Teaching Children to Crawl

Crawling is a motor milestone that requires strength, coordination and motor planning. As children practice Tummy Time they begin to weight bear more through their arms. As they push up and explore the environment around them, they will develop more dynamic control. You will first notice the child reaching out one arm at a time to grab at objects, pushing up into a quadruped, and rocking back and forth on hands and knees.

Motivating objects or people can help to encourage the child to move forward, first on their belly using mostly upper body strength to pull themselves along, then arms and legs in an army or commando crawl pattern and finally in a true reciprocal pattern alternating moving arms and legs in a coordinated and efficient manner. Once your child masters crawling there is no stopping them!

Crawling Milestones

Prone Position Pushing Chest off Surface Weight Bearing through Hands: 4-6 months
Prone Position Pushing Up and Shifting Weight to One Hand to Reach with Other Hand: 6-8 months
Belly Crawling: 7-9 months
Maintain Quadruped Position: 8-9 months
Commando Crawling: 8-9 months
Independent Reciprocal Crawling: 9-11 months

All milestones exist on a continuum as each child builds upon their motor development as a foundation. Motor Milestones, such as crawling, may develop earlier or later based on the child’s unique developmental sequence, strength, coordination, motivation and opportunities for practice.

Tips to Encourage Independent Crawling
Encourage Tummy Time

While playing on their stomach, children develop strength in arms, shoulders, upper back and trunk. All these muscles are necessary for crawling! For more Tummy Time Tips and Tricks read our post here!

Encourage Upper Body Weight Bearing

By allowing child opportunities to push up through arms, we can help develop strength and stability of shoulder girdle. We can also facilitate tactile and proprioceptive input into hands, and allow the child opportunities to explore their environment with more control and independence.

Encourage Reaching

Placing desirable objects within reach, allows the child opportunities to lift hands off support surface and manipulate objects. This will allow for weight shifting which is essential in the development of crawling. We can continue to challenge the child by moving objects farther from their reach, encouraging movement towards objects and facilitating independent mobility.

Encourage Transition from Sit to Quadruped

Try using foam roller for assistance to allow child to practice transition from sit to side sit to quadruped! Child can push back to return to sitting too. Great tool to promote fluidity of movement!

Promote Quadruped Position

By facilitating weight bearing through arms and knees we can promote stability and control in quadruped. Using bolster or incline ramp can encourage dynamic stability in quadruped and facilitate motor learning in a fun manner.

Change Up the Environment

Bring child to park, to a friend’s house, to an indoor play space. New environments, different floor surfaces and novel sensory experiences may help encourage development of motor skills.

Ensure Obstacle-Free Space to Explore

As parents and caregivers we are always mindful of ensuring the environment is a safe one. Once we begin to think about a child’s mobility we need to reevaluate each new space we expose them to. Make sure the floor is free from any obstacles or objects that can be potentially dangerous. A play tunnel can be a great safe space to promote crawling!

Crawling Red Flags

It is important to contact your Pediatrician or a Pediatric Physical Therapist if you notice the following by child’s first birthday: