Is toe walking normal?

My 3 1/2 year old son walks on his toes all the time, when he walks flat he has to think about it...he is a normal kid. He was on his walker when he was a baby, he learned to walk at 11 months. I took him to two pediatric othopedics...either of them talked to me about surgery, the first one told me that i had to put in casts for 2 1/2 months and the other one told me that he will out grow it. In my family he is the only one that we know that walks on toes. What do you recomend me to do?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

I cannot offer you a recommendation, but his manner of walking is not within the normal spectrum for his age. What is his primary care doctor recommending, particularly since you received two different recommendations fron the pedi ortho MD's. Toe walking can indicate an underlying problem (e.g., cerebral palsy), but in cases in which the child is otherwise healthy it is often a habit and not a sign of any underlying disease. So, as you can see, an accurate diagnosis is crucial.