Young kids often look pigeon toed, bowlegged or intoed and parents often ask:<\/p>\n
Babies have to fold into a tight little ball as they develop in their mom\u2019s womb, right? When they come out, and stretch and move those little arms and legs, we realize what a miracle it was that they ever fit inside! Their bodies are so used to being curled up that it takes a long time until their stature or shape resembles what we expect a kid to look like.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s normal to watch young children transition from being bowlegged then knock-kneed on their way to standing in a straight posture. This process actually takes years.<\/p>\n
Along the way, parents often worry and ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s normal?\u201d Here\u2019s the developmental path they usually take:<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a closer look at these stages.<\/p>\n
Babies often have feet that look turned in (called pigeon toed or intoed). This appearance is usually normal. Remember \u2013 they were curled up in a ball inside their mother, and it takes months for their body to \u201cstraighten out.\u201d<\/p>\n
One form of intoeing at the front part of the foot is called metatarsus adductus and disappears by age one.<\/p>\n
Sometimes intoeing is caused by a slight rotation at your baby\u2019s hip or lower leg \u2013 both of which they outgrow over time. Your pediatrician will examine your baby\u2019s feet, knees, and hips at birth and at each checkup. Be sure to let them know if you\u2019re concerned. Definitely let the doctor know if your child is walking on their toes<\/a> most of the time.<\/p>\n Children whose legs curve outwards at the knee are said to look bow legged. This often looks worse than it is. In little kids, their diapers increase the appearance of bowing, and they tend to walk with their legs slightly bent, which makes their knees look further apart.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re concerned \u2013 show your pediatrician. They\u2019ll likely have your child lie down and stretch out their legs to confirm how straight they actually are!<\/p>\n After those bowlegs get better, kids\u2019 legs often start to appear curved out at the knees. Just like bowlegs, knock knees are something kids usually outgrow without treatment. No special braces are needed!<\/p>\n As they get older, their legs will reach the shape they\u2019ll have as adults. And while some adults do have legs that are slightly knock kneed or bow legged, it\u2019s not to a degree that needs any treatment or is at all limiting.<\/p>\n When should you worry? Definitely see a pediatrician if you notice the curves in your child\u2019s legs aren\u2019t getting better, have gotten worse, only affect one leg, or if they have pain.<\/p>\n Always feel comfortable asking us to look at your child\u2019s legs or feet if you\u2019re concerned!<\/p>\n Babies have to fold into a tight little ball as they develop in their mom\u2019s womb, right? When they come out, and stretch and move those little arms and legs, we realize what a miracle it was that they ever fit inside! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[315,314,405,661,404,466,467],"class_list":["post-2292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-issues","tag-childrens-feet","tag-feet","tag-kids-legs","tag-normal-growth","tag-pigeon-toes","tag-toddler-development","tag-toddler-growth","ages-baby","ages-preschool","ages-toddler"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1745612501:8"],"_edit_last":["8"],"slide_template":[""],"video_format_choose":["youtube"],"_custom_body_class":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["90"],"qode_animate-page-title":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-text":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-image":["no"],"qode_show-sidebar":["default"],"qode_hide-featured-image":["no"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["106"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_ages":["289"],"_thumbnail_id":["2297"],"wpfp_favorites":["42"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":["Knock Knees, Bowlegs, Pigeon Toes? Usually Nothing to Worry About!"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["Knock Knees"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["72"],"qode_seo_keywords":["knock knees, bowlegs, pigeon toes"],"qode_seo_description":["Knock Knees, Bowlegs, Pigeon Toes."],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1749560945"],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["It's often normal for young kids to look intoed, bowlegged or knock-kneed before they grow into straight legs! When should a parent worry?"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":["[{\"keyword\":\"bowlegged\",\"score\":\"good\"},{\"keyword\":\"Pigeon toed\",\"score\":\"ok\"}]"],"_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":["[\"\",\"\",\"in toed\"]"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":[""],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"ase_mapbox_style":["openstreet"],"_cmplz_scanned_post":["1"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2292"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4989,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292\/revisions\/4989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Bowlegs<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Knock knees<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Resources for Parents<\/h4>\n
American Academy of Pediatrics:
\nBowlegs and Knock-Knees<\/a><\/h4>\nPediatric Orthopedic Society of North America:
\nBowed Legs and Knock Knees<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"