Hello Ladies,
My 3 1/2 year old son is always walking on his toes, well not his "toes", but the upper part of his foot. We tell him to walk on his feet, and he does, but I was wondering if anyone else had this and what they did to correct it. I did talk to his doctor, and she said to keep on him about it, and if it is not corrected it could affect his tendon. Any advice is wonderful! M.
Thank you! I feel better now. I had him do the stretches and igonred it, it has gotten to be a little less. It seems he does it more when he is frustrated or upset. Thanks again!
I would on my toes forever and my daughter walked on her toes. She is 4 1/2 and does not do it all the time now but still here and there. I think as they get older it slows down. I never had any problems, but have great looking calfs. My daughter does not seem to have any problems either just very strong legs! My doctor said not to worry about it. Take care. M.
We had the same problem with our oldest son walking on his toes. Stride Rite makes a shoe that has a steel beam through the center. When he wears the shoes it causes him to walk flat. They might be more expensive than other shoes but with boys 1 good pair is all you need. Hope it helps.
Hi M.-- just another idea--since we are in Florida, can you take your son to the beach for regular barefoot walks on sand (not the dry hot stuff, but the semi-soft stuff where the tide runs) which tends to encourage a full foot, negative heel gait? You might enjoy this as a shared activity too. It is very common for kids to be light on their feet by nature--other kids can be heel-walkers, pigeon-toed, etc..
My three year old is also a toe walker. I talked to my chiropractor about it several months ago, she suggested I have him stretch his tendons by lying a narrow book (about 1/2 in thick) on the ground and having him stand with the balls of his feet on the book and his heels on the ground. At his 3 yr old check up, I mentioned it to his pediatrician. She gave us a referral for physical therapy. He's been going for a couple of weeks now and is slowly starting to improve. We do stretches every day to stretch him hamstrings and calf muscles. We have him walk like a bear (hands and feet on the ground with his bum in the air) and walk like a duck (on his heels with the balls of his feet in the air). We make them fun games.
Hope this helps.
L.
My oldest son did that for the longest time. I finally figured out that it was from him being in a walker and in a bouncy seat. He has finally stopped doing it after almost two years. I kept heavy shoes on him for a good part of the day to teach him not to walk on his toes and it worked. He still does it sometimes but now it is more of a game than a habit.
My sister is an occupational therapy asst. My nephew was doing the same thing and the doctor's weren't really doing anything about it. She took him to see the therapists where she works and they made braces for him. They could already see the difference in his tendons and leg muscles. You may want to get a referral to have him checked by a physical or occupational therapist.
L.
I think the more you react to it the more he is going to do it. Try ignoring it for awhile and see what happens. He will probably grow out of it. It is just a phase. I have a 3 1/2 year old boy as well and he used to do that, not all the time though. He occasionally still does it, but as long as you are paying attention to what he does and not respond to him about it he might just stop doing it.
Hi M.,
My 4 yr old daughter is also a "toe walker." She does it all day every day, for no apparent reason...and has since she started walking. Some kids just do it, others have a medical issue with their tendons as stated in other responses. We had her checked out by Docs and she is fine, she just prefers being taller! We ask her to walk flat footed when carrying drinks, etc. to be more stable which is never a problem for her. She has great, strong legs!! I wouldn't worry!!
Hi M.,
I saw your question and responses. One of my twins (now 5 and a half year old) did that for a long time and he still does occasionally. I never even thought there could be a problem .. I think he is/was the shortest and he wants to be taller. I will ask his Ped. but I never made any big deal about him .. Strangely he is the fastest runner (faster than my 8 year old) and the strongest when it comes to walking and climbing stairs. He still walks on his toes at times .. If you think there is/could be an issue, definitely show it to your doctor. When I go for his next check-up, I am goinf to ask his Ped. also.
Thanks for posting an excellent question.
