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I am so sorry. I can only think of one reason why this may be a reasonable case and that is a ratio issue. My son goes to a preschool with a very large special needs population. There are at least 2 kids who have moved up from the toddler room (18 months - 3 years) to the preschool room (2 1/2 years +) before my son who can't walk. But when special needs students are present they need more instructors.

Otherwise this is NOT a fair reason especially since walking isn't delayed until they are 18 months old. I am so sorry to hear about this.

I think there's more than they are letting on, personally. It could be a ratio thing as @brownie said. What if he is walking by Feb? Are they going to move him? I have seen crawlers get sort of run over by walkers but if he is doing ok now I don't see why they couldn't keep the group together. Also, are the teachers moving with the kids or is it a new group of teachers? If the teachers are also moving up (or his primary teacher, if he has one) I would definitely fight to keep him with the same group. 17 months seems too old to be with 11-13 month olds indefinitely especially if he is self feeding, talking, etc... Hope things get better explained to you, keep us posted.

We're kind of in the same boat. F is 15 months and just took his first steps, but isn't ready to walk far on his own (he'd cruise the whole block holding your hand though!). The other kids in his room his age started walking and have moved up to the toddlers room. He is now the oldest by far (next in age is 6 months). One teacher said its a licensing issue, but another said they can't stay in the infant room past 18 months without a doctor's referral? Ugh I just hope he walks soon.

I try to not rush him though. I don't want him to get any "bad" or "wrong" feelings about when he's ready to walk. As adults we haven't done anything wrong & he'll walk on his own when he's ready. It's hard to hear of him being restless in his room and makes me sad to think that all his "friends" are gone.

Ugh, I feel for you. I'm looking for a daycare and the best one in town has a spot for LO if she's walking by April (14 mo). How am I supposed to know that? If she isn't walking by April there will be a crawler spot in July but she should be walking by then (18 months). Kids don't listen to timelines. Argh.

I would be upset and would try to talk to them with all of my concerns (written down in case I forget) and ask what it would take for my LO to move with everyone else. If they understand how it can affect your LO and how much of a concern it is to you, perhaps they'll make it work.

They've gotten to know your LO and hopefully that in itself (plus a push on your part) is enough for them to realize how important it can be to stay with his friends. If not, I'd seriously consider another daycar.

So sorry you're going through this. I hope it all works itself out.

Honestly it really is a safety issue. They should be willing to move him as soon as he's walking. Those other 18 month old kids (or will almost be 18 months by February) are going to start running, kicking, etc. They will be required to do things like line up on a wall, gather for a circle time, go to their seats for lunch, etc. If your son can't keep up, its not fair to those kids to have to have a teacher pick up and carry your son everywhere. I also know for us the toys change drastically between the toddler room and the older 18-2year old room. There are no more walkers, etc. They have a play kitchen, dress up, book shelves, etc. Would your son even enjoy those things if he can't stand and walk?

I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless your son is bothered by it!

Who knows, maybe this will help motivate him!!

My LO's BFF at daycare got held back because he wasn't walking. He actually ended up catching up very fast and they are in the same classroom again.

I worked in a daycare and the kids got moved up no matter what so that's strange to me. Also, I'm with you on the no walking thing, your LO sounds EXACTLY like my LO.

I do think being around kids that walk will give him more motivation to walk. Maybe they're holding him back because he would require extra attention because he's not walking yet. For me it's not that big of a safety issue as Olive was one of the last walkers in her class (18 months).

I would find out if they will move him to the other class as soon as he starts walking before making a decision.

I agree with MrsBee, being around kids that are all walking would give him more motivation to walk. I would talk to the director about it.

@SeptMomma12: Are you sure none of the 11-13 month olds are walking? My LO was walking at 10 months and lots of kids at her school were walking before they were a year. So your LO very well may still be around other children who are walking.

Honestly I sort of had the opposite concern from you as I didn't want my LO moving up until I felt she had met all the physical milestones to be on par with her classmates. I know our Toddler 2 room has climbing structures, and tables with little chairs that all the kids climb in to for meals. I would worry about my LO getting hurt in there when lots of other kids are running around if she weren't walking yet. If your LO is getting knocked over or ran into every time he tries to pull up or take steps, I would assume that would discourage him from trying.

I wouldn't worry too much. When I worked in a daycare we had one kid who didn't walk until around 15 months or so. It was more difficult - he just sat outside while other kids ran around him, and so I get your daycare's concerns. But I wouldn't worry too much about peer influence at this point. He is still mainly learning from you, not from other kids. Who knows, maybe next week he'll be cruising and it won't be a big deal!

@SeptMomma12: yay that's great!!!

@SeptMomma12: That's a great update!

@SeptMomma12: this is a great update.

@SeptMomma12: What an awesome update!! So glad to hear your daycare wouldn't keep him with the infants indefinitely and also that he just started walking!! Some kids just wait until they're totally comfortable and confident and then they go for it like they've been doing it forever while others are more willing to experiment earlier and tumble a lot!

@SeptMomma12: Glad to see your update! I didn’t see this thread until now, and I’m glad you talked to the daycare about your concerns. My LO was moved up to the Toddler room at 13 months and didn’t start walking until 16 months. Like your LO, one day she just stood up and walked halfway across the room then sat down! She didn’t do a lot of the pre-walking stuff that many kids do; she just waited and now walks like she’s been doing it all along.

FWIW, our daycare is fine with moving non-walkers up into the toddler rooms because they think (and I agree) that it provides motivation for the crawlers to see their friends cruising, walking with walkers or walking on their own. My LO was also totally developmentally ready (outside of not being able to walk) to move up and honestly was bored in the infants room. I would have been super irritated if they had kept her back just because she wasn’t walking yet – so I’m glad to hear everything worked out!

Yay!! So glad things are working out and he started walking!