Is Your Baby Learning to Sit Up?
After your baby learns to sit up and support herself, she will naturally become curious. With this curiosity, crawling will begin. At first a baby will just scoot around on her tummy or inch forward with an army crawl. There are many styles of crawling. Like any other milestone all babies will master this skill at different ages. The general range for crawling to begin is around 6-10 months old.
What parents can do to encourage crawling is offer baby toys to reach for. Place toys a few inches away in order for you child to figure out how to get to there. Be sure to child proof your home when your baby becomes mobile. Crawling babies are fast and can create a lot of mischief once crawling is perfected.
What is Your Baby’s Style?
Do not be alarmed if your child’s method of crawling looks different than that of others in playgroup. There are many ways of crawling and are perfectly normal.
A style pediatrician William Sears calls “cross-crawling”, is moving one arm and the opposite leg together when he moves forward, rather than using an arm and a leg from the same side. This comes later after baby feels confident on all fours.
Other variations of crawling are very common and often the way a baby prefers to move:
Commando or Tummy Crawl