Crawling is your baby's first method of getting around efficiently on his or her own. In the traditional crawl, your baby will start by learning to balance on hands and knees. Then he or she will figure out how to move forward and backward by pushing off with the knees. Crawling helps your baby strengthen the muscles that will soon enable him or her to walk.
When it develops
Most babies learn to crawl between the ages of 6 and 10 months. Your baby may opt for another method of locomotion around this time, though – like bottom shuffling (scooting around on his or her bottom, using a hand behind and a foot in front for propulsion), slithering on his or her stomach, or rolling across the room. Some babies skip crawling altogether and move directly to pulling up, standing, and walking.
Since the "Back to Sleep" campaign was initiated in 1994, more babies seem to be crawling later or skipping it completely. (The campaign aims to reduce the risk of SIDS
by encouraging parents to put babies to sleep on their back.) Don't worry about his or her style – it's getting mobile that's important, no matter how your baby does it.
How it develops
Your baby will likely start crawling soon after he or she is able to sit well without support (probably by 6 or 7 months old). After this point, he or she can hold his or her head up to look around, and the arm, leg, and back muscles are strong enough to keep your baby from falling on the floor when he or she gets up on hands and knees.
Your baby will gradually (over a couple of months) learn to move confidently from a sitting position to being on all fours, and will soon realize he or she can rock back and forth with limbs straight and trunk parallel to the floor.
Somewhere around 9 or 10 months, your baby will figure out that pushing off with the knees gives just the boost he or she needs to go mobile. As your baby gains proficiency, he or she will learn to go from a crawling position back into a sitting position. He or she will also master the advanced technique that pediatrician William Sears calls "cross-crawling" – moving one arm and the opposite leg together when going forward, rather than using an arm and a leg from the same side. After that, practice makes perfect.
What's next
After he or she has mastered crawling, the only thing between your baby and complete mobility is learning to walk. To that end, he or she will soon begin pulling up on everything within reach, whether it's the coffee table or Grandma's leg. Once your baby gets the feel of balancing on his or her legs, he or she will be ready to stand without support and cruise
while holding onto furniture. Then it's just a matter of time until your little one is walking, running, jumping, and leaping.
Your role
The best way to encourage crawling – just as with reaching and grabbing – is to place toys and other desirable objects (even yourself) just beyond your baby's reach. The American Academy of Pediatrics also suggests using pillows, boxes, and sofa cushions to create obstacle courses for your baby to negotiate. This will help improve his or her confidence, speed, and agility. Just make sure to supervise your baby's efforts.
A crawling baby can get into a lot of mischief. Make sure your house is childproofed, with a special emphasis on stairway gates. Your baby will be drawn to stairs, but they can be very dangerous, so keep them off-limits.
You don't have to invest in hard-soled shoes
just yet. Your baby won't need to wear footwear regularly until he or she has mastered walking.
When to be concerned
Babies develop skills using different methods and different timetables. But if your child hasn't shown an interest in getting mobile by some means (whether it's creeping, crawling, rolling, or scooting), figured out how to move his or her arms and legs together in a coordinated motion, or learned to use both arms and both legs equally by the time he or she is a year old, bring it up at the next doctor's appointment. Keep in mind that premature babies may reach this and other milestones several months later than their peers.