How to Help My Son Crawl When He Doesn't Want To?

Some babies skip crawling. They go from sitting, to standing, to running. Get him some walking toys that will help support him while he cruises. Put away anything he might bump into that might fall and break. My son use to love to push a stool or a chair down the hall and around the dining room.

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I asked a similar question when my LO was your son's age as someone mentioned skipping the crawling stage might lead to Dyslexia. Well, I received several responses from other mothers who have brilliant children who never crawled. My daughter is just shy of 3 and she is very talkative, active and not only signs, but speaks both english and spanish - of course she's still learning to talk... in paragraphs these days, but absolutely no sign of any learning issues. In fact, sometimes she's too smart for her own good - not really... but wow, she truly amazes me sometimes.

In conclusion, as others have said, I wouldn't worry about it.

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I want to add, there was no way to stop our daughter from walking.. The moment she was born and they placed her on my stomach, I called out her name and she lifted her head and turned it towards me.. That gives you an idea of what she was like.. Holding her she would push her legs.. this started from the moment she was born.. I promise you our child had absolutely no learning problems.. She was always one of the youngest in her classes but was always way more advanced in her maturity, comprehension and her learning.

EACH child is their own person on their own schedule.. Some will be late to sit, late to stand, late to roll.. it means they are developing at their own pace.. As long as your childs physician sees progress.. it will all be fine..

Our daughter really never crawled she walked at 6 months.. She is fine a junior in college double major on the deans list..

We had to sometimes place her in a walker so we did not have to worry about her hurting herself..

She also loved the door way jumpy..

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Some kids DO skip crawling, BUT crawling REALLY develops hand muscles. My son wasn't much of a crawler but later (age 3) he had some hand strength issues and had some OT for fine motor skills (grasping, writing, etc) so be aware of that to look for down the road if he does skip crawling.
Crawl around with him...are there toys he can at least play with on his tummy & prop himself up on his hands?
Good luck!

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Put really desirable stuff in his path, get down on the floor and show him how to crawl. You may even need to get out of his eye sight and see if he figures out how to get to his object that he wants. Tease him into crawling.... you say he likes your fingers... just stay back and wiggle your fingers until he gets to you. If his crying is just his frustration I don't think it would be too harmful to let him fuss and he tries to figure out how to get to you or the object that you've placed on the floor for him. AND he may not be a crawler, a lot of kids skip that step. Get him a walker and let him go.

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1. He will cry if you give him what he wants. Stop giving in, he willstep it up for a little bit but will give up when you show him it will not work. You want to nip that behavior in the bud now because any time he does not get his way he knows you will come and give him what he wants to make him quiet.
2. I agree there are alot of kids that have no desire to ever crawl.
3.Do you do tummy time? While he is on him tummy put toys just out of reach, then next day a little further. This forces him to figure out a way to get to them. I mean inches out of reach not feet. He will learn how to stretch and inch himself to get what he needs. Same thing with snacks put them just out of reach, and he sill stretch and inch himself to get it.

I would not push it too much he will get a move on when he is ready, I would not worry about it too much.

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Some babies just don't crawl. Try putting him by the couch or table so that he can hold on by himself and walk around. You might want to get him a toy that he can hang onto to walk.

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crawl around on the floor. Show him how. Rock forward and backward. He might get the idea.

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My daughter never crawled either (she's now 23) .. at 8 months she was literally walking all over the place! I thought it was "great" although tiring, until I learned years later about proper brain development and the extreme importance of crawling and how it assists the brain in its wiring and development.

I agree with Rachel K... I would do anything I can to "play" crawling with your son as this is extremely important. As an adult, there are exercises one can do to assist this "crossing over" of energies in the brain, interestingly called The "Cross Crawl" technique. When energies are not crossing back and forth for maximum communication, the person is considered to be in a pattern called "Homolateral" meaning "same sided". This patterns interferes with all levels of development.

You can google "cross crawl" and get lots of information. I just did and found this link which has scientific support for what I am saying here. It is NEVER too late to assist these nerve cells to reprogram, so no worries, just begin to do the exercises. My daughter had some difficulties in school for YEARS with focus, attention and other issues, and I was able to test and determine she was homolateral. We actually began again with crawling! Truly! (she did this at age 17) along with doing the cross/crawl technique and she is a happy graduate today of the University of Miami :-)

Here is the link: http://headbacktohealth.com/Cross_crawl.html

Enjoy!
hugs,
A. F., R.N.
www.amyfreundbodytalk.com

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many many kids dont ever crawl, they just go straight to walking. verify its not a physical issue and let him be

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My oldest never crawled its not a milestone so I wouldn't push it if it upsets him that much. We got my youngest this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2331997 to help encourage him to walk without holding our fingers.
edited: The only problem my oldest has in school related to not crawling is horrible handwriting.

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Your son passed the crawling stage. My son skipped that stage. He went from sitting, to standing, to cruising, and then he just let go and starting walking. And yes, he was walking by 10 - 11 months. We didn't force him or anything, he just didn't crawl. He would be ok on his stomach at times but he preferred to be in the walker and then walking along the furniture. Hang in there, before you know it he will be walking around. Just be patient. Good luck.

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Yes, some babies don't crawl, however, it is really super important to crawl. It is such a very important stage. Not only for motor skills and brain development but physically they need to crawl. The curve in the lower back is formed during that stage and this is very important for your skeletal system. http://www.florencefamilychiro.com/child-development.html
But, all that aside, you asked for suggestions. I learned how to help a baby crawl and I will try to explain. ;)
First stage, get him used to the position:
Kneel by the baby on the floor. Put the baby in position on all fours with their head to the left and their butt to your right. Put one hand on their chest right between the shoulders so that you are supporting them and making their head look forward and one hand on the butt. Rock them back and forth. Remember to make it a fun game. Make noises and giggle. They should learn to rock this way by themselves. Do this for a couple days.
If it doesn't work, they don't like it or whatever, try placing them in a frog position straight in front of you. (They should be facing away from you.) Grab baby's hips and pull them back so that they go into a frog position. Make noises like you are in a car or whatever makes them giggle. Have your spouse across from you and just make noises and play in these positions. You can move the baby's hips. Just make it a fun game.
Second stage:
Kneel by the baby on the floor. Put the baby in position on all fours with their head to the left and their butt to your right. Put one hand on their chest right between the shoulders so that you are supporting them and making their head look forward and one hand on the butt. Using the hand on butt, grab baby's ankles/feet so the his knees point out forming a diamond. Maneuver by pushing the ankles/feet so that one knee goes forward. This should make the baby fall forward. In response to falling forward, he should react by moving his little arms, it's a reflex. When he does, push the ankles/feet the opposite direction making the other knee go forward.
This takes time and patience. I worked with both of my girls everyday for maybe a couple weeks. It just takes time. Eventually, it just clicks. Most important thing is to give him attention in these positions. He might not like them at first, feel restricted, and so that's where making noises and talking to him becomes the most important thing you can do. He needs to know that you are there and that this is fun. Good luck!

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