Q: My son is 20 months old and weighs 10 kg. He is a pre-term boy (36 weeks). His birth weight was 1.80 kg. He has not started walking. He does all other activities like crawling on the knees, saying a few words, etc. He has stiffness while standing on his feet. We took him to a paediatrician who advised x-ray of the spine. The x-ray was normal and doctor wrote mild lumbar scoliosis on his report. What is this? Should I take other precautions? Will it lead to any other problems?

A:There seem to be two issues. One, that your child has not yet started walking at the age of 20 months. I would not call it really late except if there is a significant birth history (check with your pediatrician). Second is the issue of the lumbar scoliosis, which is a lateral curvature of the spine in the lumbar region. This needs to be assessed by an orthopaedic surgeon for any further answers.