When Do Babies Crawl? Milestones & When to Worry
Share
Board-Certified Pediatrician • Nearly 40 Years of Pediatric Experience • About Dr. G →
Quick Answer
Many babies begin crawling during the second half of the first year, often around 7 to 10 months—but there is a wide range of normal.
Some babies crawl earlier, some later, and some never use a traditional hands-and-knees crawl. They may army crawl, scoot, roll, or move directly toward pulling up, cruising, and walking.
Crawling is only one part of your baby's overall motor development. What matters more is whether your baby is steadily gaining strength, balance, coordination, and new ways to move and explore.
Key Takeaways
- Many babies begin crawling at roughly 7 to 10 months, but there is no single age when every baby should crawl.
- Babies may crawl on hands and knees, army crawl, scoot, roll, or use another way to get around.
- Some healthy babies skip traditional crawling altogether.
- Look at your baby's overall motor development rather than crawling in isolation.
- Floor play and supervised tummy time help babies develop strength and coordination.
- Call your pediatrician if your baby isn't making developmental progress, seems unusually stiff or floppy, uses one side much more than the other, or loses a skill they previously had.
One of the most common developmental questions parents ask is "When do babies crawl?" Parents may also wonder when infants start crawling or whether their baby should already be crawling at a particular age.
It is easy to turn crawling into a deadline. A friend's baby crawls at 7 months, another child starts at 8 months, and suddenly the parent of a 9-month-old who isn't crawling begins to wonder whether something is wrong. In reality, babies reach mobility milestones in many different ways and on different schedules.
When Do Babies Start Crawling?
Many babies begin crawling somewhere around 7 to 10 months of age. Some start sooner and others take longer. If you're wondering when infants start crawling, think of the second half of the first year as a common period for this skill to emerge—not as a deadline.
Some babies never perform the classic hands-and-knees crawl parents expect. Instead, they may scoot on their bottom, move on their belly, roll to reach things, or progress toward pulling up and cruising.
This is important because crawling itself is not currently listed as a specific CDC developmental milestone at either 9 or 12 months. At 9 months, the CDC focuses on movement skills such as getting into a sitting position and sitting without support. By 12 months, movement milestones include pulling to stand and walking while holding onto furniture.
So if you're wondering what age babies crawl, 7 to 10 months is a useful general range—but not a developmental deadline.
What Is the Normal Age for a Baby to Crawl?
Babies do not all follow exactly the same developmental timetable. Before crawling appears, you may notice several smaller accomplishments that show your baby is developing the strength and coordination needed for mobility.
- better head and neck control
- stronger shoulders and arms
- sitting with less assistance
- reaching for toys while sitting
- pushing up during tummy time
- pivoting while lying on the belly
- rocking on hands and knees
- trying to move toward an interesting object
These skills tell me much more about a baby's developmental direction than whether crawling happened at one particular age.
Signs Your Baby Is About to Crawl
Crawling rarely appears out of nowhere. The signs that a baby is about to crawl usually develop gradually as strength, balance, and coordination improve.
Pushing Up Strongly on the Arms
During tummy time, your baby may begin pushing the chest farther off the floor. This strengthens the shoulders, arms, neck, and upper body.
Sitting More Steadily
Sitting without support requires trunk strength and balance—skills that also help babies shift their weight as they begin moving.
Reaching and Pivoting
Reaching for a toy while sitting challenges balance and teaches babies to shift weight from side to side. Some babies also begin rotating themselves in circles on the floor before figuring out how to move forward.
Rocking on Hands and Knees
This is one of the classic pre-crawling signs. Your baby may rock forward and backward for days or weeks before learning how to move.
Baby Crawling Backwards
Baby crawling backwards before moving forward is common. Pushing strongly through the arms can initially send a baby in exactly the opposite direction from where they intended to go. It may look frustrating, but it is still developmental progress.
Not All Babies Crawl the Same Way
Parents often picture crawling as one specific movement—both hands and knees on the floor, alternating forward. Babies are much more creative than that.
Classic Hands-and-Knees Crawling
This is the traditional crawling pattern most parents recognize.
Army or Commando Crawling
The baby's belly stays on the floor while the arms—and sometimes the legs— pull the body forward. Army crawling is considered a form of crawling and can be one of several normal ways a baby learns to move independently.
Bear Crawling
The hands and feet stay on the floor while the knees remain lifted.
Bottom Scooting
Some babies remain seated and use their legs and bottom to move across the floor.
Rolling or Combining Movements
An especially determined baby may discover that rolling gets them where they want to go. Other babies create their own combination of rolling, scooting, pulling, and crawling that doesn't fit neatly into a textbook description.
The particular crawling style matters less than whether your baby's overall movement, strength, coordination, and independence continue progressing.
Do Babies Have to Crawl Before They Walk?
No. Some healthy babies skip traditional crawling and move from sitting to pulling up, cruising along furniture, standing, and eventually walking.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has addressed the old claim that skipping crawling causes later reading or learning problems. There is no scientific evidence supporting that claim. A baby's development does not have to follow one rigid sequence to be healthy. What we want to see is continued developmental progress.
What Parents Can Do at Home
You don't need special crawling equipment or a formal crawling-training program. Give your baby plenty of supervised floor time on a firm, safe surface.
- Place an interesting toy slightly out of reach.
- Encourage reaching in different directions.
- Let your baby practice rolling, pivoting, scooting, and changing positions.
- Continue supervised tummy time while your baby is awake.
- Get down on the floor and interact face-to-face.
- Give your baby room to experiment rather than repeatedly placing them into a crawling position.
The CDC recommends placing toys slightly out of reach to encourage babies to crawl, scoot, or roll toward them.
How to Help Your Baby Crawl
Parents often ask how to get a baby to crawl, but there is no trick that can force the milestone. The goal is to create safe opportunities for your baby to practice the strength, balance, and coordination that support mobility.
Give Your Baby Floor Time Every Day
Babies learn movement by moving. A safe floor gives them opportunities that swings, seats, and other positioning devices cannot.
Put Toys Just Outside Easy Reach
Place a favorite toy close enough that reaching it seems possible, but far enough away that your baby has to shift, stretch, roll, or move.
Get Down on the Floor Too
Your face may be more motivating than any toy. Talk, smile, and encourage your baby from a short distance away.
Encourage Movement in Both Directions
Place interesting objects on different sides so your baby practices turning, reaching, and shifting weight both ways.
Create a Safe Place to Explore
Once babies become mobile, they can become surprisingly fast. Pay close attention to stairs, electrical cords and outlets, medications, cleaning products, tip-over furniture, choking hazards, sharp objects, and pet food or water bowls.
Should I Use a Baby Walker to Help My Baby Crawl or Walk?
No. Mobile baby walkers do not teach babies to crawl or walk safely and can cause serious injuries.
Babies are better served by safe floor play and opportunities to practice standing while holding onto an adult or sturdy furniture when developmentally ready.
My Baby Is 9 Months Old and Not Crawling. Should I Worry?
Not necessarily. At 9 months, I would look at the whole developmental picture. Current CDC 9-month movement milestones include getting into a sitting position, sitting without support, moving objects from one hand to the other, and using the fingers to rake food toward the body. Crawling itself is not on that current CDC milestone list.
A 9-month-old who isn't crawling but sits well, reaches with both hands, moves between positions, and continues gaining new skills may simply be following their own developmental path.
What If My Baby Is 10 or 11 Months Old and Not Crawling?
Crawling alone still isn't the entire story. Look at whether your baby is sitting independently, reaching and playing with both hands, trying to change positions, moving independently in some way, bearing weight through the legs when supported, and continuing to gain new skills.
A baby who bottom-scoots across the room and pulls to stand at 11 months is developmentally very different from a baby who remains unable to sit independently or move between positions.
My Baby Is 12 Months Old and Not Crawling. What Then?
By the first birthday, overall mobility and developmental progression become especially important. Current CDC 1-year movement milestones include pulling up to stand and walking while holding onto furniture.
If your 12-month-old doesn't crawl traditionally but is pulling up, cruising, moving independently another way, and continuing to gain skills, skipping crawling may simply be part of their developmental pattern. If your baby has limited independent movement overall, however, talk with your pediatrician.
What About Babies Who Were Born Prematurely?
For babies born prematurely, developmental milestones may need to be interpreted using corrected age. For example, a baby who is 9 months old chronologically but was born 2 months early may sometimes be developmentally compared more appropriately with a baby around 7 months old.
Your pediatrician can help you calculate corrected age and interpret your baby's developmental progress.
When to Worry About Baby Not Crawling
Crawling age by itself usually isn't the most important concern. Talk with your pediatrician if:
- your baby isn't making steady progress in movement
- your baby has difficulty sitting or maintaining balance when expected
- your baby seems unusually stiff or unusually floppy
- your baby consistently uses one side of the body much more than the other
- your baby persistently drags one side while moving
- your baby has limited independent mobility around the first birthday
- you are concerned about your baby's strength, coordination, or movement
Developmental concerns are worth discussing even when they do not fit neatly into a milestone checklist.
Seek Prompt Medical Evaluation If
Your baby loses a motor skill they previously had. Developmental regression deserves medical attention.
Also contact your pediatrician promptly if you notice significant new weakness, markedly decreased movement, or another sudden change in the way your baby moves.
Dr. G's Pearl
Don't compare crawling dates. Compare developmental direction.
After decades of watching babies develop, I've seen just how differently healthy children can reach the same destination. One baby crawls early. Another scoots. Another seems completely uninterested in crawling and suddenly becomes obsessed with pulling up on the furniture.
What I want to see is a baby who keeps gaining abilities—better balance, better coordination, more purposeful movement, and increasing independence. A milestone chart is a useful guide. Your baby's developmental story is bigger than one square on that chart.
Frequently Asked Questions About Baby Crawling
What age do babies crawl?
Many babies begin crawling around 7 to 10 months, but the normal range is broad. Some babies crawl earlier or later, while others skip traditional crawling.
When can infants crawl?
Many infants begin crawling during the second half of the first year, commonly around 7 to 10 months. Some crawl earlier, some later, and some use another way to move instead of traditional crawling.
When should my baby start crawling?
There is no single age when every baby should start crawling. A common window is around 7 to 10 months, but overall motor progress matters more than meeting one crawling date.
When do babies start crawling on hands and knees?
Classic hands-and-knees crawling often develops during the second half of the first year, but not every baby uses this crawling style.
Is it normal for a 9-month-old not to crawl?
It can be. Crawling itself is not one of the CDC's current 9-month milestones. Sitting independently and getting into a sitting position are among the movement skills tracked at this age.
Should a 10-month-old be crawling?
Many 10-month-olds crawl, but some use another way to move or are progressing toward pulling up and cruising. Overall developmental progress matters more than crawling alone.
Should a 12-month-old be crawling?
By 12 months, overall mobility is more important than whether a baby uses a traditional crawl. Some babies may already pull to stand or cruise without ever crawling conventionally.
Is army crawling considered crawling?
Yes. Army or commando crawling is a form of independent mobility in which the baby's belly remains on the floor while the arms and sometimes the legs help pull the body forward.
Is baby crawling backwards normal?
Yes. Many babies move backward before they learn to crawl forward. Strong pushing through the arms can initially send a baby backward, and this can still be a normal stage of motor development.
Is bottom scooting instead of crawling normal?
Some babies bottom-scoot rather than crawl on hands and knees. What matters is whether your baby continues gaining strength, coordination, and new movement skills.
Is it bad if my baby skips crawling?
Not necessarily. Some healthy babies move directly from sitting to pulling up, cruising, and eventually walking.
Does skipping crawling cause reading problems later?
There is no good evidence that skipping crawling causes later reading difficulties. That is an old developmental myth.
How can I help my baby learn to crawl?
Provide supervised floor time and place safe toys slightly out of reach. Give your baby opportunities to roll, pivot, scoot, reach, and experiment with movement rather than trying to force a crawling position.
Should I worry if my baby crawls unevenly?
An unusual crawling style isn't automatically abnormal, but persistent one-sided movement or dragging one side deserves discussion with your pediatrician.
When should I worry about my baby not crawling?
Talk with your pediatrician if lack of crawling is accompanied by limited mobility overall, difficulty sitting, unusual stiffness or floppiness, persistent one-sided movement, lack of developmental progress, or loss of a skill your baby previously had.
Do premature babies crawl later?
Babies born prematurely may reach developmental milestones according to corrected age rather than chronological age. Your pediatrician can help you interpret your baby's progress.
The Bottom Line
If you're wondering when babies start crawling, remember that there isn't one magic crawling age. Many babies crawl around 7 to 10 months, but normal development has considerable variation. Some army crawl, some scoot, some crawl traditionally, and some healthy babies skip crawling entirely.
Instead of watching the calendar alone, watch the direction of your baby's development. Are they getting stronger? Are they learning new movements? Are they using both sides of their body? Are they finding new ways to explore their world? Those are the questions that matter most.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Milestones by 9 Months. Learn the Signs. Act Early. CDC
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Milestones by 1 Year. Learn the Signs. Act Early. CDC
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC's Developmental Milestones. CDC
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org. If a Baby Skips Crawling, Will They Have Trouble Reading Later? HealthyChildren.org
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org. Is Your Baby's Physical Development on Track? HealthyChildren.org
Related Parent Resources
Related Parent Resources
More guidance on closely related questions parents often ask.