Encouraging 9 Month Old to Crawl

To encourage my son to crawl I would place toys just out of reach and encourage him to reach/crawl for them. I would begin by doing it so he had to reach his hand out and then slowly move it further away. I would also place my arm behind his legs as he was on his tummy so he could "push off" of my arms to go forward. Some children crawl in various ways - belly, army crawl with just arms, scooting on their bums, rolling, etc. so he might not crawl the "normal" way that isn;t really normal! Good luck!

Both my sons began crawling between 10-11 months. I thought they were never going to be mobile! You can encourage him to crawl, but he will do it when he is ready. Enjoy this time - sooner or later you wil be chasing him around and worrying what he will get into next!!

i also i have a nine month old daughter. she's just now starting to crawl. i would always put toys out of reach, that would always encourage her to go for them.

They ALL hate to be on their stomachs, but that is how they learn. Since they don't like that position, they will work really hard to get out of it, so they learn to push up and crawl. They won't develop the upper body strength unless they are put on their tummies. It is a right of passage. Start with 2 minutes, then gradually step up the time and before you know it, he will be doing pushups and crawling around!

Don't worry my second son was later to crawl than I thought he should be too. Around 9 months is when I got nervous and started worrying something was wrong. But all of a sudden one day he started crawling. I used to get down on all fours with him and have my 2 year old get down on all four with him. I have no idea if that helped but I was going crazy. I have three children and none of them liked being on their tummies. He will learn to crawl. Does your pediatrician act concerned? I know when I was questioning my pediatrician she told me if he didn't get it by a certain age they would send him to physical therapy to help him out.

Our daughter didn't crawl until after she learned to walk after she turned 1. She also disliked being on her stomach. She would scream and holler. Sometimes they find other ways of locamotion.... scooting on their butt, rolling all over....

LOTS & LOTS of tummy time!!
He might not like it but add a little more time each day.
Good luck! :)

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Some children never crawl - when I asked my Dr. she said that crawling isn't even technically a milestone because it isn't a required step before learning to walk. My kids rolled around 9 months and would roll across the room - crawling came later. Listen to this now because you will be telling it to people later - don't rush it unless your DR tells you he is behind, enjoy this time when your child is not yet mobile because you won't stop chasing after him once he is.

My daughter started crawling at 11 1/2 months and walking at 16 months. She always hated "tummy time" too and we didn't really leave her on the floor to play much (hardwoods in a tiny house). The first "crawling steps" were toward these toy maracas she really, really wanted . . .it was like the first time she was totally motivated! And just like your son, she was getting pretty cranky about not being able to get around.
A couple of my friends' babies never crawled, but went right to walking.
I think you should just give your son opportunities and time to figure it out, and he'll crawl sooner or later. Or walk.
My daughter is 20 months now and running all over the place now and climbing all over stuff and getting into everything! Enjoy this time. :)

I think tummy time is the only thing that really encourages crawling. I was told by an OT to make sure that my son spent at least 5 minutes per waking our on his tummy. Frustration is normal, and chances are, it will help him crawl in the end. Don't give up. Just be consistent about the tummy time, despite his protests, put down interesting toys and let him spend some time that way. He will eventually crawl (unless he was breach and then he might not). Good luck!

My daughter just loved the sight of daddy's cell phone and would try and grab it any chance she got. So one night we put her on one end of our bed with me and my husband went the other side with his cell phone. He opened it so it would light up and encouraged her to come and get it. Well her face lit up and she crawled for the first time to get her "prize". She was 6 months old, and took another 6 months to walk. They all do it in their own time, but sometimes with a little encouragement it can come sooner!

My daughter also hated being on her stomach. She would not crawl. It turned out she was bloated and gassy from a medication for her constipation (which she took for many months). Once I stopped that medication she was fine on her tummy and started crawling. I don't know if this is the case for your son, but maybe you can rule it out as a possible problem. Good luck!

My daughter was the same way. She skipped army crawling and went straight to the cross-crawling at 10 months. Don't get caught up in comparing your baby to others. Trying to make him start crawling before he's ready will just end up frustrating both of you. Just give it time and he'll be crawling when he's ready.

First, I'm sure that your son is excelling at other milestones. Like fine motor skills or verbal skills. Babies all do things at different rates.
That being said, I was in the same boat as you; my son wasn't moving, hated tummy time, and I was a teeny bit worried that he was having some delay. But, he got there. At nine months he showed the same signs as your son: very frustrated and not getting it. I physically tried to help him crawl... moving his arms and legs while he was on all fours. Then one day, at ten and a half months, I opened my new computer on the ground a few feet from him (because he can't move, right?), he inch-wormed over to the computer and pulled the space bar off in about .02 seconds. From there it was all down hill ;) Inch worm for a month, then crawling. He walked at 16 1/2 months and I really started to long for the days pre-ambulation.
Enjoy your last few months of a clutter free house. Relax today knowing that your keys are not going to be in the warming drawer, or a rain boot. Don't get on your hands and knees with the dust buster trying to find the one shard of glass from a cup dropped in '93 before your son does. These are the good old days; revel.

mine just started crawling at 9 months one week. he was on all 4s for a couple of months but was only able to go backwards. from one day to the other he started getting it and crawling forward like a little rocket. you can put him on all 4s and demonstrate the crawling movement but just give him his time, he will figure it out by himself, and enjoy every moment, once they crawl you have to watch them every single second.

put something of interest in front of him and encourage him to go get it. My son who is 11mos old started crawling around earlier, but he is taking his time to walk, so children develop at different pace. Go to www.babycenter.com, they have some other suggestions.