How to Help Move from "Army Crawl" to Hands & Knees

I am with Bethany C. on this - my son did exactly the same thing: army crawl, a little rocking on the hands and knees, and then directly to walking! I wouldn't worry :-)

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There's no need to teach him to crawl. He's developing his gross motor skills at his own rate. Some babies NEVER doe that traditional hands and knees crawl (some stay army crawling, some do a hands and feet/bear crawl). Pushing him to doe more than his little body is ready for won't help and might hurt.

I've always been of the mind and position with my son that "If you can't figure out how to do it yourself, you're too little to do it." (like, I won't help him climb higher in a tree than he can go independently, I didn't hold the bike up when he was learning to ride or get him training wheels, never let him use floaties in the pool etc.) It has saved us from many of the big injury accidents my friends and their kids have had from kids getting into physical situations they couldn't handle.

I know crawling and walking are low risk activities, but he's developing his balance and coordination, so I'd just let him do that. My son was still army crawling at 9 months (had been for about 3 months), started hands and knees around 10.5 and took his first steps on his first birthday! Sort of on the late-ish end of normal for some of those, but he's super coordinated now. He swam at 18 months, rode a 2-wheeler at 3 yo, and can pogo-stick with the best of them now at 4 :-)

Enjoy your little guy and what he IS doing. Don't worry about what he's not doing for now.

HTH
T.

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I got down on my hands and knees and showed my kids what to do. Your baby is still young. My oldest didn't walk until well after his 1st birthday. The youngest was walking at 9 months, and my niece skipped crawling altogether. They all seem to be fine!

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he will do this on his own when he is ready. Just sit back and enjoy his age.

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i wouldnt worry at all unless there are others issues. there are a few types of crawls, and babies may do just one of them and go right to walking. there is nothing "more or less" about the army crawl compared to others. he is CRAWLING. it is just as developmentally correct as all the others. babies just want to move so whatever works.

at this point since your son seems perfectly healthy, you dont need to assist him at all. he will all of a sudden learn a new milestone. i know it may be hard since you are used to "helping" your first son with exercises, but unless something comes up, he will learn all on his own. just sit back and enjoy watching this time, you will be amazed!

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I think he's doing fine! My son loved bouncy seats (he'd rock back and forth) for a long time, but I think it strengthened his trunk muscles to help him with his balance. Your's will be crawling before you know it and he'll be into everything. Use this time to child proof your home.

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My son is almost a year old and thats what he does is army crawl, i wouldnt worry yet.

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I wouldn't worry about it. My nephew crawled like that for months and then just started walking.

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You can't help...no matter how much you want to. It's something he'll figure out on his own. My oldest "camando crawled" for a few months and then figured out hands and knees. My youngest went from camando crawl to practically running in a couple weeks and my middle son never crawled---went from sitting to walking.
Don't worry. They're all different.

My LO did only this and them dhe started walking. I dont think there is any thing worng.

Our daughter army crawled and then scooted on her bottom and was walking at 6 months.. She still hates being on her knees.. Your son is doing great.. He will make the move on his own.. You could get next to him on your hands and knees and show him how to crawl, but he is doing great on his own..

My daughter did the same thing - but believe it or not - her doctor said army crawl is crawling. So let him carry on - he'll do it when he can.

Forward movement is forward movement... my son crawled forever in several different ways - army crawl included. He didn't walk until he was 16 or 17 months because he was busy learning lots of different ways to crawl. Pediatrician said no big deal- all kids are different and to let him figure everything out on his own. It was how he leaned new and different things.

My little man did the army crawl forever, then, crawled about a few weeks, then, started walking. As long as he is getting around, and, pulling up, I wouldn't worry too much about it. ;)

I agree with the other moms. All babies are different. Many really never crawl(only one of my kiddos crawled) . He is pulling up already and is moving around well, so don't worry about it. Enjoy the suprise of seeing what comes next ;)

How about yoga? There are many different ways you can begin teaching your child yoga even at an infant age. To start out with as soon as you have been given the okay by your doctor there are certain yoga moves that are safe to practice with your baby. You can find these moves in different yoga baby books as well as some special videos and DVD’s you can purchase at a number of different places. Taking a class is also beneficial. Besides giving the advantage of getting back into shape after having your baby you are slowly teaching them those important yoga techniques. More details at the link below:
http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2009/12/11/...

My son had low muscle tone as well and I didn't want to go down the same road with my daughter! She was a late crawler too and it wasn't a traditional crawl. So, I would put her in a crawling position (a few times a day) and literally manipulate her hands and knees with my hands (essentially, forcing her to crawl in a traditional manner, for a few feet; if that makes sense). She did eventually figure it out, but her traditional crawl didn't happen for long at all. Maybe 2 weeks and then she was walking. Also, occupational therapists suggests if you catch them sitting on their knees (with their legs under their bottom, make sure they are sitting on their feet rather than their feet to each side of their bottom with the bottom resting on the floor). They sometimes do this because their core muscles are weak and it's easier. She still does this, from time to time, and I remind her to put her feet under her bottom. When she was much younger, I would actually push them back under for her. It appears she doesn't have the low muscle tone issues my first had. Good luck.

My son did the same thing. I had twin boys, one crawled normally and my other did the army crawl at about 9 - 10 months old. When he turned 1 he started walking. My boys are 4.5 now, and my army crawler is actually more physicaly agile than my other one who crawled. I wouldn't worry about it, that is just his way of crawling. Double check with your pedi if you are still concerned.

My oldest never transitioned from the army crawl to hand & knees and didn't' walk until about 14 months old - he's just fine now :)

M., I know you are a little gunshy because your older child needed help, but don't assume that you'll have the same issue with this child. Unless you see other problems with him, let him work this through on his own. You don't want to push him to walk before he is ready anyway.

You can always have him assessed by an OT and PT if you are really anxious about it.

Good luck,
D.

My now 14 yr DD did the same thing. We already had a therapist since she was 3 mos. premature. The therapist said no problem and let her progress as she wants. She never did do the "all fours". No problem now and the therapist only continued another 2 months til she started walking.