From Sitting to Standing: The Path To Walking
Crawling is your baby’s first way of getting around all alone.
Crawling is your baby’s first way of getting around all alone. It begins with him learning to balance on his hands and knees, and then he learns to move by pushing off with his knees. This is a perfect way for him to strengthen the muscles that he will soon need in order to walk.
There is no set rule as to when babies start crawling, but it usually happens between 7 and 10 months. Crawling isn’t the only option for moving around at that age. Your baby may try moving around while sitting on his bottom, slithering around on her stomach, or rolling across the room.
No need to worry about which method he’s using. The important thing is that he’s moving around. Don’t be surprised if your baby skips crawling altogether and just starts walking.
Usually, crawling comes after he has learned to sit well without support. Soon, he’ll start to gradually move confidently from a sitting position to being on all fours, and discover that he can move back and forth. Shortly after that, he’ll learn that by pushing off with his knees, he can move. He’ll then learn to sit back down from a crawling position. After that, the more he does it the better he will get at it, and he’ll be an expert crawler by the time he’s a year old.
Don’t force it, but if you’re eager to get him crawling, you can try to give him plenty of tummy time, or give him incentives to move. And don’t worry about shoes just yet. He won’t need those until he has mastered walking.
