pigeon toed at 2 years

[Chickadee]

I've noticed today that DD is walking slightly pigeon toed. Her left foot turns in slightly and I think her knee turns in as well, though it's hard to tell. I first noticed it about a month ago but thought it was just a poorly fitting boot, but she was barefoot today and still doing it.

Should I be concerned and getting her into a specialist now? or is this something that will sort itself out with time and I should only start worrying if she's still doing it in 6 months, 12 months, etc..?

[drewid]

Hi there :)

I found this info on dr sears..


TOEING IN / PIGEON TOED

In the first two years nearly all babies toe in. This is due to two conditions:

The normal bowing of the legs leftover from the fetal position in the womb.
Normal flatfeet. Babies seldom develop much of an arch until the age of three years. To compensate, babies turn their feet inward while walking, in effect to make an arch and better distribute their weight. The normal developmental timetable for feet and legs is as follows:
Bowed legs from birth to three years
Toeing out, ballerina style, when beginning to walk
Toeing in from eighteen months to two to three years
Walking with straight feet after three years
Knock-kneed from three years to teens
It goes on to say that if your toddler is tripping over their feet or running awkwardly to see your doctor for a check.

HTH

[Elfin]

Martha

It might be worth getting someone to look at your dd. My 2yo dd's feet roll in when she walks so this might be a slightly different problem. Anyway, I saw a paediatric physio at the hospital who said that I should take her to a paediatric podiatrist at 3 but not before as the feet are still developing. I think my dd is going to need orthodics (sp?) as there is a bit a family history and she has slightly low muscle tone and all of this is linked.

If you are worried it is probably best to see a physio rather than a GP just because you might get a more informed opinion if that makes sense. Sometimes GPs are not very good at diagnosing these types of problems and can be a bit dismissive. A podiatrist could also be a good person to see. Hope that helps:)

[mummycloud]

I'm such a bad mum...i just noticed something wrong with the way my 7 year old walks 3 days ago :o
I took her to the doctor who told me she has flat feet and knock-knees. I have to look it up, he forgot to write out the refferal, I'm not sure if he was going to reffer to a orthopeadic doctor or a podiatrist :confused:
I'd be interested to hear about other mum's with kids who have this sort of thing and what they did to fix it. My DD had always said she couldn't run but I thought she was just being lazy, now I know she must really have difficulties :o I feel so bad for not noticing till now and it's really pronounced too :(

[Chickadee]

Thanks for digging that info out Nicole. I have no idea if she has more or less trouble walking and running compared to what toddlers are supposed to. Yep, she falls a lot, but not all the time. And yep, she seems to run awkwardly, feet still kick out sideways and around more than straight through. Despite walking on time she took a long time to move at any speed.

She was a full frank breech baby too, and though her hips were checked and ultrasounded after birth I did wonder today if that was related to her toeing in.

But thanks all, I'm a bit reassured and will just keep an eye on her for awhile. Lots of barefoot time this summer to see what's happening. If I could just get her to move in a straight line it would be easier!

Easterlily - in my DH's family, he has very high arches and one of his brothers has flat feet. So I'm not sure you can predict these things from family! But I hope your dd's problems resolve by 3 years.

Mummycloud - you're not bad for not noticing. Some things are easily overlooked but once you notice it it seems glaringly obvious. I might not have noticed dd's today except I spotted her toes being all crooked after she stopped. And then her walk was obvious.

[MissSparkle]

I was very pigeon toed as a child! I was fine walking although i tripped over alot (I think im just clumsy too). I was many specialists and they all said id grow out of it by the time i was 12 and i did. However because of my pigeon toed feet i developed hyper extention in my knees which is now very painfull! Just watch that DD doesnt stand with her knees pushed right back and she should be right!