A 21-month-old baby can't walk yet

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Each baby is born a different individual, so the growth rate of each baby is also very different, some babies are fast walking fast, some babies are slower. However, a child who cannot walk at 21 months is a problem that needs to be paid close attention by parents, so take the child to a doctor to find out the cause and have appropriate treatment.

1. Developmental milestones for a 21-month-old baby

The 21-month-old baby has basically achieved the following milestones:
Mobility: The 21-month-old baby can run, jump, climb stairs, masterly grasp objects suitable for her. little. Baby can squat and stand up easily from a sitting position. A 21-month-old can follow two-step instructions, such as loading the inflatable blocks in a pickup truck and pushing it to their parents. Language: A 21-month-old baby can speak about 50 words or more, able to say 2-syllable words. Teething: The lower 2nd molars that come in at this age can be uncomfortable for your baby, but some babies may already be teething months ago. Potty training: Parents can practice potty training for their children from this age, if children do not cooperate, parents should take the potty away and practice at another time, should not be too forced, most children are ready to sit on the potty. when 2.5 - 3 years old.

2. Definition of a child who is slow to walk

According to the normal growth chart of children, 3 months old baby already knows how to roll to turn over, this will help baby to practice stiff trunk and neck muscles. From the age of 6-8 months, children already know how to sit to exercise their body muscles. At 9 months old, babies start crawling to exercise their thighs and 10 months old is the age when babies start to learn to stand and walk. Usually by the age of 1, children can already walk quite proficiently and sit down to rest after a long walk.
However, the above numbers do not mean that a 12-month-old baby who has not yet learned to walk is a slow child, because in fact each baby is a completely different individual, some children can walk early, some children can walk late. .
Babies will usually be able to walk by 12 months, but in reality this is a relatively wide variable period, ranging from 12 - 15 months, which means that if your baby is not yet walking at 13 months, Don't worry, this age is still within the allowable limit. A child with a delay in walking is defined as when the child is 18 months old (1 and a half years old) and refuses to walk.

3. Why can't a 21-month-old child walk?

As mentioned above, babies from 12 months old can stand up and start to walk a few steps when someone takes their hand, they can even walk independently. In the period from 13 to 18 months old, children begin to walk steadily and faster, can practice walking up stairs.
Therefore, a child who is not yet able to walk at 21 months is a problem that needs to be paid close attention by parents, parents should take their child to a doctor to find out the cause of the child's delay in walking and have appropriate treatment.
On the other hand, children are slow to walk, it may be because children often get sick, even if they are not serious diseases such as sinusitis, sore throat, earache... overweight children also tend to walk slower than other children. peers for a few weeks or a few months.
In fact, when the child is 18 months old and refuses to walk, it is often related to motor neuron problems. The baby's nervous system is not developed enough to control the baby to walk or because of disorders in the muscles and bones are not stable enough to take independent steps.
Children who refuse to walk after 18 months of age need to think about deformities in the bones of the legs, especially deformities in the joint with the hip bones, the child may have atrophy of the calf muscles or have some other muscle diseases. . Diseases of the nervous system and spine acquired after birth or from birth can affect the ability to balance, paralyze the legs and prevent children from walking.
If the above causes have been excluded, parents can think of the cause as vitamin D deficiency or inadequate care for the child.

4. Overcoming the situation where children refuse to go

There are many measures to help promote children to walk at the right time, including nutritional interventions, use of supportive drugs to treat the cause of delayed walking, paying attention to supplementing micronutrients and mineral salts for children. children...
Parents should regularly perform movements to straighten their legs, straighten their baby's hands, straighten their limbs, help increase blood flow to muscles, increase tendon reflexes, have You can exercise your baby's legs by "pedaling a cyclo" on the bed, increasing the leg muscle mass and its contraction strength. Should massage 3-5 times, massage from thighs to feet, from armpits to hands and then let the baby stretch, perform several times a day spread evenly morning, afternoon and evening.
Stimulate children to move by putting toys out of reach, when they want to play, they have to reach or crawl to reach the toys, don't leave them too far away to cause boredom. When the baby is close, you can drag the toy away, do it 2-3 times and then let the baby touch it once to make the baby excited.
Put the baby in an environment with many other children of the same age who have the ability to develop motor skills faster than the current child, but the motor ability should not be too different. This can increase the risk of infection from other babies but has a very positive effect, when the baby watches the motor development of your friends will imitate, the children will stimulate each other. As a result, the baby can walk faster.
In conclusion, 21-month-old infants who are not yet able to walk are often associated with neuromotor problems. The baby's nervous system has not developed enough to control the baby's steps or because of disorders in the muscles and bones. Therefore, if the child cannot walk at 21 months, parents should take the child to a doctor to find out the cause and have appropriate treatment.
Currently, the Pediatrics Department at Vinmec International General Hospital is trusted by many parents to examine the diseases that infants and young children are susceptible to. Vinmec brings satisfaction to customers and is highly appreciated by industry experts by:
Gathering a team of leading pediatricians: including leading experts with high professional qualifications ( professor, associate professor, doctorate, master), experienced, worked at major hospitals such as Bach Mai, 108... The doctors are well-trained, professional, conscientious - understanding and understanding young psychology. In addition to domestic pediatric specialists, the Department of Pediatrics also has the participation of foreign experts (Japan, Singapore, Australia, USA) who are always pioneers in applying the latest and most effective treatment regimens. . Comprehensive services: In the field of Pediatrics, Vinmec provides a series of continuous medical examination and treatment services from Newborn to Pediatric and Vaccine,... according to international standards to help parents take care of their baby's health from birth to childhood. Advanced techniques: Vinmec has successfully deployed many specialized techniques to make the treatment of difficult diseases in Pediatrics more effective: neurosurgery - skull surgery, stem cell transplantation blood in cancer treatment. Professional care: In addition to understanding children's psychology, Vinmec also pays special attention to the children's play space, helping them to play comfortably and get used to the hospital's environment, cooperate in treatment, improve the efficiency of medical treatment.

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