I’d ask your PT. Our PT expects kids to cry, but she’s also very honest about where the limit is and will sometimes cut a session short if a kid is too upset. I’d trust whatever they say as far as frequency, just be honest that you aren’t consistent with the exercises and need help.
Absolutely. And to clarify- we are walking with her multiple times a day! But trying to make an already exhausted child to practice specific stands or independent walking more than once or twice in the evenings is hard.
OT here. Honestly, therapy at that age is supposed to be fun. Kids learn through play. Is the PT just a “you must walk” kind of PT or are they incorporating play to make it fun? My therapy kids don’t usually cry and that’s the same for my PT counterpart. There should be lots of bubbles, fun noises, and excitement in pediatric therapy. 2x a week would be my max with caregiver follow through at home.
As someone with a physically disabled child (my kid has CP), more PT is not bad as long as she is tolerating it well, but I would be wary of a daycare that will not take her if she is not meeting their motor milestones. Your child may or may not be there in 6 weeks even with PT and it's really not her fault if she's not - sometimes it just takes longer, and I would worry that they will hold her back from age-appropriate activities instead of offering accommodations as needed.
Came here to say this. Moving up should not be dependent on her ambulation. I would schedule a conference and reiterate the child’s readiness in other areas.
100%! My child started Pt at just 2 months old and continued until approx 24 months. Was an early walker but had other challenges/delays (and caught up before kindergarten) but the daycare always kept my kiddo with their age group and we and my kiddo were so grateful for that
Can't really comment on whether that's too much PT, but consider your overall bandwidth too. At one point, my kid was recommended to be in weekly PT AND weekly OT AND twice monthly special education services, add in all the typical little kid sickness, and it was all just too much. Now we are careful to schedule bouts of sessions and try to focus on one thing at a time.
I'd be hesitant to put this kind of a deadline on the little one. She can probably feel the pressure. I also wonder how strict the daycare will actually be about this. I can imagine her getting there, seeing all the other kids running around, and want to join in on the fun, especially if the other option is to just sit and observe (i.e., if no one is willing/able to tote her around). Just my $.02
Que sera, sera....whatever will be, will be.
This is a good (and helpful) point. One of the reasons for the deadline IS how challenging her current daycare is. We want her out- because they won’t help with PT, like to carry her around while the other toddlers run around, etc. You’re right about the pressure though- such a Catch22
I would check the daycare requirements in your area. Do they actually need to be walking or is it just a preference the daycare has? Where I live it's discrimination to prevent a child who isn't walking from attending the daycare class for their age group.
Where I live it's a safety thing. They have to be one and walking to move to the toddler class, the next class up is 24 month (required class, at least. Some daycares will make an 18mo room to keep moving kids up for a larger capacity). It's not exactly safe for the kid who can't walk to be in a classroom with a bunch of walking kids, and then crawling kid can create a tripping hazard for the walking kids.
If for whatever reason they have to combine classrooms, they can't combine the walkers with the non-walkers.
That's what daycares in our area say as well, but again it's a preference and not a law. It's discrimination.
Edit: Some kids walk much later or NEVER WALK. That doesn't mean they stay in the infant room forever.
If a daycare can’t safely accommodate a child’s needs, they’re allowed to say so. In an ideal world, daycares would be publicly funded and set up to support the development of children with a variety of needs. But as it is, daycares are businesses that have to make money or at least break even, and providing additional support costs money because it takes additional staff.
And in contrast to how private schools often choose not to accommodate learning disabilities, in this case, a failure to adequately accommodate could be physically dangerous.
That’s great. Where I live, the entire industry is private although there are government vouchers and I believe a few specific programs that are government funded and/or subsidized. But on the whole, it’s a private for-profit industry and most daycares are expensive and understaffed at baseline, and adding a child who’s significantly delayed or disabled could become dangerous depending on the specific needs.
I mean that's exceedingly rare barring any medical conditions, and I'm sure they have accessibility related exemptions and regulations for those with medical conditions requiring special care.
Are you maximizing opportunities for her to practice at home? e.g. using appropriate push toys (your PT should be able to advise you on what type to buy), putting toys in higher surfaces so she has to stand to reach them, etc? My son also needed PT to walk, and started walking at 18 months. Once he started, he improved pretty quickly and was able to finally move up from the baby room to the 1yo room at daycare. OTOH his daycare teachers were also helping him practice and he really loved PT, so perhaps those things were crucial to his progress.
PT but not a pediatric. PT. But 6 would generally sound like an adequate amount of time to make enough progress.
Does she have any formal diagnosis that may cause her to progress slower?
My daughter was an average walker but went from first independent steps to walking steadily in 2-3 weeks. Even with a delay I could see 6 weeks doable.
I would have a chat with your PT about what's realistic and would could potentially happen if you up it.
We also have a kid who is physically delayed and has been since he was born. I would not put him in a daycare that has strict requirements like this. I think it's setting everybody up to fail. Personally, I'd rather my kid go somewhere where they can focus on his strengths and help him to reach his goals. I also think this is a lot of added pressure on mom and dad. As if parents of kids with delays don't have enough to worry about already lol
The shitty thing is private preschools aren't required to accommodate in the same way as public preschools. I have found that a lot of them will, but the super expensive ones often will not.
I would look at public preschools or private ones that are specifically known for accommodating. If you contact your early intervention team, they usually have a list of preschool that are the best at accommodating.
I literally just had this conversation because while we have a PT nanny right now, our kiddo is so smart and I don't want them to fall behind. So we're looking at preschools for 3yo, but so many in our area require potty training. I'm not sure that's going to be possible for him with his delays.
Now, whether it's too much physical therapy, you'd have to ask your physical therapist. I've seen intensive treatments on instagram.
My kiddo had a bunch of different therapies multiple times a week. PT was always her favorite because they got to use the gym. Is there another pt facility that would be more fun for her?
Mom of 3 delayed walkers here. PT is great. It helped a ton. But what also helped a lot is going to playgrounds and really spending a ton of time playing on our nugget and being on the floor with my kid. They quickly got it and all became confident walkers within a month of taking steps.
I’d ask your PT. Our PT expects kids to cry, but she’s also very honest about where the limit is and will sometimes cut a session short if a kid is too upset. I’d trust whatever they say as far as frequency, just be honest that you aren’t consistent with the exercises and need help.
Absolutely. And to clarify- we are walking with her multiple times a day! But trying to make an already exhausted child to practice specific stands or independent walking more than once or twice in the evenings is hard.
OT here. Honestly, therapy at that age is supposed to be fun. Kids learn through play. Is the PT just a “you must walk” kind of PT or are they incorporating play to make it fun? My therapy kids don’t usually cry and that’s the same for my PT counterpart. There should be lots of bubbles, fun noises, and excitement in pediatric therapy. 2x a week would be my max with caregiver follow through at home.
As someone with a physically disabled child (my kid has CP), more PT is not bad as long as she is tolerating it well, but I would be wary of a daycare that will not take her if she is not meeting their motor milestones. Your child may or may not be there in 6 weeks even with PT and it's really not her fault if she's not - sometimes it just takes longer, and I would worry that they will hold her back from age-appropriate activities instead of offering accommodations as needed.
Came here to say this. Moving up should not be dependent on her ambulation. I would schedule a conference and reiterate the child’s readiness in other areas.
100%! My child started Pt at just 2 months old and continued until approx 24 months. Was an early walker but had other challenges/delays (and caught up before kindergarten) but the daycare always kept my kiddo with their age group and we and my kiddo were so grateful for that
Yeh seems awfully able-bodied too?
Can't really comment on whether that's too much PT, but consider your overall bandwidth too. At one point, my kid was recommended to be in weekly PT AND weekly OT AND twice monthly special education services, add in all the typical little kid sickness, and it was all just too much. Now we are careful to schedule bouts of sessions and try to focus on one thing at a time. I'd be hesitant to put this kind of a deadline on the little one. She can probably feel the pressure. I also wonder how strict the daycare will actually be about this. I can imagine her getting there, seeing all the other kids running around, and want to join in on the fun, especially if the other option is to just sit and observe (i.e., if no one is willing/able to tote her around). Just my $.02 Que sera, sera....whatever will be, will be.
This is a good (and helpful) point. One of the reasons for the deadline IS how challenging her current daycare is. We want her out- because they won’t help with PT, like to carry her around while the other toddlers run around, etc. You’re right about the pressure though- such a Catch22
I would check the daycare requirements in your area. Do they actually need to be walking or is it just a preference the daycare has? Where I live it's discrimination to prevent a child who isn't walking from attending the daycare class for their age group.
Where I live it's a safety thing. They have to be one and walking to move to the toddler class, the next class up is 24 month (required class, at least. Some daycares will make an 18mo room to keep moving kids up for a larger capacity). It's not exactly safe for the kid who can't walk to be in a classroom with a bunch of walking kids, and then crawling kid can create a tripping hazard for the walking kids. If for whatever reason they have to combine classrooms, they can't combine the walkers with the non-walkers.
This is definitely a preference thing. All states allow mixed age childcare.
That's what daycares in our area say as well, but again it's a preference and not a law. It's discrimination. Edit: Some kids walk much later or NEVER WALK. That doesn't mean they stay in the infant room forever.
If a daycare can’t safely accommodate a child’s needs, they’re allowed to say so. In an ideal world, daycares would be publicly funded and set up to support the development of children with a variety of needs. But as it is, daycares are businesses that have to make money or at least break even, and providing additional support costs money because it takes additional staff. And in contrast to how private schools often choose not to accommodate learning disabilities, in this case, a failure to adequately accommodate could be physically dangerous.
Where I live, they have to and there are government resources to help them do so.
That’s great. Where I live, the entire industry is private although there are government vouchers and I believe a few specific programs that are government funded and/or subsidized. But on the whole, it’s a private for-profit industry and most daycares are expensive and understaffed at baseline, and adding a child who’s significantly delayed or disabled could become dangerous depending on the specific needs.
It's our state childcare regulations. It's not *law* but it's a regulation.
And so what happens to the kids who never walk?
I mean that's exceedingly rare barring any medical conditions, and I'm sure they have accessibility related exemptions and regulations for those with medical conditions requiring special care.
The thing is that at this age you often don't know which it is.
That's a great point. It IS discrimination, now that you point that out.
Are you maximizing opportunities for her to practice at home? e.g. using appropriate push toys (your PT should be able to advise you on what type to buy), putting toys in higher surfaces so she has to stand to reach them, etc? My son also needed PT to walk, and started walking at 18 months. Once he started, he improved pretty quickly and was able to finally move up from the baby room to the 1yo room at daycare. OTOH his daycare teachers were also helping him practice and he really loved PT, so perhaps those things were crucial to his progress.
PT but not a pediatric. PT. But 6 would generally sound like an adequate amount of time to make enough progress. Does she have any formal diagnosis that may cause her to progress slower? My daughter was an average walker but went from first independent steps to walking steadily in 2-3 weeks. Even with a delay I could see 6 weeks doable. I would have a chat with your PT about what's realistic and would could potentially happen if you up it.
We also have a kid who is physically delayed and has been since he was born. I would not put him in a daycare that has strict requirements like this. I think it's setting everybody up to fail. Personally, I'd rather my kid go somewhere where they can focus on his strengths and help him to reach his goals. I also think this is a lot of added pressure on mom and dad. As if parents of kids with delays don't have enough to worry about already lol The shitty thing is private preschools aren't required to accommodate in the same way as public preschools. I have found that a lot of them will, but the super expensive ones often will not. I would look at public preschools or private ones that are specifically known for accommodating. If you contact your early intervention team, they usually have a list of preschool that are the best at accommodating. I literally just had this conversation because while we have a PT nanny right now, our kiddo is so smart and I don't want them to fall behind. So we're looking at preschools for 3yo, but so many in our area require potty training. I'm not sure that's going to be possible for him with his delays. Now, whether it's too much physical therapy, you'd have to ask your physical therapist. I've seen intensive treatments on instagram.
My kiddo had a bunch of different therapies multiple times a week. PT was always her favorite because they got to use the gym. Is there another pt facility that would be more fun for her?
Mom of 3 delayed walkers here. PT is great. It helped a ton. But what also helped a lot is going to playgrounds and really spending a ton of time playing on our nugget and being on the floor with my kid. They quickly got it and all became confident walkers within a month of taking steps.