When Do Babies Crawl?

Crawling is the intermediate step between sitting and walking. There are many distinctive ways a baby can crawl, namely the soldier’s way, where the baby crawls on his tummy using his forearms or the lifting way where the baby gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth.

Generally speaking, babies begin to learn how to crawl between 6 and 8 months of age. Yet, some of them start as early as 5 months.

As for your own baby, he might belong to one of these two categories or he might be among those who bypass crawling altogether and move directly to standing and walking.

Crawling is not a major milestone that shouldn’t be skipped; so don’t worry if your baby bypasses it altogether.

Nevertheless, crawling remains a good indication of your baby’s development and aspiration to move. And it is because of this aspiration that your baby deserves to be motivated.

Here are some tips that will help you motivate and encourage your baby:

• Make sure your baby gets lots of tummy time to help him strengthen his neck, shoulder and back muscles, in preparation for crawling.
• Take advantage of every opportunity to place your baby on the floor and let him play, either on his back, stomach or sides (right or left). Such opportunities will strengthen his body and give him the stability that he needs to improve and develop different motor skills, including crawling.
• Put some colorful toys close to your baby and encourage him to try catching them and moving toward them.
• Provide safe, clean and well-supervised space for your child to explore. Try your best not to keep him in the stroller, baby chair or walker for a long time, as those might hinder the development of his muscles and motor skills.
• Place your baby on the floor in front of a mirror so he can enjoy seeing his reflection and double his efforts to prove his skills and impress the other baby sitting in front of him, for it would still be early for him to realize that that’s just a reflection of his own image.

Whenever your baby starts to crawl, expect him to stand up on his feet at any moment, using a couch, a chair or any other object within reach. When he does so, you should know that it won’t be long before he takes his first steps, jogs, jumps and dances!

Read More: When Do Babies Sit Up?