Toe walking
My 5-year-old is still toe walking (appeared around age 3). He has orthotics in his shoes and if barefoot he responds well to be told or signaled to get off his toes but will start up again a very short time later. Would appreciate any advice/suggestions on how to help him stop toe walking.
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if it is autism , when will it out grow?
it appeared in 2 yrs and now its coming again. And ‘W’ shape sitting is a problem
Uh, “Persistent toe walking may increase a child’s risk of falling.”–Mayo Clinic. Is he prone to trip? If not, live and let live. Mind you, this only applies to non-dangerous situations. I toe walk some myself.
I appreciate all the comments! Has anyone been teased about it? I am concerned that he’ll be teased in school (starts Kindergarten in the fall). Adults comment on it frequently.
My daughter just turned 4. She has toe walked her entire life even before walking when she would stand it was on her toes. She was born with tight tendons throughout her legs, which didn’t actually have checked out until just recently. She now has super fun exercises that she loves, and she will probably have to do some PT but it’s not the end of the world. She still currently toe walks but it won’t hurt her, she in fact has amazing calf muscles and I’m sure when she gets older she will be able to walk amazingly in heels.
All in all it’s not a horrible thing and if you’re concerned you should talk to his physician because none of the people on here are going to be able to diagnose him.
i’m eighteen and i still toe-walk everywhere. it isn’t an inconvenience, and i have killer calves because of it!
I did the same thing when i was a little kid, it really isn’t a big deal. have him do stretches so his achilles tendon doesnt lose flexibility, but he’ll probably grow out of the habit
I don’t think there’s really anything wrong with it…me, my sister and my mother have all toe-walked our whole lives and have no problems (well, not due to toe-walking anyway ;P). I’m sure he’ll just grow out of it. I’d say just leave it alone, unless his doctor expresses concern – in which case he’ll probably offer some advice as well.
@raspberryjade@xanga – i do it every once in awhile, too, lol it’s the same as walking in heels. It’s actually a great calf exercise, too. I never saw the problem.
wait, why do you need him to stop? It’s great for his muscles & it’s fun for him so why be such a party pooper?
i used to toe walk…i just kind of grew out of it.
wow…I knew this 4 year old girl at a Child Development Center on an Air Force Base that walked on her toes…apparently her mom had done it for a while when she was younger too…
I had to keep reminding the little girl to get off her toes…
is this why she did that? She had autism?
news to me…hmmmm
I used to do that when I was really young, (they thought it might have been autism actually! but it wasn’t)
I don’t know what my parents did to make me stop but I still kinda do it even now and I’m 20… I don’t think it’s that bad, is it?
I don’t know why, but I always do that… o.O I think I like it because it makes less noise and I don’t like being annoying. XD I never knew it was a problem though…
I had the habit all through childhood. Later in middle school/high school I just stopped doing it for some reason. I guess it was just a phase. A learned habit if you will. I still do it sometimes unconsciously and I’m 19.
Don’t worry it.
Ask his doctor! I don’t know if tip toes means anything, but my mom is a teacher and apparently pigeon toed kids (not always, but in some cases) have certain disorders such as ADHD. The doctor said he got that a lot when he talked to a parent of one of my mom’s students… I’m not saying anything is wrong though! I have a friend who always walks on her toes… She just can’t get out of the habit. The only thing is sometimes it can lead to tendinitis in the toes, ankles, knees, and shins. Just make sure he wears shoes with a lot of support in the front rather than the back if at all possible!
I’m 20 and I still walk on my toes on a daily basis… I didn’t know it was a bad thing?
i have this problem… and for me part of it is that i’m a dancer and was trained to be on my toes. and even in marching band you are trained to be one your toes sometimes. so it’s almost drilled into me.
I’m 19 and I still toe-walk when I’m with family or friends. What’s the problem?
I still walk on my toes every once in a while, just out of habit. No idea why I do it, or why I started. No one ever told me to stop, and I’m 20 now. -shrug-
I had a childhood friend who used to walk on her toes and she’s always been a little eccentric but she had surgery to correct it so I’m not sure if it had more to do with muscles.
it took me years to stop doing this as a child too – but honestly, having people say something whenever they caught me doing it worked like a charm after some time passed. also, they told me that if i didn’t stop, my feet would get stuck that way…which i think freaked me out a bit!
When I was little I walked on my toes 24/7. In the store, in school, at home, anywhere. It just felt good. It’s hard to explain, sorry. Anyways, my mom just thought it was a little quirk so she never did anything about it. I just grew out of it but still sometimes do it (walking up stairs, around the house), so he might do the same later on in life. Hope that helps even just a little!
I’ve toe walked my whole life. I was told by a PT that I should stretch my achilles to make it more comfortable to walk normally, but I still toe walk. It’s just more comfortable for me.
I toe walk and I am 41 years old was forced to toe walk because my mother told me too due to flat feet or to prevent them. My track coach also enforced toe & heel walking to keep the calf muscles in shape. My Developmental Autistic son has a high arch but never toe walked.
My friend Jon is 25 and still tends to walk on his toes… always has.
I can agree with the people who mentioned not liking the texture of what is being walked on. I don’t like being barefooted much anywhere, even in the house. Grass is avoided at almost all cost when barefoot. I hate it. Sand is tolerated only because the pull of the water is greater than the dislike of sand… and wet shoes, even water shoes are worse than sand.
My son is 8 and still toe-walks. He can control it now. He doesn’t toe-walk in school anymore and only does it at home. It’s for the sensory input rather than sensory aversion for him. He has something called hypertonia (over-developed muscles) and he likes exercising his muscles. It’s like stretching sore muscles for us to get the kinks out.
I have no suggestions for HOW to stop it since I never considered having him stop it.
I don’t know how much help it will be, but my 5 year old is also a MAJOR toe walker to the point where he would not ever be down off his toes for more than about 30 seconds at a time. For him I think it is less of a sensory aversion and more of enjoyment of the muscle tension and use up through the foot/ankle/leg. It works the muscles much differently than typical walking, and for a sensory seeker can be very enjoyable.
For he we tried orthodics (yeah, no dice), weighted shoes (at 3lbs per shoe he could still get up – and he weighs all of 31lbs) and have now had to unfortunately go to using modified posterior braces that are “L” shaped and fit from just past his toes to about an inch below his knee. He wears the braces pretty much all day every day as once again, as soon as they come off he’s back up. We have only been using them about three months but the hope is after 6-12 months he will no longer want the toe walking stimulation. Will it work? Who knows – but for us it was a better option than surgery to cut the tendon – making it impossible for him to toe walk for quite some time.
I would honestly say talk to an orthopedist that is either NOT a surgeon or is very open to other methods and find what works best for your child. For my son, bracing was a viable alternative to the damage already clearly visible on his feet and almost non-existent heels. I would also HIGHLY recommend doing exactly what you are doing – researching and trying to correct the problem while he is still young and will not need any sort of podiatry surgery to correct any damage, when I saw the x-rays in addition to the clear damage of the fine bones along the top of my boy’s foot and the fact that his heel is the size of that of a newborn I was crushed… I can’t imagine that it would bode well for him to continue up on his tippy toes. And yes, if it comes down to it we will likely go with the tendon surgery.
If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me personally (I don’t always check blogs again after I comment!) I can show you pictures of the braces or even just talk. [email protected]
Hi…don’t know if this helps…but I have a friend who told me that they toe-walk because they don’t like the texture of what they are walking on. I don’t know enough about your boy to suggest anything else…My own kids-the boys HAVE to always have socks on…and refuse to walk barefoot on the grass…Is your boy verbal? Can you ask him what it is about the floor that makes him toe-walk? please don’t be offended if this sounds like a silly question..:)