When Do Babies Start Crawling?

The sources do not give one number, and they do not quite agree with each other. Put side by side, they say:

None of them is wrong. A range is a description of many babies, and the edges of it are soft. A baby who starts at 6 months is at the early end of what MedlinePlus describes, and one still working on it at 10 months is inside what the AAP and the NHS describe.

The hands-and-knees crawl is the one in the illustrations, and it is not the only one that counts. The AAP says a few children never crawl, and use other ways of getting around instead, such as scooting on their bottoms or slithering on their stomachs. The NHS also names bottom-shuffling alongside crawling, and the CDC’s own play tip for nine months talks about a baby who will crawl, scoot or roll to reach a toy.

The AAP’s view is that the method matters less than what it achieves. In its words, the important thing is that your baby is able to explore their surroundings and is strengthening their body in preparation for walking.

Crawling is assembled from smaller pieces. The AAP describes babies at about five months rocking on their stomach, kicking their legs and swimming with their arms, and says these skills are needed for rolling over and crawling.

Later, a baby may get up on hands and knees and rock there for a while. Some go backwards before they go forwards: the AAP explains that the arm muscles are stronger than the legs at this stage, so a baby may push themselves backwards, and that with time and practice they find they can move forwards towards whatever they want.

The CDC’s checklist for nine months names four movement milestones: getting into a sitting position without help, moving things from one hand to the other, raking food towards themselves with the fingers, and sitting without support. Crawling is not among them. The one-year checklist lists pulling up to stand and walking while holding on to furniture, and crawling is not there either.

The CDC does not give a reason for leaving crawling out in particular. What it does say, on the page that explains how its checklists were built, is that milestones were placed at ages by which at least 75% of children would be expected to show them, that the checklists do not contain every milestone a child might show, and that choosing what to include was based on limited published evidence. It also says plainly that a milestone being included or left out is not a reflection of its significance in a child’s development.

So the absence of crawling from the checklists is not the CDC saying crawling does not matter. It is the CDC saying its list is not everything. The practical reading for a parent is the AAP’s: the style varies, and a baby who never crawls but gets around another way is no cause for concern, as long as they use each arm and leg equally.

The AAP’s reassurance about different styles comes with a condition attached. It says there is no cause for concern as long as your baby is coordinating each side of their body and using each arm and leg equally. That is the part worth noticing, more than whether the crawl looks like the illustrations.

Helping is mostly a matter of giving your baby a reason to move. The AAP suggests putting interesting objects just beyond reach and, as your baby gets more agile, building small obstacle courses from pillows, boxes and sofa cushions. It adds a warning with that idea: never leave your baby unsupervised with them, because a baby who falls between pillows or under a box may not be able to get out and could smother.

Baby walkers do not help. The AAP says that, contrary to the name, they do not help children learn to walk, that they are a serious tipping hazard, and that children in walkers are more likely to fall down stairs. It strongly urges parents not to use them, and suggests a stationary activity centre without wheels as a better choice.

A crawling baby can reach the floor, the stairs and the kitchen, and the official advice follows them there. The CDC’s nine-month tips say to babyproof your home and lock away medicines, chemicals and cleaning products, and to stay close by as your baby explores. The NHS suggests creating a space in your home where your baby can explore safely.

The AAP’s advice on small objects is not to leave small objects on the floor, under the couch, or anywhere a baby can find them and put them in their mouth, and it names balloon fragments, small button batteries and coins as especially dangerous. Our guide to choking hazards and safe first foods covers what counts as small and why.

On stairs, the AAP advises sturdy gates at the top and bottom of the staircase, and says not to let a baby play on stairs alone. When you are on the stairs together, it suggests encouraging your baby to come down backwards, and keeping the stairs gated at all times even once they can. MedlinePlus adds that older infants should not be allowed to crawl or walk around in the kitchen while someone is cooking.

The AAP describes crawling babies watching everyone else walk and wanting to do the same, and pulling themselves up to stand every chance they get. Pulling up to stand and walking while holding on to furniture are both on the CDC’s one-year checklist. The AAP also says not to be alarmed if a baby who has started walking goes back to crawling sometimes, because babies use whatever is easiest and fastest.

Walking has its own page. Our walking guide covers where the CDC places it, and whether crawling late says anything about walking.

The sources put this in different ways, and none of them gives a single crawling deadline. The NHS says that if you are worried your baby is not showing any signs of moving by 12 months, ask your health visitor for advice. The AAP says that if you feel your child is not moving normally, discuss it with your pediatrician. The CDC’s advice is not to wait if your child is not meeting one or more of its milestones or has lost skills they once had: talk to your child’s doctor and ask about developmental screening.

None of these needs a diagnosis from you first. They are reasons to ask someone who can watch your baby move.