Playgrounds for a Toddler who won't Walk?

[olafgypsy]

So...my DS 18 months will be 21 months at the time of our DW trip. When we first started planning, we were like, "Oh, he'll totally be walking then," but we didn't count on our son's personality. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give him a 9 for stubbornness and an 11 for cautiousness. So despite pulling himself up and cruising around on furniture for 6 months now, no, he is not walking independently and no, I do not think he will walk "any day now," as so many well-intentioned but wrong people have been saying for six months.

So now we are wondering: in the increasingly likely eventuality that DS is not walking at 21 months, is there anything for him to do at HISTK playground or the Boneyard? Are there any alternatives to those that would be better for crawlers only?

And PS, if you want to say something like, "My kid didn't walk until he was four and now he runs marathons!" that would also be an okay comment

 

[lanejudy]

I don't have any advice about playgrounds for crawlers, other than I'm not sure I'd let a little one crawl around at any of the park playgrounds without you being within arms reach to help him move about.

But I can give you a "been there." DD first walked at 22 months. This is beyond what you asked... but if you haven't already, I'd suggest you contact your local Early Intervention program. Some places offer it through the county, others through the state; it is free. Your PED can refer you or most places accept self-referral. Their physical therapists may be able to help him "move forward" on this milestone. Good luck!

 

[olafgypsy]

Thanks for the suggestion LaneJudy! I will ask his pedi what she thinks at his next appointment. We know that he is physically ABLE to walk because he has taken 3 - 4 steps independently on a few occasions, just doesn't seem motivated to do it full time. But I can definitely see that EI might have some motivational tricks that we do not, so I will check on it

Hoping he will at least be able to go down some slides. He loves slides!

 

[Habbott]

The dumbo play area has some small toddler things in the center,nut other than that I can't remember much.

 

[MommyMK]

We went with 12 month old non walking DD1 and again with DD2 at 9 and 10 months. They were able to crawl around the bug's life playground in Hollywood Studios. We didn't do the boneyard. I'm not going to lie, it's hard at that stage. They want to be down crawling, but instead have to spend an awful lot of time contained in a stroller or in arms. I have a very distinct memory of finally having to let DD1 down to crawl at the end of the week's vacation on the ground outside Peter Pan and for DD2 it was the carpeted area inside the living seas.

 

[imthemamahere]

I'd just like to add my recommendation for a call to Early Intervention as well. Some kids need a little bit of extra motivation or assistance putting all the motor skills together. They'll evaluate whether your son's caution is at least in part because of a need for a little extra help.

As for your Disney trip, there are some fun little slides at the Boneyard in Animal Kingdom. I'd be wary of letting a crawler loose on the playground in general (too many kids running around, not looking down!), but with a little help, your little one can still have fun. Some, if not all, of the resorts have smaller playgrounds that tend to be quiet(er) - we made good use of the one at Animal Kingdom Lodge last visit and rarely bumped into more than one or two kids there. That might be a good place to let your little one crawl free!

 

[BlueHippo]

The play area by Splash Mountain is particularly good for that age if I remember correctly.

Hang in there....everyone's experience is different but DS (now 7) wasn't crawling at 12 months and sounded similar. ..muscle tone was fine just seemed cautious. We had him evaluated and they gave us a date to call back if he wasn't walking by...he walked 3 days before the date they gave us (a few days over 18 months). We eventually found out that he needed glasses at 3 and think a lot of his delays have been tied to that. Today he LOVES basketball, jump rope and playing tag. It has been a journey though..he's always just squeaked by and never qualified for services so we did opt to do private occupational therapy for a little over a year when he was 4. He still has a hard time riding a bike but that seems to be his only lingering gross motor challenge . Our bigger challenge now in school is fine motor skills. The slow to walk worries seemed to be the beginning of a long journey for us. I'd second others and have him evaluated. It takes a long time here to get an Keep doing what you're doing by introducing lots of opportunties to play and explore. Best wishes!

 

[WantToGoNow]

I'm not sure I would let a crawler play in any of the playgrounds because he will likely be ran over. The one by Splash is small and isn't as crowded as the others. We've always FP Dumbo so I don't know much about that. I would definitely not let my child that couldn't walk or was a new walker at the larger playgrounds.

My cousin had a child that walked late. She bought him one of the walk behind activity toys and he was walking in no time. Good luck.

 

[mjkacmom]

Another suggestion for EI, through either your school system or health department. By law, they have to come out and perform an evaluation in a certain time frame. I'm so glad I contacted them when ds11 was 18 months old, and wasn't speaking. Fortunately, I was a seasoned parent, and certified in special education, and know how lousy pediatricians are in referring children (my pediatrician told me he wasn't talking because he was a twin). ST was immediately effective.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I agree that most of the park playgrounds are no place for a crawlers or a new walker. they are large, busy and frankly a bit scary for little ones. My preschooler at the time said, "no thank-you"! Even the very cool one at Dumbo can be overwhelming. These are the last places you want a cautious toddler you want to motivate to walk. I would look for smaller out of the way places to let him down for a bit. The grassy area near Cinderella's Castle, some the gardens in Epcot, lots of places on discovery island at AK, open areas at your resort. We let our boys crawl on the floor in most of our hotels, yep, sorta gross, but it made for a much easier and better time and they never got sick from it.
I will also comment on something someone else said; late crawling can well be due to personality, but it can have a lot of other causes that are not physical related. Balance, for a variety of reason, is a huge one. Ear infections are a big one. Vision too can be a huge obstetrical to confident walking. Then again, being the most stubborn toddler ever,( though I disagree with you on that one, as he lived at MY house about 7 years ago) can also be the full cause!

 

[msmama]

Well my son was an early walker, walking at his first trip wt 10 months old. I disagree with others saying not to let crawlers around the playgrounds, but be smart about it (stay close).

When you go into the boneyard go immediately to the right and there's a small slide that bigger kids seem to ignore. That's a good place to walk/crawl/toddle. I also found there were a lot of little out of the way places in the world showcase for little ones to stretch their legs/knees.

 

[laughinplace199]

You could go to the Boneyard and bring him over to the area where the kids can dig in the sand. He can just sit and dig...no walking required.

I'll add another vote for contacting your doctor and getting a referral to Early Intervention. My youngest was late hitting all of his milestones - he didn't sit until 9 mos, didn't crawl until 12 mos, and didn't walk until 18 mos (he took his first steps at Animal Kingdom Lodge ). It turns out he has low muscle tone and some things are just physically harder for him. EI had him all caught up by the time he went to preschool.

 

[mjkacmom]

You could go to the Boneyard and bring him over to the area where the kids can dig in the sand. He can just sit and dig...no walking required.

I'll add another vote for contacting your doctor and getting a referral to Early Intervention. My youngest was late hitting all of his milestones - he didn't sit until 9 mos, didn't crawl until 12 mos, and didn't walk until 18 mos (he took his first steps at Animal Kingdom Lodge ). It turns out he has low muscle tone and some things are just physically harder for him. EI had him all caught up by the time he went to preschool.

You do not need a referral from a doctor.

 

[EveDallas]

So...my DS 18 months will be 21 months at the time of our DW trip. When we first started planning, we were like, "Oh, he'll totally be walking then," but we didn't count on our son's personality. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give him a 9 for stubbornness and an 11 for cautiousness. So despite pulling himself up and cruising around on furniture for 6 months now, no, he is not walking independently and no, I do not think he will walk "any day now," as so many well-intentioned but wrong people have been saying for six months.

So now we are wondering: in the increasingly likely eventuality that DS is not walking at 21 months, is there anything for him to do at HISTK playground or the Boneyard? Are there any alternatives to those that would be better for crawlers only?

And PS, if you want to say something like, "My kid didn't walk until he was four and now he runs marathons!" that would also be an okay comment

I don't have any advice as far as Disney, but I just want to say I could have written your post word for word. My son cruised around furniture for months, but was unwilling to walk unsupported. Finally, 2 days before he turned 19 months he took off and never looked back. Just wanted to let you know that they get there eventually - some are just more stubborn/cautious than others

 

[nene0182]

Thanks for the suggestion LaneJudy! I will ask his pedi what she thinks at his next appointment. We know that he is physically ABLE to walk because he has taken 3 - 4 steps independently on a few occasions, just doesn't seem motivated to do it full time. But I can definitely see that EI might have some motivational tricks that we do not, so I will check on it Hoping he will at least be able to go down some slides. He loves slides!

Oh your son sounds so much like mine! He took a few steps at 12 months old but didn't really walk until he was almost 2. He also potty trained late and road a bike without training wheels later then most. There is nothing physically wrong with him. That's just the way he is. At 11.5, he is perfectly "normal" now

 

[pezaddict231]

We went a month ago, my DD sounds like your son! She is younger but very stubborn and cautious and is not walking yet at 16 months. The playgrounds are really geared towards older kids. She liked the small cars in the center of Dumbo but just watch out for pushy kids. She also liked the giant ant in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, DH would hold her on that. The ant doesn't do anything but she thought it was fun. We focused on stuff she loved like Dumbo and the Carousel. It was a little frustrating that she wasn't walking and she wanted me to hold her constantly, and it was August and a million degrees but we had an awesome trip.

 

[lucyddr]

We didn't go to the Boneyard with our 21 month old twins because of the severe heat, but ours LOVED the HISTK area. He can pull up at the green water wall and splash in the water. That part of the playground isn't that popular with the older kids, and ours thought the wall was the best thing ever! Plus, just to the left of it (if you are facing it), there is a little tunnel for him to explore.

The small child area of Typhoon Lagoon is also very crawler friendly, if you have any plans for water parks!

Our children are premature and have been part of our local Early Intervention program since they came home for the NICU at almost 3 months. It is wonderful for assessing issues and helping to proactively correct them before they get worse. Definitely look into this as it can only help! Our babies were profoundly delayed when they came home from the NICU...profoundly...and at 22 months old, they are perfectly on schedule now for their age! Good luck!!!

 

[RachaelA]

Isn't HISTK playground closing?

The playground is going to be full of older kids that are running all over the place and not looking out for a kid crawling on the ground. I really would not recommend letting a child crawl around them unless you are basically on top of them and ready to push kids out of the way as they almost run him over.

I would try the Splash Mountain play area and hope CMs are enforcing the height max (its almost always been full of kids that are way too tall for it when we've gone though).

Also, the spray area at DTD was good for my friends and I when we had a group of 12 month olds and only 1-2 of them were walking.

 

[MandiC]

I will agree with early intervention. It is free if he qualifies and it is just a little help, in our area they even come right to your house whenever it is most convenient for you.
Really though, you just never know how he will be in a few months. In my experience, late walkers are usually steady walkers right from the start and seem to skip over that wobbly, Frankenstein, toppling baby-walker stage

 

[olafgypsy]

Great suggestions everyone, thanks! I had completely forgotten about the playground at the resort. We are planning 4 hours of afternoon down time for a nap, and it sounds like "free crawl" time in a playground / grassy area at the resort every day will be a good way to get the wiggles out.

I DO think it will be harder if he's still not walking on our trip for just the reasons people have mentioned . . . but still worthwhile for him and good practice at getting outside of his comfort zone / regulating emotions / handling new experiences.

I just learned that my husband and his sister (my SIL) did not walk until 18 - 19 months, so some of this could be familial. Still, I'm planning to push his peds appointment up by a few weeks so we can rule out physical issues / set my mind at ease.

Loved hearing all of the responses like "That's my kid!" but also "Get him checked out!" I'm firmly in the "It never hurts to ask for help" camp, so if we can find someone to work with him for free or low cost through EI, why not? And if that someone can get him walking before WDW?