Crawling

Neither of my kids crawled. They just seemed to skip crawling and went directly to walking. They started walking just after a yr.

I'm a mom of 5 kids ages 8 and under. My oldest didn't crawl till he was 1 and didn't walk till he was 15 months. He took his time. He's 8 now and a very sharp kid. Typical oldest child. My second, a girl, crawled at 7 1/2 months and walked around 11-12 months. My third crawled at 9 months and walked at 1 year. My fourth crawled at 10 months and walked at a year. And my baby crawled at 11 months. He's 14 months now and is taking his first steps. All that to say every kid will do it at different times. Do not worry, she'll get there. Enjoy her right now where she's at. She'll gain her independance soon enough.

My friend's daughter didn't crawl at all then just started walking a few days before her 1st birthday. I met a kid yesterday who still doesn't walk and she turned one in May I think, her mom didn't seem worried. If you're worried talk to your doctor but I've heard that all kids grow and learn at their own pace, some walk before others, some talk first, but that all is normal! They say crawling does teach important balance and cognitive skills though, and I've seen an article somewhere online on how to encourage your little one to crawl. You might try looking that up for more information. Good luck!

The more time she spends on her tummy, the stronger her muscles will get, and the more likely she will be to start crawling. Try placing toys (or youself) just out of reach so that she will have to move to get them. Also, I would voice your concerns with her doctor, they can always refer you to early intervention services which can evaluate and see if there is something else going on.

Its allright everykid is diffrent my son just turned 15 months and he's bearly getting the crawling down. His doctor thinks he's fine, and he's bearly pulling himself up on the furniture.
There are just some kids that take your time and dont worry belive me once she starts going you would have wished that she stayed :)

Hi C.. I wouldn't worry yourself over it. I myself am a first time mom. I find myself stressing over what seems like EVERYTHING. My son started doing the army crawl around 7 months. At 9 months he was pulling himself up and cruising. He didn't start doing a regular crawl until he was 10 months old! Then a couple weeks after he turned one, he was walking full-time. All babies reach those "milestones" at completely different times. Does she try to move when she's on the floor? Any way of being mobile whether it be crawling or scooting falls into the crawling category. As someone already said, if you are at all concerned, bring it up at her 1 year check-up. I'm sure she's just fine! Good luck.

R.

C.,

I'm with all the other moms here, give her plenty of "floor time" and she'll do fine. My oldest daughter never crawled, she did the military low crawl until she was about 8 months, then she decided walking was much faster...never did the "normal crawl." Now she's 11 and throwing an attitude at me as we speak! Have faith and just love her, she'll do things on her own time. They all do! My last two took longer and my son did the same as his oldest sister, walked before he crawled.

Is she able to get to where she wants to go? By scooting or rolling? Do you let her play on the floor during the day, or is she stuck in a swing, carrier, high chair or being carried all day? If she doesn't have the opportunity or need to move around, that could be part of the problem.

I have twins who are 14 months. I had one who was crawling at five months and walking at 10. The other is much more mellow and much less motivated. He started crawling only because his brother kept taking toys and bottles away from him but it took him quite a while! Then, he only started pulling himself into a standing position because his twin started putting toys and bottles up on the couch! He's only just started taking his first steps.

C.-

My son was a but scooter- he crawled by sitting up straight and moving his legs. It was very funny and darling.

The thing to be concerned about is if she is not pulling to stand. At least that is what our pediatrician told us. Because my son was still not pulling up to stand at 13 months- we ended up doing physical therapy with him. He was assessed and there was NO developmental delay. However, the physical therapist noticed that he seemed to avoid one side of his body. She asked if he had had surgery or was in pain. My son had had kidney problems as a baby that required surgery. Because of the pain he had had early in life, he avoided doing any activity that required twisting. You may want to make sure your daughter is not experiencing any pain while she is on her tummy. However, given that she sleeps on her tummy that is probably not the case.

My son is now walking and running. Funny thing is he learned to crawl AFTER he learned to walk. The physical therapy we did ended being a great thing- the therapist was very supportive and non-critical of us as parents.

Please remember this: even if your daughter does not crawl or do certain developmental milestones "on schedule" it is not because you are a bad mom or did anything wrong. It is because babies and toddlers have their own developmental agendas. "Normal" is a relative term.

M.

My brother didn't even start to crawl until he was 18 months old. While that's on the outside of the "normal" it's actually still within the broad spectrum of "your child should be doing this by x age". You have to let your child decide when she wants to do things, instead of reading all the magazines and books about how if they aren't crawling by 9 months, they're delayed. She'll be fine on her own eventually. :)

You can encourage her, put keys, or a perticular toy she likes out of reach. If you are worried about it beyond concern, you can always ask your doctor if you think something is really wrong. But it sounds like she's well within the perameters of normal to me.

my daughter didn't start crawling till she was 13 1/2 months. Her pediatrician wasn't too concern that she wasn't crawling before then and said that some babies never crawl. i was worried too about this and tried all sorts of ways to get her to crawl but she did not seem motivated. i think that one day she just got tired of sitting around in the same spot and decided she was going to try and move around. i used her favorite snack to motivate her to move around and it worked! initially though, she would only creep around and i had to keep reminding her to lift her bottom off the ground. now she scoots around everywhere faster than i can catch up with her! i would definitely check in with her pediatrician though and get her opinion on the issue. if she is not walking by the time she is 15 months though, you might want to get a developmental assessment done to rule out any developmental delays.

Have you asked her doctor about your concerns? Maybe she won't crawl, she will just get up and walk or run! I would ask the doctor at her 1 year visit, even if she starts crawling by then, and mention that you are concerned about possible delays. Maybe it's totally normal. Until then, give her every opportunity and be patient.

My son never really crawled until after he walked (at 14 months), he did the army type crawl on his belly. Crawling is not a milestone they have to reach, so I wouldn't worry so much about the crawling. I would ask your doctor about it when you take her or her 1 year check-up if you are really concerned

I also don't think it is anything to worry about. Some babies crawl at nine months & others well after a year. Don't stress yourself out. She'll be crawling before you know it.

You shouldn't worry about your daughter. My son wouldn't crawl either. When he was about 7 months old, I thought he was going to crawl, he was getting up on his knees and bouncing, but then he discovered that he could roll to get where he wanted to go. So he stopped trying to crawl! I was so upset! Then my physical therapist friend showed me how to help him. Put your daughter in the "crawl position" on hands and knees and move their hands and feet for them (this is easier with 2 people, trust me!) Move their hands and legs the way that they would if they were crawling on their own...sort of show them how it's supposed to feel. Some babies just don't get it on their own, just like in school, some kids learn by watching, others learn by doing something hands on. This is the same thing. After doing this for a little bit, let your daughter lay on her tummy again, but put your hands behind her feet and make her push on your hands, to push her across the floor. Put a favorite toy or a snack just out of her reach for this so she's reaching for the toy, and after a few times of this, she'll realize that when she pushes on your hands with her feet, she's actually able to reach her toy! So, in any case, I did these exercises with my son and he didn't crawl until he was 11 months old. Then, he started walking after 2 weeks of crawling! He just didn't like being on his knees, and he still doesn't like it much! Some kids just don't like being on their tummies. I don't think it's anything to worry about as long as your little girl is still trying to get at her toys, is able to hold her head up well, sits by herself, reaches for things, etc. Also, let her stand holding onto things like the couch. Then, make her stand by herself. Put her on her feet, let her get balanced, then let go of her. (My son freaked out for about a week when we did this, he wanted to hold onto something so desperately, so I gave him a small toy to hold in both hands.) Anyways, he's 13 months old now and running everywhere! I sort of miss the days when I could put him in one room, with toys all around him and leave the room for a few minutes and know he was safe! Now he follows me, and tries to play hide and seek constantly!