Teaching Children to Crawl

Crawling is an exciting step toward independent mobility! It requires a combination of strength, coordination, balance, and motor planning, along with plenty of opportunities to explore and practice movement.

As babies spend more time playing on their stomachs, they begin to build strength through their arms, shoulders, back, and trunk. They learn to push up, reach for toys, shift their weight, and eventually move into hands-and-knees positions. These skills all help prepare them for independent movement.

Some babies begin by moving on their belly, while others use an army or commando crawl before progressing to hands-and-knees crawling. Some children use other methods of getting around altogether. The goal is not one specific way of crawling, but helping your child develop the strength, coordination, and confidence to move independently.

Once your child discovers how to get where they want to go, there is often no stopping them!

Crawling Milestones

Crawling develops through a series of building blocks. These skills don’t always happen in a perfectly predictable order, and every child develops at their own pace.

Prone Position & Pushing Through Hands
Pushing Up & Shifting Weight to Reach
Belly Crawling
Maintaining Quadruped (Hands & Knees)
Commando Crawling
Reciprocal Crawling

Tips to Encourage Independent Crawling
Encourage Tummy Time

Tummy time is one of the most important building blocks for crawling. Playing on their stomach helps babies develop strength through their arms, shoulders, upper back, and trunk.

As your baby becomes stronger, give them opportunities to push up, look around, reach for toys, and explore their environment from this position.

For more Tummy Time Tips and Tricks read our post here!

Encourage Weight Shifting

As your baby becomes stronger, encourage them to shift their weight from one arm to the other. Place a favorite toy slightly to one side so they have to reach with one hand while supporting their body with the other.

This weight shifting helps develop the shoulder, trunk, and hip stability needed to move toward hands-and-knees and eventually crawl.

Encourage Reaching

Place a favorite toy just within reach to encourage your baby to lift one hand while supporting their body with the other. As this becomes easier, gradually move the toy a little farther away.

Reaching, shifting weight, and moving toward a desired toy all help your baby develop the skills needed for independent mobility.

Practice Transition from Sit to Quadruped

Learning to move between positions is an important part of developing independent mobility.

Encourage your baby to move from sitting to side sitting and then into a hands-and-knees position. A foam roller can provide support while your baby practices these transitions.

Promote Quadruped (Hands & Knees)

Once your baby is comfortable bearing weight through their hands, encourage them to explore the hands-and-knees position.

Weight bearing through both arms and knees helps develop stability and control through the shoulders, trunk, and hips. Gentle rocking forward and backward can help your baby practice shifting their weight before taking their first crawling steps.

A bolster or incline ramp can provide support while your baby practices this position.

Make Movement Fun

Your baby is much more likely to move toward something that motivates them!

Use favorite toys, books, sounds, or best of all you to encourage your baby to move. Lie on the floor with your baby and position yourself just beyond their reach. You can encourage them to crawl toward you, over your legs, or through your arms.

Sometimes the best motivation is simply getting to a favorite person.

Change Up the Environment

Give your baby opportunities to move in different environments and on different safe surfaces. A visit to the park, a friend’s house, or an indoor play space can provide new sensory experiences and encourage your child to adapt their movement.

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

Every child develops differently, and not every child will crawl in the same way, or at the same time. However, it is worth discussing your child’s development with your Pediatrician or a Pediatric Physical Therapist if you notice that your child: