Praveena Dhawale, MD
Pediatrician
Associated Pediatrics, Inc.
801 Eastwind Dr.
Columbus, Ohio 43081
Phone (614) 882-9460

Q: How do I know when my baby is ready to begin crawling and/or walking? How can I offer encouragement? 

A: Babies develop at their own pace—that is the most important thing to remember.  There are general age ranges for developmental milestones.  Therefore, one child's progression can be markedly different from the next.

The average age for beginning crawlers is about 8-9 months.  How can you tell if your child is ready to move?  Some babies will just get up on their hands and knees into a crawling position.  Other babies may squirm and use their elbows to scoot along the floor on their bellies.  There are also others who will skip crawling altogether and go straight to walking along the furniture and eventually without support.

The average 12 month old can walk with you holding one of his hands and alone at 15 months.  But, again, these are just averages.  The key is to follow baby's overall progress.  If you have concerns about your child's development, these are ideal issues to discuss with your pediatrician.

To encourage development, I recommend lots of creative play.  Make sure baby gets plenty of awake tummy time after one month of age.  From there, just have fun!  Create a stimulating environment for baby to explore.  Get down on the ground with baby and even demonstrate crawling.  Make a game of it! 

Just enjoy this time to play and learn because once they are mobile, watch out!