"When Do Baby Start Crawling?"

"When do Baby start crawling?" is perhaps one of the questions most often asked by parents.

Bear walking... is crawling using straight arms and legs	"Normal" crawling using knees and arms

Before we look at the answer, let’s first make sure that we’re talking about the same thing when we refer to crawling. I'm talking about:

• Crawling on hands and knees, or...
• Crawling with hands and feet (bear walking), or...
• "Commando" crawling - using forearms , or...
• "Bum shuffling" - moving forward by using feet and buttocks

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  But at what age do Baby start crawling?

Obviously there are 2 answers to this question.

Firstly, about 50% of all infants can "crawl" at 7 months; 75% can do so at 10 months and roughly 90% of all infants have mastered it at 11 months.

Click here to read more about crawling development.

Commando crawling using forearms, knees and lower legs... tummy on the floor.

What this also means is that if your baby starts crawling before 7 months, his crawling skills have developed faster than most other babies the same age.

Secondly, infants crawl when they've learned and fully mastered all the skills needed to crawl. These skills are not only neurological skills, but they also need a certain amount of physical strength.

Do you now appreciate why babies who are carried around the whole day, cannot develop physical strength at the same rate as others who sit on their own, play and develop physical strength?

I often find babies of around 10-12 month who are still not crawling. One of the first things I do is to establish that there are no neurological problems or other obvious physical problems. In most cases if I question parents they confirm that they or other family members have literally carried baby around since birth.

Babies learn and develop by "doing" certain things... not by "looking at it from a distance" That’s how they learn most of their skills… some of which are necessary for crawling.

That is also the reason why giving your baby the right toys to play with works so well. It’s another fun way to get them to “do” specific learning actions.

We're saying is that about 50% of all babies have fully mastered all the skills needed to crawl by about 7 months. What this also means is that any baby taking longer than 7 months to crawl, is still learning other basic skills or becoming physically stronger. This is still quite normal.

In my opinion, if your baby isn't showing any signs of crawling around 11 months, seriously start to encourage and stimulate him to master this milestone. when do baby start crawling

What can I do to get my baby to crawl?

Ok, I can already hear you ask… “Is there anything I can do to speed up or encourage the age baby crawls at?”

Yes… definitely. when do baby start crawling

Here are 2 easy things you can do for teaching your baby to crawl … regardless of age:

• Use the 5P crawling technique to get your baby crawling - this is very specific and takes a bit more effort from you

• Let him spend time on the floor or mat. Give your baby lots of time to “practise” crawling on his own.

Anything else I can try? when do baby start crawling

A technique you can try, especially for babies who don't like spending time on their tummies, is the "stretching" exercise. Click here for more information.

Ok, any other way?

Yes, 7 more ways for teaching your baby to crawl are described in A Practical Guide To Baby Milestones.

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