Month 24 Worry: My Child Is a Late Walker/Talker. Now What?

Please know that the textbooks and parenting books give developmental averages, snapshots if you will, at the midrange of "normal." Unfortunately for the written page, child development waxes and wanes over time and is a difficult concept to pinpoint as a "norm." For instance, when does the average baby crawl? It is important to know that some developmentally normal babies never crawl effectively. They roll from one place to another, then pull to a stand, suddenly they are cruising, and then they walk … and they never look back. Those are obviously scoundrel babies who never read the textbooks, and they are just as likely as "early crawlers" to be future Olympic sprinters.

Talk to your child's pediatrician at length about your toddler's development. Feel free to brag about the strengths and fret about the weaknesses. Have your questions ready and specifically ask if you need to have your child further evaluated if you are worried. Also ask what you can do to hasten the developmental progress of your toddler in those specific areas.