Walking like a Ballerina

I am almost 25 and I still sometimes walk on my toes... It is habit now. As a kid my family always made fun of me and I hated it... Calling me things like twinkle toes and saying "tiptoe through the tulips". I have ZERO other issues and have no leg problems or anything. Some kids just walk on their toes.

My daughter began walking on her tippy toes too. Eventually as she progressed she began walking normally. Does he have a high arch? He may need special shoes.

I think they are exploring. My daughter loves to walk on her tippy toes. We'll be holding her hand, walking down the street, then all of a sudden we get slowed down because someone wants to tippy toe around. It's cute.....and great muscle builders. However, if he ONLY walks on tippy toes, then maybe she should talk to a child foot dr. I had to go to one when my daughters foot was rolling inwards. The Dr. said that the ligaments weren't fully developed until age 3 or so and to not worry, it corrects itself. And..it has!

C.,

This is what my son used to do...before I took him to my Podiatrist and asked him to check it out. He recommended a combo of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, to help with the 'calcification of the ankles'...sounds more serious than it is, but without therapy it would require leg braces for 6 months on and 6 months off.

PT/OT was the best thing I ever did for my son. He was only 11 months old when we started and that was when he began to 'tip toe' walk and scoot rather than crawl/cruise/walk. I also had to make sure her wore shoes for 2 hours in the morning and evening and of course whenever we were out. This helped his feet to 'know' what to do.

I think for most kids it is supposed to work itself out, but I'm one of those Moms that gets second and third opinions on stuff before I decided it's nothing. This could be nothing, but it could be something and it never hurts to ask.

As for your step-daughter, this and any subject you broach as concern might cause issues, just because as a Mom we like to think we're doing the best we can. First, do some research! Then, I would casually just mention you noticed he's a 'tip toe' walker, has the Pedi mentioned anything at his last appointments? Make it a very casual conversation and try not to make it like you're 'worried' (while you are), but just an observation. She may not have really noticed it and your pointing it out might help her see something that she didn't before.

I know with my Mom, when she says things in a non-threatening way, it is easier than if she makes it a big deal. We live with my parents, so I've learned a lot about listening to the 'wiser' Mom who has more experience and then also taking concerns with a grain of salt. Just be loving and kind and open to helping her figure out if it's an issue. I think that's the best thing, is when someone is offering help and making life a bit easier, rather than telling you something is wrong.

Good Luck!

C.,

My 5.5 year old son is a toe walker. He's a bright, energetic, sweet little boy. And he has autism - high function but still autism. Toe walking is a major red flag for Sensory Integration Disorder which is common among children with autism. It can also be a "stand alone" issue. Not ever child with sensory integration disorder will have autism but most (if not all) kids with autism have sensory integration disorder. You may want to google "sensory integration disorder" and see if he has any of the other symptoms. By itself toe walking is probably not a big deal. All kids have "quirks." Those quirks only really become an issue when there are enough of them or they are severe enough to interfer with the child's ability to function.

If there is a sensory itegration problem, his mom should take him to see an Occupational Therapist who specializes in sensory integration disorders in very young children. There are many different types of Occupational Therapists so you want to make sure you ask what their specialty area is before you make an appointment. Appropriate therapy with a good OT can work miracles for a sensory integration disordered child.

Just in general, I wouldn't bother asking a regular pediatrician about it. In my experience, regular pediatricans know next to nothing about abnormal development. You want an occupational therapist, a developmental pediatrician or a developmental specialist (you can find these in your local early intervention office for kids under 3 and with your local school district for kids over 3). My pediatrician - who is ranked one of the best in the nation and has been practicing for over 30 years - told me my son didn't have autism when he was too because he was "too bright." Well, he does have autism. And he is bright. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

T.

I agree that toe walking should be investigated by an Occupational or physical therapist. However, I think your main question was how to bring it up with your step-daughter and I would caution you pointing out that he looks "like a ballerina" since she might think that you're suggesting he is less than masculine and that she's responsible for him being too feminine. (I know I would be hurt if someone alluded to my boys being a little less gender-identified - but maybe I'm just old fashioned.) Again address the problem like the other moms suggested - as a gait issue - and bring up your concerns about lasting damage to other parts of his body related to it.
Hope this helps!
:-)
Jen

When I was a toddler, I walked the same as you are describing. It is not something that can be corrected by reminding the person to walk another way. I think that as a concerned grandma, you need to approach it this way. Tell your stepdaughter, "I am concerned about how your son walks and I think he may have some sort of gait problem. Ask your pediatrician for a referral to an orthopedic dr."
In my case, it did require surgeries to correct the problem, but hopefully that will not be the case for your grandchild. The bottom line is someone needs to intervene or he will grow up with unneeded problems if this goes undetected.
Best of luck,
J.

C.,

My daughter is 21 and still frequently walks on her toes. We never saw it as an issue and it was never addressed by the pediatrician because during examinations he only saw her walk heel-toe. In high school our kids were on the same swim team and he saw her tippy-toeing on the pool deck. He was shocked that this had never been addressed.

After visits to a podiatrist and an orthopedic surgeon (really scared us) it turns out that she has tight heel cords. If we had thought to address it earlier something simple might have been done to stretch the cords over time. Stretching them now through exercise or physical therapy is possible, but prohibitive in her busy life.

She can walk heel-toe, but her legs ache after extended periods. Long term she may have problems with her hips and back because of the strain from her posture, but after exploring heel cord surgery the potential benefit was not worth the cost.

Let your step-daughter know that you love your grandson and think he is perfect the way he is, but that you read something on toe walking and think it is worth mentioning to the pediatrician. Early intervention will address allow him to remedy his posture early and also rule out any neurological concerns.

Good luck,
C.

It's perfectly appropriate for you to ask the mom if she's ever noticed how much her son tip toes, and that you're wondering whether she's asked the pediatrician about it. The key is not sounding critical of her as a mother, or of her son. She might welcome discussing it - or not. What kind of relationship do you have? If you are friendly, there should not be a problem in discussing your grandson. If not, my guess is she is feeling criticized, and if that's the case then bow out of any discussion that might sound critical. Everything hinges on your relationship

Good luck!

C.,
I am a pediatric physical therapist and usually ask families "who in the family toe walked as a baby/child?" before launching into exercises and stretching for a little guy who is toe walking. Has he always toe walked...from 10/12 months on...and then secondly is it interfering with his balance, running, etc? Is he tripping or falling b/c of the toe walking? Does he settle onto his feet when you remind him to walk on his feet rather than his toes? These are all questions that a pediatric physical therapist might ask your daughter.

If he has been toe walking from day one and his pediatrician has not referred him to physical therapy it may be due to her answers to the above questions. Sometimes it is a genetic predisposition - and you can really stretch the little guy and get him to walk with his feet flat but he will be predisposed to running the same way.

I would approach your daughter with an element of concern and just know that she may have had all of her questions answered with the doctor's reassurance that he will grow out of it.

Hope this helps a little bit!
A.

Moms know their kids inside and out,so she knows that her kid walks on 'on point' and has adressed it with the Doctor. It's not your concern, nor should it be your position be to reminding him to walk 'correctly'. Unless your grandchild is being abused or is ill, there is nothing to say-sorry. You should stick to loving your grandchild unconditionally and leave parenting to the parent.

I have seen children do this before and they stop. It is not something to worry about too much.

While the chance of something wrong is still there it depends on your relationship with your daughter (step). I would gladly listen to my (step)love mommy, maybe your relationship is not as tight.

Ask her if she walked that way when she was little. Ask the family if they have previous experience. Read up on it and observe him yourself before you broach the subject maybe. But I do think it is your concern, this child is part of your family. I could never detach myself from my step mom or my step daughter.

Good luck!

Dear C.:

This runs in my family. My dad's dad was a toe walker and so was my little sister and her youngest son. I remember when we were little, I'd be standing normally and my sister would be bouncing up and down on her toes trying to balance! In our family, the issue resolved itself in every case by the age of seven BUT I've known of cases that required therapy or surgery to correct them.

Because there may be a "window" of opportunity to correct this and you don't want to miss it, I'd mention it just like the prior posters said. It may well be that the doctor has already seen it and gauged the condition to be one that will "work itself out" and that's why she's not worrying about it. Still, it's best to be sure she's noticed and consulted the doctor about it.

Best wishes,

M.

Hi C.,

I am glad this came up. My 23 month old son has been doing this too. I was concernced because my 6 year old has Autism. I did take him to his doctor, and we do have an appointment with an Orthopedic doctor for his opinion. I would mention your concerns to your step-daughter. I think that she should be glad you care for his well being. It could be turn out to be nothing at all. I would not tell him to walk on his feet though, I think that could be confusing to him. I don't think he is doing it on purpose. I hope you say something to her, if he does need some therepy, better to help him sooner. Good luck!

My hubby is in Physical Therapy school and he pointed out that our daughter (2) was doing this sometimes. He says they are just looking for stimulation... they get more stimulation this way in their ankle joint and the stretching of their calf. This may be why someone brought up that it could be a sign of autism- autistic kids do a lot of self-stimulation type behaviors (another example would be arm movements, like arm- flapping and hand wiggling). This is the same reason that kids like to just spin around in circles sometimes- looks totally un-fun to us grown-ups, but they get stimulation from it.
My daughter is is pretty clearly NOT autistic so unless you see other signs (speech delay etc) I wouldn't worry about that!

Hello C.,

My daughter is now 16, and she still is a toe walker. I don't want to frighten you but it has been linked to the autistic spectrum as an indicator. My daugnter has ADHD and PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder.) She has very slightly on the autistic spectrum and my doctor told me it is a common indicator, though not often discussed. My neice has not been diagnosed, but I believe she is also very high functioning Aspbergers, also on the spectrum and she toe walks. Both are linked to very high intelligence. I do notice when my daughter is on her medication, the toe walking stops. When she is not, it comes back and she is 16.

I hope this information is helpful. (My daughter is now early entrance in college so it has not hindered her.)

K.

www.karenvaismanphotography.com
Specializing in fine family and children's portraiture
Conejo Valley, San Fernando Valley California

I've seen lots of kids do that and they start walking normally on their own.

My daughter does this too. Her calves are like little rocks. You can try to stretch his legs out and pull his toes back when he is in he bathtub and stuff like that, but my daughter is four and she is fine. People told me that "toe walking" is indicative of some neurological disorder, but she does not have any other problems and is extremely coordinated and athletic. On its own, I don't think this is anything to worry about.

Both of my kids walked on their tippy toes. It can be a sign of autism like one of the other responses say. Not the case with my kids. I asked the doctor about it last week at my son's 2 year old appointment. The biggest thing, he said, is if they can walk flat footed. The main concern is if the tendons are too short. Something to talk to his mom about to talk with the doctor just to be sure.

Please read this article:
http://www.mastersofpediatrics.com/cme/cme2005/lecture30_...

I think it has everything you need to know to help you evaluate your grandson. It covers just about every possibility of causes and treatment.

Ask her if that is how he walks all the time. Let her know that you are concerned and see if she has ever thought of asking his doc about it. Express your love and affection for him so that she knows that you are not picking on him. It is an observation you have made and you just want to make sure everything is fine. Kids who walk like this ALL THE TIME can have a short achellies tendon. OR they can cause it to shorten. IF there is nothing wrong that is wonderful but think of how bad you will feel if they discovered something later and you were afraid of saying something. just let her know that you noticed it and wanted to let her know so she can make the best decision for her family.

My niece has walked this way her whole life so far. By the time she was 5 her achilles tendons had permanently shortened so that she was no longer able to walk flat footed. It took several months and a series of leg casts (on both legs) to lengthen them again. Unfortunately once the casts were off, she went back to her old ways. She is now 12 and still walks on her toes. She has hip, back and leg problems because of it. She also has sensory integration disorder, which I was interested to read another poster said goes hand in hand with the toe walking. I had not heard that before. By the way, my niece is also extremely bright - she's doing high school level work at age 12!

Bottom line, it isn't nothing. If you're thinking of how to approach this with your step daughter, show her your question and all the responses you got. That should at least get her to start looking into it.

Best of luck to you and your family!

I rarely respond but this one brought a smile to my face...My son (now 12) walked this way for the longest time! I think he was about 3 1/2 when running became very natural and he learned that running on his tip toes was harder than using his whole foot.

No need to worry!! He will outgrow it...It is all about gaining balance. My son is a VERY healthy, smart, handsome and "manly" boy...:):)

I am no expert, but am a former pre school teacher and the few kids we had that did walk like that (all the time) had to go to physical therapy because the calf muscle had shortened due to them walking like that.

I only browsed the other responses so you may have heard this already. My son is 4 1/2 and has been doing the same thing since he has able to walk. He only does it when he needs to go poop. My son has had stomach issues and having a bowel movement is at time difficult for him. Being on tippy-toes pinches his bottom closed so he doesn't go poop. When I see him on his toes I send him to the bathroom. Your grandson probably doesn't have the same issues my son does, but maybe you should watch and see if he does it at any particular time. (like he doesn't want to have to stop playing to take a potty break) I don't think you have anything to worry about, sounds like a lot of kids do this :)

I heard it was possibly autism...I just looked it up and the web said it could be nothing or it could be a motor skill problem.

Anyway, google child walks on tip toes and read all you can and then approach carefully. You only mean well so go for it.

I always thought it was healthy to walk on the balls of your feet and even as adults we should shift our weight toward the balls vs. our heals. Of course, I could be wrong. I don't think this is a big issue though and you may be overly concerned about nothing.

My son is also 3 and he still occasionally walk like that when he get excited. at his well check appointment, i brought that up to his doctor, so, he take my son outside the room and ask him to walk to me, which is when he's walking normal. So, he said that my son is fine, he can walk normal, and his feet are normal but he likes to tippy toe sometimes because either he like to see thing higher than him, or he get excited and wanna do funny walk. He used to walk tippy toe a lot before, but not much now, just occasionally. Maybe you can start asking your grandson why he likes to walk that way and also pay attention if he always walk like that or just sometimes. And I think you should ask your step-daughter if she notice your grandson walk like that, and she probably knows whether he always walk like that or just occasionally.

How is his balance and his sense of body awareness? Although walking on your tip toes can be one of the symptoms of autism, I really wouldn't worry about it if his communication and social skills are pretty much age appropriate. The tippy toe walking, if he does it a lot during the day, suggest to me that there may be a visual disturbance or balance issue that's coming into play. To be on the safe side, I would suggest that you have him checked out by a pediatric optometrist and an occupational therapist that has experience with children on the autism spectrum -- not because your grandson has autism but because these professionals (most of them anyway) have a higher level of training than their peers that typically see normally developing children, and are up on the latest research and treatment options.

Good luck to you and your family.

Get him ready for ballet! It's a great things for boys to do and they get a lot of parts, because of less numbers. If you're interested, let me know. I know a great studio in Long Beach, CA.

I see that you got many responses, but so many of them were along the lines of "isn't that cute, don't worry" that I had to speak up. This is a very serious problem, as the one parent mentioned, if the child does it continually the opposing tendon will be permanently shortened! The child will need to have costly Ankle Foot Orthotics, Botox treatments, and eventually, have the hamstings cut. It needs to be addressed immediately. And yes, it is one sign of autism. If the child "goes back to his old ways" after treatment, then it needs to be treated more aggressively, or the child could lose the ability to walk. The first thing, tho, as someone wisely said, is to find out if he does it frequently at home. And then mention to your step daughter some of the things you have learned, especially if you back it up with a research article. (google it, and see if you can come up with some.) It is a sign of Autism, but lots of other children do it too. My daughter is 2 and has cerebral palsy. She does not walk yet, but due to spasticity and cerebral palsy, she would keep her feet flexed as if she were toe walking, if it were not for the AFO's (Ankle Foot Orthotics). She is considered a quadriplegic, but due to the AFOs, OT, PT and Botox treatments, she is learning to walk. 3 1/2 is very late to be getting treatment for this, if he does it all the time. Approach the toe walking first, if she seeks treatment for that, some of the people evaluating him will notice if there are other signs of Autism. All you can do it share what you know and help her find the places to get treatment. Don't bring up Autism unless you have other reasons to suspect that, let the information speak for itself.

C. C.

Myself and my daughter had this problem, however, we are walking fine now. For myself, my mother used to take me to the beach per doctors orders, because the sand will force your grandson to walk on his foot as a whole. When my daughter was born(in 1975) with this they put her in a brace, essentially breaking her ankles and resetting them to where she walked normally once they braces were taken off. In approaching your step-daughter I would (if I were you) let her know straight up that the child has a problem with his feet and she needed to speak to her pediatrician. The pediatrician will do the rest, each pediatrician is different so if the pediatrician is up to date on his medical training, he may know of some other way to approach and handle the situation better.

Was he a premie? My niece was a premie and she is 4yrs old. Her doctor told my sister inlaw that its a "premie thing and she will eventually grow out of it.

My friend's daughter does this. She is almost 3. She goes to therapy for it and has to wear special casts for 6 weeks to correct the problem so his mother should talk to his pediatrician asap. I'm surprised the pediatrician hasn't already addressed the problem.

To be safe, have her ask her pediatrician about it. I happen to know that walking on tippy toes is a sign of autism.
Good bless,
M.

Old wives tales say it's a sign of intelligence.

i used to do the same thing....it was just fun! maybe you could put on some fun music, join in with him and experience the fun together. i used to feel like i could dance up into the clouds when i was on tippy-toes! remember a childs perceptions of height, size, weight, etc. are extreemly different than an adults. he may feel like he is a giant walking around or that he can fly or he's ...who knows what his imagination is up to. maybe you could ask him. i hope you aren't fretting about him not being "boy" enough. my little guy loved to do this too and play with dolls and play dress up and have tea parties with his bigger sisters...and he also loved playing in the dirt with his tonka trucks, hunting bugs and lizards, playing cops and robbers, pretending to be a scary monster, etc... he is still "all boy" with a beautiful appreciation of art and a typical rascally little guy. don't know if there is a medical reason to be concerned about...i wish you all the best.