.

How to train or therapy children running late at home

Each child's ability to walk is different. However, if you have consulted with the doctor and the child is declared running late, it is necessary to do therapy or how to train the child so that the child's gross motor development runs well. The following is therapy for late children that can be done at home, launching from What To Expect:

Fishing rod with toys

If your little one seems insecure or reluctant when learning to walk, lure him to take a step by keeping the toys at a distance he cannot reach. This is the same way when fishing a child to crawl and one of the late childhood therapy.

When he tries to reach the toy, tell him the direction. Whether to the right or to the present. Apart from being a therapy for late children, this is also useful for training coordination between the hands and brain of children.

Give the media a helping hand

You can wear push walker as a tool to trigger children to confidently walk. However, this tool is not mandatory, you can use existing furniture in the house for your little one to push, for example a chair, small table, or a small light sofa.

Help your little one to balance his body when holding on to these tools. Stay on standby behind the child, to prevent him from falling back or hitting his head while practicing. This cheap way can be a late-road child therapy.

Hold out a hand when he walks

Children often lack confidence when learning to walk. Encourage your little one by standing in front of him then stretching out your hand so that he reaches for it. You can also ask the child to follow you wherever you walk through the other room. This is a therapy for late children.

Appreciate children when they start learning to walk

Forcing children to learn to walk is certainly not a good way. Even though it is anxious to see your little one's steps only a little, still give appreciation. Smile when he manages to walk, give words of encouragement without stressing him out. For example, "hooray, have added two steps. Tomorrow we try again if you are tired, okay. "

Do not forget to look at him when giving appreciation after what he did. This makes children more enthusiastic in participating in late child therapy.

Give a sense of comfort when the child falls

Falling is normal when children learn to walk. It is important for you to provide comfort to the child, even if he falls. Launching from Healthline, this is important to foster self-confidence in yourself and the environment. So that children feel safe, even if they fall. You can comfort when the child falls or provide a soft pad or pad around the child, so that when the child falls they do not hit hard objects.

Avoid using baby walkers

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not to use baby walkers as a therapeutic tool for late children. Baby walkers are dangerous for children's safety because the wheel movements cannot be controlled by children. In several cases, children fell on stairs due to the use of baby walkers, which then injured their head and neck.

Don't compare children's abilities

The thing that must be understood is that each child's abilities are different. When doing therapy for a late child, you need to lower your expectations and stop comparing your little one's skills with other children. This habit can have a negative effect on children's development in the future.

Basically, walking is included in gross motor skills that are very important in child development. This activity involves rough muscles such as the arms, legs and calves.

Therapy for children who are late for walking can be done at home by making a track with simple items that can provoke children to walk. Not only important for gross motor skills, walking and other physical activities train the coordination between the upper and lower body.

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