Is it normal if my baby isn’t crawling?

Babies have an innate desire to explore and move before they turn one year old. Usually, they move their arms and legs and, boy, do they move them! As your little one grows, you’ll be excited to finally see them walk, but before that they have to achieve other milestones to do so, like, crawling.

Typically, babies start crawling, then they stand up, and afterwards they learn how to walk. Even if your baby is still too young to crawl, they’ll reach other developmental milestones that will prepare them to crawl later on. Some of them are lifting the upper part of their body when lying down and using their legs to push themselves, even if they can’t move forward yet.

But, what does your baby need to start crawling and explore the world? To master this skill, your little one first has to develop enough neck and head control. To help them, make sure that they spend enough time on their tummy. You can play with them on the floor while they are lying on their stomach. Try this in different places, times of day, and use objects to entertain them. You can also motivate them to move by placing their favorite toy in front of them so that they can reach it. Another way of helping your baby start crawling is putting them on all fours and pushing them from behind to propel them forward.

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Remember that each baby develops at their own pace and that some never crawl in a traditional way. What’s important is that your child moves to explore and learn from their surroundings. So don’t worry if they are not crawling yet or if they never do. This won’t affect their development, as long as you give them an adequate environment and a lot of opportunities to keep learning new skills.

References:

• Baby milestone: Crawling
• Crawling
• Simple steps for teaching your baby to crawl
• Steps toward crawling