Skip to main content

6 useful tips to get your baby crawling faster

Your baby has been rocking and rolling on hands and knees for months. And by the determined look on his or her little face, you can tell that the crawling stage will soon arrive. So, we bring you some tips to get your baby crawling faster along with some valuable info on what to expect when children graduate from rolling to crawling.

At what age do babies crawl?

Between the age of 6 and 10 months, you can look forward to this adorable, exciting milestone. Up until now, your baby has relied on rolling over to move from one destination to the next. From here, you can watch for signs that your baby is ready to start crawling. However, don’t be too alarmed if you don’t see your baby crawling right away. Children move (literally) at their own pace, so patience is key.

mom encouraging baby to crawl
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What are the steps toward baby crawling?

In the meantime, you can watch for the telltale signs that your baby is getting ready to crawl. What might seem like a repetitive action or simple play is actually your child building up strength and acquiring new skills. These signs include:

  • Sitting up without help
  • Rolling over multiple times
  • Pushing him or herself up onto all fours
  • Rocking on all fours
  • Scooting on his or her tummy.

You might remember that your baby may perform a few or all these actions. Or some babies skip the rocking and go straight to crawling, while others decide that crawling backward gets them to where they want to be.

baby girl on tummy under blanket
Image used with permission by copyright holder

A little help from you

While your little one is starting off with these actions, you can also give some encouragement along the way. Here are a few tips that will get your baby crawling faster.

Lots of tummy time

From Day One, you can give your baby a lot of time on his or her tummy. This helps your child to build muscle strength in the upper back, shoulders, and trunk. The “training” proves to be quite necessary for sitting up and eventually crawling.

Toys to reach for

You can also give your baby an extra incentive to reach for. By placing a favorite toy in front of your little one, you’re offering encouragement to scoot forward and reach for the prize. One thing to remember is to keep the toy close by.

A little extra support

Another trick to getting your baby crawling is to place the palms of your hands on his or her little feet. When the baby is on all fours, he or she can push off from your hands. However, you’ll need to be careful not to push, as this can cause a face-plant into the carpet.

Drop and give 50

Yes, we are referring to push-ups, but not that many. The whole idea is to model the movement your baby will need to make if he or she is still learning to elevate the upper body.

When your baby sees you pushing up, then he or she will eventually imitate the same movement.

Remove all obstacles

Yet another factor to keep in mind is to ensure a clear, safe area for your baby to crawl and explore. This might involve some slight rearranging, like getting the coffee table out of the way.

Plus, you’ll need to start babyproofing the house since your child will soon gain mobility. These safety measures include:

  • Securing cabinet doors with child safety locks
  • Getting house plants, cleaning products, electric cords, and any other hazard out of reach
  • Padding the corners of tables and other furniture
  • Placing baby gates on stairways and other points of entry that poses a danger
  • Keeping bathroom doors closed

By securing all areas of your home as much as possible, you’ll provide a more worry-free environment for your baby to explore.

Avoiding the common mishaps

Finally, when your baby gets closer to 5 months old, you’ll need to provide as many opportunities for movement and strengthening as possible. This includes:

  • Not keeping your child in the highchair or carrier for long periods of time
  • Avoiding walkers, which can hinder muscle development
  • Rushing your child into crawling when he or she may not be ready

Moreover, you shouldn’t be too concerned if your baby is not crawling at 6 months or if he or she moves in a different manner like scooting on his or her bottom or crawls with one knee and the other leg extended. Likewise, if your baby was born prematurely, then some milestones might arrive a bit later. As always, if you have any concerns or questions, your pediatrician will direct you to the answers you need.

As babies get curious, they also gain more motivation to move and discover what their surroundings have in store for them. So, the best thing to do is enjoy this special time of exploration and have your camera ready to go. After all, those cute expressions and giggles of joy make the wait worthwhile.

Editors' Recommendations

Leslie Anderson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Leslie Anderson is a freelance writer/writing coach from Roswell, N.M. She enjoys gardening, cooking, and helping students…
When should babies start wearing shoes?
How can you resist a cute pair of baby shoes, but do babies need to wear them?
Child wearing baby shoes outside

Everything about baby clothes is simply adorable. Who doesn't smile at seeing those cute little outfits? One part of a baby's wardrobe that really gets the happiness meter up is the shoes. Few things are more endearing than a pair of baby shoes. They can certainly serve to accessorize a mini fashionista or a stylin' stud muffin's ensemble. Besides being wonderfully charming, baby shoes also have an important function. Baby shoes protect little ones' precious toes while helping them on the journey to independence and mobility.

The decision of whether to buy the adorable shoes you just have to buy for baby does come with some questions. When should you buy baby shoes for your cutie? When should babies wear shoes? Should babies wear shoes when learning to walk or is bare feet better? Let's take our shoes off and find out.

Read more
Why you need baby earmuffs to protect your child from noise
No need to miss out on loud events with baby earmuffs
Baby with noise-canceling headphones

Loud noises can be annoying for most people, but for a baby, loud noises can negatively impact their hearing. Noisy environments can be more than just scary to your little one. The alarming fact is that long-term or even short periods of exposure to especially loud sounds can damage your newborn, infant, or toddler's sensitive inner ear — potentially leading to noise-induced hearing loss.

Unfortunately, severe damage to the hearing nerve is irreversible. If you suspect your young child may have some hearing loss, you will want to ask a doctor or specialist to perform tests. To help prevent hearing loss, you'll want to do everything you can to keep their ears healthy and safe, like getting a pair of baby earmuffs for your little one. Headphones for infants can actually give little ones the protective benefits of noise reduction. Want to know when to slap a pair on your peanut? Read on for all the important tips and info.

Read more
When can babies eat spinach? Don’t feed it to them too early
What you need to know about giving babies spinach
A highchair set up with a baby toy, sippy cup, and green baby food.

We all want to see our kids eat more green food, starting with the transition to solid foods as an infant. If you’re hoping your baby will be “strong to the finish,” just like Popeye by eating spinach regularly, then you may wonder when a suitable time would be to introduce that iron-rich food to your little one. This little green leaf's ability to pack on the nutrients makes it such a great food for parents to feed their tots.

But when are babies able to eat spinach safely? More importantly, how can you make spinach baby food that your child will actually eat? Let's break down the when and how to get your nugget to enjoy this mineral-rich superfood.

Read more