Something happened recently that made me realize that kids will follow their own timeline as far as milestones are concerned, and there is very little we can do about it. Yes, we can guide them, teach them, show them, and encourage them, but ultimately, they will do so when ready. I guess there are some medieval routes we can go, but we don’t encourage those on this page. Our son, Andrei, was knocking down milestones like crazy. He was holding his bottle, turning over in both directions, and crawling at an early age. He even started saying “mama” when he was around eight months old. I seriously thought he would be walking well before he turned one, perhaps by the time he was 10 months old. However, this did not happen. By the time of his first birthday party, he still hadn’t started walking.

I was a little concerned about this. I don’t really know why because he would eventually start walking. Well, shortly after turning 13 months, he began taking a couple of steps. Now, he is walking about 30-40 feet at a time and is getting much better at balancing himself. Within a couple of weeks, he will probably start running and we will yearn for those times he was just crawling short distances. Kidding aside, we love watching our kiddo progress. There is something new everyday and it’s an amazing experience.

We were coming up with reasons for why our son did not start walking before the age of one; the biggest one being that we were overseas for almost five weeks. While touring Japan and Philippines, we were in a lot of closed spaces and Andrei had very little room to move around. He also became quite ill this lasted a couple of weeks. It took some time to get his strength back. While these are all valid reasons for why he didn’t start walking sooner, ultimately, we know that it’s because he wasn’t ready. When he became ready, he started walking all over the place and is not slowing down.

Are you worried that your child is falling behind? There is a good chance that they will hit whatever milestones they need to. It may just take a little while longer for them to be ready. So, be patient and don’t worry too much. Just enjoy watching your child grow up and learn something daily. They will move at their own pace. As I always say, don’t hesitate to consult with an expert if you are concerned about any major developmental delays or other issues. You know your child best and if you are worried about something, then take action. Good luck everyone and go enjoy those kiddos of yours. Make every moment count!