When should your baby be crawling and why is it crawling so important?
Crawling is a vital skill for your baby to learn and is a significant developmental milestone. Each new skill your baby learns is built on the foundation of previously obtained skills. For crawling, the foundational skills may be seen as positioning themselves on their hands and knees and rolling around. To carry their weight, babies must coordinate their arm and leg motions and build muscle strength.
When should my baby crawl?
The majority of babies begin to move from 6 months of age. Crawling however, typically occurs around 9 months of age and is the first sign that your baby is trying to move independently. Babies need to have good head, neck, shoulder and trunk strength before they can crawl.
Why is crawling so important for your baby?
- Increases strength: Crawling helps to strengthen your baby’s core, the muscles around their neck, shoulder girdle and their lower limbs.
- Increases visual/spatial awareness: This refers to your baby’s ability to perceive distance and depth and navigate the space around them.
- Improves bilateral Coordination: Crawling requires your baby to utilise both sides of their brain to coordinate movement of their arm and the opposite leg.
- Improves proprioception: This refers to your baby’s ability to be aware of their body’s position in space and adjust as needed.
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Learn about unusual crawling patterns, how to support your baby’s crawling and when to seek help in our article “Is your baby struggling to crawl?”
If you are concerned about your child’s developmental progress, check your child’s development here or learn more about our Bayley Assessment. We are also currently providing developmental screeners to preschools across our local community. See if your preschool is one of them or share our details with your preschool, day-care, parents’ group or early development centre.
Learn more about our Early Development Program Creator and Facilitator, Melissa.
