When do babies usually start crawling?
The range for when babies start to crawl is massive. In the World Health Organization’s motor development study, hands and knees crawling began anywhere from 5.2 to 13.5 months. That is a humungous window, especially when a parenting app has been sending you cheerful weekly messages that make development sound like a project plan (that your baby hasn’t read).
A little over four per cent of the babies in that study never crawled on their hands and knees at all. Some moved in another way, some went on to pull up and cruise, and some began walking without ever producing the classic crawling pattern people expect to see.
This doesn’t mean that age is irrelevant, but it does give us context. A baby approaching their first birthday who has no way to move independently and is also struggling to sit, change positions or take weight through their legs deserves a closer look. A baby of the same age who rolls across the room, moves in and out of sitting and pulls to stand at the couch is telling us something quite different, even if neither baby is crawling.
If your baby was born early, corrected age is generally used when looking at development during the first two years. Your family doctor, paediatrician or physiotherapist can help you calculate it.
What actually counts as crawling?
Babies can be incredibly creative when there is something across the room that they’ve decided they need.
Some babies crawl on their hands and knees. Others pull themselves forward on their tummy, shuffle on their bottom, roll with surprising accuracy or use one knee and one planted foot. Some begin by travelling backwards because pushing through the arms is easier than coordinating the weight shift needed to move forward. They are often deeply offended by this arrangement, particularly when every determined push moves the toy farther away.
What the movement is called is less important than what is happening underneath it. We pay attention to whether your baby can shift weight from one side to the other, whether both arms and legs contribute, whether they turn and reach both ways and whether their movement is changing over time.
An army crawl that uses both sides and gradually becomes more coordinated may be part of a baby working out how to move. An army crawl in which the same arm always pulls while the other remains tucked, or the same leg repeatedly drags, gives us a reason to ask more questions. What we’re looking for is symmetry in motion.
Is it okay if a baby skips crawling?
Some babies move from sitting to pulling up, cruising along furniture and walking without spending much time crawling on their hands and knees. Crawling isn’t included on the current CDC milestone checklists because babies vary so widely in whether they crawl, how they crawl and when they begin.
Hands and knees crawling gives a baby practice in bearing weight through the hands, building strength around the shoulders and hips, shifting weight, coordinating the two sides and moving through their environment independently. Those are all incredibly useful movements, but they can also be developed through other movements and play. Instead of trying to force a baby through a crawling pattern because the calendar says it’s time, look at the larger movement picture. If your baby moves easily between positions, uses both sides, reaches, turns, bears weight and continues adding new skills, skipping one recognizable pattern may not be concerning. If crawling is missing because movement itself seems difficult, that deserves a proper assessment.
Why might crawling come later?
Sometimes a baby simply hasn’t spent much time in positions where crawling can develop. Car seats, swings, bouncers and carriers are useful, and there are days when they’re the reason anyone in the house manages to eat or get anything at all done. They just don’t give a baby much opportunity to push through the floor, turn, pivot or experiment with moving their weight.
Your baby’s personality matters too. Some babies launch themselves toward a toy with absolutely no plan and accept whatever happens next. Others watch, consider the problem for several weeks and then move when they are quite sure they can do it.
A baby who persistently looks one way may find it easier to push, reach and turn toward that same side. Torticollis, a strong head preference or a flat spot can affect how comfortable movement feels in different directions. A baby who isn’t a huge fan of tummy time may have spent less time pushing through their arms. Prematurity, differences in muscle tone, joint stiffness, hip concerns or a broader developmental difference can also influence when and how crawling appears.
Related Oona guides: early childhood development milestones | baby head preference and torticollis | flat head syndrome and plagiocephaly
What can you try at home?
You truly don’t need to teach crawling by moving your baby’s arms and legs through the crawling pattern. You also don’t need a piece of equipment that promises to make crawling happen. Babies learn movement by trying, getting it wrong, adjusting and trying again.
Use the floor
A firm floor gives your baby something to push against. A soft bed, deep carpet or couch cushion absorbs a lot of that effort and can make movement harder. Put a play mat or blanket on the floor, then give your baby enough room to turn, reach and work out where their weight needs to go.
Make the toy reachable, but not immediately reachable
Place a favourite toy just beyond easy reach, close enough that getting there seems possible. If it’s too far away, there is no reason for your baby to attempt the trip. If it’s placed directly into their hand every time they make the smallest complaint, they’ll never need to move at all.
A little frustration can be part of learning. Full outrage means the activity is over for now. There’s truly no need for everyone in the room to be miserable; this can happen little by little, over time.
Give bare feet and knees some traction
Socks and slippery trousers can make a wooden or tile floor feel like an ice rink. Bare feet and knees often make it easier for a baby to push without sliding. If your baby keeps moving backwards, better traction may help, although backwards movement is also commonly an early part of figuring out how the arms and legs work together.
Change tummy time rather than abandoning it
If tummy time has been a struggle, putting your baby flat on the floor for longer likely isn’t going to be your best approach. Try tummy time on your chest while you lean back, across your lap or with a small rolled towel beneath the upper chest while you stay on the floor in front of them. Several short attempts spread through the day are often far more useful than a single long daily battle.
If your baby consistently cries in every tummy time position, keeps the head turned one way or appears uncomfortable pushing through one arm, it’s worth asking why the position feels so difficult, instead of deciding they simply dislike it.
Let your baby solve some of the problem
Parents are usually incredibly good at helping, which can become slightly problematic when a baby is learning to move. Try waiting for a moment before repositioning them or bringing the toy closer. They may need enough time to shift their weight, free an arm or discover that a very ungraceful pivot still counts.
If you notice the same arm always stays tucked, the same leg drags or your baby repeatedly becomes stuck in one position, take a short video. Babies have an impressive ability to move completely differently during an appointment, and the video may show your practitioner exactly what has been catching your attention at home.
When is it worth booking an assessment?
You don’t have to wait until someone officially declares a milestone late. If your baby’s movement keeps making you wonder, an assessment can be useful before you have spent three more months comparing them with every baby you meet.
Talk to your family doctor, paediatrician or paediatric physiotherapist, paediatric chiropractor or paediatric occupational therapist if your baby is approaching 12 months and has no independent way of moving, consistently uses one side more than the other, feels unusually stiff or floppy, or is having difficulty sitting without support, moving between positions or taking weight through the legs.
A hand that remains tightly fisted, one arm that rarely participates, the same leg dragging or a strong head preference that hasn’t improved also deserves attention.
If your baby loses a skill they previously had, contact a medical provider promptly. Development has pauses and uneven periods, but losing an established ability is different from taking longer to add a new one and deserves a rapid assessment.
Parents often apologize for booking when they aren’t certain anything is wrong. There is no requirement to arrive with a diagnosis! You are the person who watches your baby move every day, and if the same detail keeps standing out to you, that is enough reason to ask someone to look. You know your baby best.
What happens during a paediatric physiotherapy assessment?
A paediatric physiotherapy appointment often looks like playing on the floor because that is how babies show us what they can do. While your baby reaches for a toy, turns, rolls or attempts to escape, the physiotherapist is watching how they organize the movement, where they place their weight, whether both sides contribute and what happens when a position becomes more difficult.
The assessment may include sitting, tummy time, reaching, rolling, getting onto hands and knees, taking weight through the legs and moving between positions. The physiotherapist may also look at the neck, shoulders, spine, hips and feet, depending on what your baby is doing and what you have noticed at home.
This isn’t about drilling a baby through a milestone until their crawl looks like the picture in a textbook. It’s about working out whether they need more opportunity, a different setup or help with something that is making movement harder. Sometimes the most helpful result is reassurance that the movement you are seeing fits within a wide range. Sometimes a few specific changes make floor play much easier. Occasionally the assessment identifies something that should also be discussed with your child’s doctor.
You should leave understanding what the physiotherapist noticed and with a manageable amount to try at home. A twelve-step programme that requires two free hours, a second pair of hands and a baby who follows directions isn’t a programme for an actual family.
What about paediatric occupational therapy?
Physiotherapy isn’t the only option when you have questions about your baby’s development. Paediatric occupational therapists also assess milestones like crawling. They look at how your baby is moving and share ideas that you can use at home to support the next steps. Milestone assessments are a huge part of their day-to-day.
OT can also be especially helpful if your baby’s movement concerns come along with challenges in feeding, play, sensory responses, or daily routines. Physiotherapy and OT have a lot of overlap, because babies often don’t fit neatly into one appointment type. You don’t need to know which service is the right one before you reach out. Our team can help you figure that out.
Where do chiropractic and osteopathy fit?
Paediatric physiotherapy is usually the clearest place to begin when the main concern is gross motor development, including sitting, crawling, standing, walking, strength, balance or a noticeably one-sided movement pattern.
Paediatric chiropractic or paediatric osteopathy may be considered when stiffness, a persistent head preference or limited movement appears to be part of the picture. These appointments begin with their own assessment and don’t replace medical or physiotherapy assessment when there is a broader developmental concern.
Learn more: Oona’s paediatric care | paediatric physiotherapy | paediatric osteopathy | paediatric occupational therapy
Baby crawling FAQ
Should a baby be crawling by nine months?
Not necessarily. Some babies crawl by nine months and many begin later. At this age, sitting without support, reaching and turning in both directions, using both sides and beginning to move between positions give us more useful information than crawling alone.
Should I worry if my ten-month-old isn’t crawling?
Not necessarily. Look at whether your baby sits independently, moves into and out of sitting, reaches both ways, bears weight through the legs and has found another way to move. Book an assessment if movement seems difficult, markedly one-sided or unchanged over time, or if you remain concerned.
Is army crawling typical?
Army crawling is a common way to begin moving and some babies use it for quite a while. Notice whether both sides contribute and whether the pattern develops over time. Consistently pulling with one arm while the other remains tucked, or repeatedly dragging the same leg, is worth discussing.
Why does my baby crawl backwards?
Pushing through the arms is often easier at first than coordinating the weight shift and leg movement needed to travel forward. Crawling backwards is usually temporary.
Is bottom shuffling a problem?
Bottom shuffling can be a baby’s main way of getting around. Some bottom shufflers begin walking later than babies who crawl on their hands and knees, but the pattern itself doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong. An assessment is worthwhile if the movement is very one-sided, your baby can’t get into or out of sitting, or other movement skills are also difficult.
Can babies go straight from sitting to walking?
Some do. We still want to know how they move between positions, whether they use both sides and whether they have opportunities to build strength through the arms, shoulders, hips and legs. Going straight to walking is very different from remaining stuck in sitting because other movement is difficult.
Do I need a referral for paediatric services at Oona?
No. You can book directly. Insurance coverage for dependent children varies, so check your own plan for any requirements.
Where to start
If you would feel better having someone watch your baby move, book the assessment. You don’t need to wait for the end of the crawling window or for another provider to become concerned first. Oona offers paediatric physiotherapy, osteopathy, occupational therapy and chiropractic in Toronto and Newmarket, with appointments chosen according to your baby’s age and location.
Book paediatric physiotherapy: Toronto, birth to age three | Newmarket, birth to six months | Newmarket, six months and older
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Toronto: 656 The Queensway. Newmarket: 1100 Gorham St, Unit 11C. No referral needed. Accepting new patients.
