Babies usually start crawling between 6 and 10 months of age. However, some babies may start as early as 4 months, while others may not start until after their first birthday. Each baby is different, so there is a wide range when it comes to when they begin crawling.

Even though your baby has been developing certain skills month by month almost without you noticing, the moment they start crawling is when you truly realize that your baby is growing up.

Crawling usually occurs between 6 and 10 months, but you should be aware of your baby's limits and not compare them to other babies, as each one has their own pace of development.

How to encourage crawling

Like everything else, starting to crawl doesn't happen overnight. You need to stimulate your baby every day and provide the means for them to eventually crawl.

During the first few months of life, your baby should be lying on their back, and you can place them on their stomach for short periods to strengthen their neck muscles and help them hold up their head, always under your supervision and not for too long.

As the months go by, your baby will start moving more and wanting to roll over. It's ideal for them to have as much space as possible adapted for them, with a firm floor that doesn't slip.

Before crawling, they should be able to control their head, strengthen their arms, legs, and back, and be able to sit up on their own. It's very important not to force them to crawl if they are not ready or if they are reluctant at that moment, as we could create a negative memory for them and they may not want to crawl again.

You should also know that there are different crawling techniques: moving while sitting, sliding their bottom by bending their legs, sliding their belly with the help of their limbs, etc. So, don't get frustrated if your baby doesn't crawl conventionally; any of these other ways are valid and may even be a prelude to crawling on all fours.

One mistake to avoid is thinking that you should encourage crawling when the baby has already turned 6 months, when in reality you should start training them many months earlier with the recommended guidelines mentioned above.

Stimulation Games

The best way for children to learn is through play, that's why we recommend some games to motivate your baby to crawl:

• Crawl alongside your baby so they can see you and imitate your movements.
• Place their favorite toy away from them so they can go fetch it.
• Put a mirror in front of your baby so they can see their reflection, which will make them want to get closer to see themselves better and even to grab the mirror.

Thanks to crawling, your baby will develop vision, touch, speech, orientation, perception, as well as movement and balance. And although crawling is very beneficial for the baby as you can see here, don't worry if your baby doesn't crawl; some babies skip the crawling phase until they learn to walk.