If your baby has been sitting independently for a while, you may be wondering when you'll start to see some movement! Crawling usually begins between 7-10 months as baby learns to push up onto all fours, rock back and forth, and make some interesting movements like planking and getting into a downward dog. Pretty soon, baby will figure out how to coordinate his right and left sides reciprocally to move forward. It takes a lot of brain power and muscle strength to figure this all out!

More and more, parents are noticing that their babies are progressing onto walking without going through the typical sequence of crawling first. When discussed at well-checkups, pediatricians often reassure parents that as long as baby can get from point A to point B, it doesn’t matter how. Crawling doesn't matter! Why is this?

The CDC has recently changed its guidelines, removing crawling as a milestone altogether. If it's no longer on the official list of developmental milestones, many parents are left wondering if crawling is actually important or necessary. Certainly if medical doctors are saying that crawling is just one way of getting around, it must not be a big deal if a baby skips it. Right?

Well, there's actually some disagreement amongst pediatric professionals about whether or not crawling plays an important role in the developmental sequence.  Physical and Occupational therapists, who specialize in gross and fine motor development, actually have a very different take on the CDC's new change. From our perspective, crawling isn't just a way to reach a destination for a few months, but actually a milestone that sets a strong foundation for many future skills needed well into grade school years. This is not something we want babies to miss out on! Through my crawling course included in the Tots On Target Membership, I have been able to help hundreds of babies learn to crawl. If you want tips that really work to get your baby crawling, I'd love for you to join!

Here are the top 5 reasons why you want your baby to crawl:

1. Crawling Builds the Brain

Crawling encourages both sides of the brain to practice working together. Our brains are separated into two halves, the left and right hemispheres, and are connected by a neural “roadway” called the corpus callosum.  As your baby crawls, her left leg moves in sync with her right arm and vice versa.  This reciprocal movement activates and coordinates both sides of the brain and body. Using bilateral coordination, or coordinating both sides of the body together, is necessary for lots of skills your baby will learn to do in the future; buttoning a shirt, climbing a ladder, opening a water bottle, swinging at a baseball, and stabilizing a piece of paper while writing. Crawling is an important part of building these brain connections for the daily activities your child will be doing for years to come.

‍2.  Crawling Strengthens

When babies crawl, they are hard at work strengthening their whole bodies from their neck muscles all the way down to their legs and everywhere in between. And while walking, running, and jumping continue to strengthen the core and legs, crawling is the last time our children will weight-bear through their arms. The opportunity to build strength in their upper extremities from the shoulders all the way down to the tiny muscles in their hands is vital for many higher level gross motor and fine motor tasks. Cutting out shapes, coloring in the lines, swinging across monkey bars and holding a pencil with a mature grasp all require a lot of strength. Without crawling, the muscles needed for all of these skills don't have enough opportunities to build the necessary strength.

3. Crawling Improves Vision

By actively crawling through their environment, babies are building more efficient binocular vision. Their eyes are working as a team as they spot their favorite toy across the room and crawl towards it. Your baby is developing depth perception in their newly discovered 3-D world. This early start to vision development plays a big role in later years for going up and down stairs safely, tracking the basketball or soccer ball during games, and copying notes from a board at school.

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4. Crawling Develops the Sense of Touch

Textured sensory play doesn’t have to mean big messes of paint, dirt or water. Crawling on different surfaces like carpet, tile, and grass, helps babies refine their tactile systems (sense of touch). Crawling everywhere is a great first sensory activity. Later on, the tactile system helps kids feel a bug crawling up their legs or choose which book to pull out of their backpacks without looking.

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5. Crawling Builds Body Awareness

Weight-bearing through the joints- including the hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and hips- provides tons of proprioceptive input by activating proprioceptors found in all joints of the body. These receptors send messages to the brain about where those body parts are in space. Since crawling involves full body weight-bearing, the brain is receiving and processing so much vital information as your baby crawls around. Having a strong sense of body awareness helps children understand personal space, sit appropriately during circle time, walk in line without bumping into peers, and navigate playgrounds safely.

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If your baby isn't crawling, you are not alone! Here are the most common questions I receive from parents:

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What if my baby misses this stage of development?

It can happen. We can’t prevent our babies from moving onto the next stage.  But even if crawling is missed, you can still encourage your toddler or preschooler to build similar skills through play and help them achieve all the above mentioned benefits. Some fun ways to do this include:

• Crawling through a tunnel as part of an obstacle course
• Holding yoga poses (eg. table, downward dog, plank)
• Hanging from monkey bars
• Animal Walking (bear, crab, frog)

You can find many more activities in my Strengthening Through Play Course found inside the membership. 

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Does it matter if my child crawls in a funny way?

Not all crawling is equal so in short, yes it does. If your child is army crawling efficiently for several weeks, inchworm crawling, crawling asymmetrically, or butt scoots, they are not getting all the important benefits from this milestone. Babies usually crawl in these patterns due to weakness or tightness in certain muscle groups. Strengthening or stretching the affected muscles and incorporating intentional activities into playtime can get your baby crawling on all fours!

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How can I help my baby learn to crawl?

Tummy time is a good start. When babies are comfortable on their bellies, push up through extended arms, and pivot around in circles, it's a good sign that their upper bodies are preparing for all the weight-bearing crawling will require. It's also important for baby to be rolling in both directions (tummy to back and back to tummy) to strengthen the core and develop crossing midline skills. Babies who have a history of reflux, torticollis, or tongue/lip ties may have difficulty with these skills, and ultimately may have difficulty learning to crawl.

One of my favorite activities to get babies comfortable with the quadruped (all fours) position is to play over your leg. Using your leg as support under your baby's belly encourages her to weight-bear through her arms and activate her hips with a little bit of help from you.

Is it ok if my baby is crawling “differently”?

Not all crawling is equal. Army crawling (past the initial learning stage), 3-point crawling, inchworm crawling, or butt scooting are not going to provide all the same benefits as quadruped (4 point) crawling. If your baby is moving in one of these other patterns, it usually means that there is some tightness or weakness in one or more areas of the body. A history of torticollis, tongue-lip ties, or reflux can impact crawling patterns.

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Bottom Line:

Despite changes in CDC guidelines, the pediatric therapy community strongly believes crawling is an essential milestone that lays the foundation for strength, sensory processing, visual maturation, and cognitive development that will benefit a child for years beyond the crawling stage. If your baby isn't making progress towards crawling (usually mastered between 7-10 months), or is crawling in an atypical pattern like efficient army crawling, inchworm crawling, butt scooting, or 3 point crawling with one leg hiked up, weakness or tightness in certain muscle groups are likely to blame. Implementing targeted strengthening and stretching activities while helping baby learn to move in a reciprocal pattern can get your baby learn to crawl on all fours! If you want help successfully mastering this milestone, join the Tots On Target Membership for my Crawling Course plus direct guidance from me!