When should I be worried about not crawling?

[Ianthe]

My baby is 11 month old and still not crawling. He sits up and rolls around, but he won't crawl. Should I worry?

[Llyra]

Two of my three never crawled. So I don't think not crawling per se is a problem at all, although some people believe that crawling is necessary for stimulating the brain-- I can't remember the details. Anyway, that's unproven. And I have two three-year-olds here who never crawled, and they're fine.

Our Early Intervention checklist puts as a red flag a baby who hasn't achieved some form of independent mobility by a year old, whether that be crawling, cruising, intentional rolling, scooting, or belly-crawling, or whatever. My DD2 for example hitch-kicked herself around with one arm and the opposite leg, and my DS was a butt-scooter.

By intentional rolling I mean that they roll on purpose to get where they want to go, like babies who see a toy they want and roll over and over on purpose to get to it.

The reason we want to see mobility is because a baby that's not mobile in some way is being held back in his exploration of the world and therefore in his cognitive development. He's not able to get around in his world and get his hands on the things he chooses to be interested in, and therefore he might be missing out on chances to learn new things.

So I think that if he's not getting around in some way, whatever way, by his birthday, I would consider looking into an evaluation. But honestly, most of the babies who have these little extremely minor "delays" are really just running on their own unique developmental timetable, and catch up on their own just fine with patience. Some of them are concentrating on other tasks-- learning to understand language, for instance-- and will return to working on motor skills soon. Others are just unfolding at a pace that is a bit off the average, and yet they're perfectly healthy normal kids. But a few can really benefit from some extra help, and it's hard to know for sure which kids those are.

Can he pull himself up to stand? If he can do that, I would be reassured.

So I would give it some more time. But if you're worried, you can get the eval. Talk to your health care provider. Or you can call Early Intervention services in your state-- the eval is free, they come to your house, and the services themselves are optional, meaning you can change your mind later if you want to.

[marge234]

I'd get him checked out. It may be he's on his own timetable, but if there is an issue it will be easier to resolve at this age. My LO has had physical therapy--the improvements were really fast and his milestones are back on track. It was gentle and fun.

[Ianthe]

He does roll around to get to where he wants to go. He does not pull himself to stand at all.

We just moved to a new town, so I don't have a HCP for him yet, I need to find one still.

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

He does roll around to get to where he wants to go. He does not pull himself to stand at all.

We just moved to a new town, so I don't have a HCP for him yet, I need to find one still.

Keep in mind that you don't need a HCP to see Early Intervention. You can and should call them directly, and there will be somebody who arranges the eval for you.

For Utah, this is the information:
http://www.utahbabywatch.org/

[annethcz]

Crawling isn't considered a developmental milestone by some pediatric organizations, because not all babies crawl.

My oldest didn't start crawling until AFTER he'd taken his first steps (at about 11 months of age). He's now 10yo. Although he's not the most athletic kid ever, he's a happy, healthy, coordinated, active and outdoorsy person.

[Happeesupermom]

Three of my four never crawled! They went straight from scooting to pulling up/standing to walking. My two daughters started walking right around their 1st birthdays (never crawled). My older son was about 14 months when he started to walk (never crawled). My toddler son started crawling at about 10 months and started walking at about 15 months. My kids are now 17, 15, 9 & 18 months. I'm expecting #5 now.

If your DS seems to be "on track" otherwise, I wouldn't really worry about it. If you're really uncomfortable, you could have him seen by a pediatrician to relieve your fears.

HTH!

[askew]

By best friends kid crawled at a year and walked at 18 months. I was worried about him and couldn't figure out how to suggest and eval with EI. My DD has the same birthday as your DS, and she also only rolls to get around. She receives services through EI. She is also recovering from a brain injury prior to birth so it is not apples to apples, but with the gross motor milestones where they are she qualifies and receives PT several times a week. He may be a late bloomer, but I would get an eval just to see, even if it is just to set your mind at ease. My DD actually loves going to PT, she thinks it is a lot of fun.

[LindsC]

DD just started crawling a couple of weeks ago and she is 11 months old. She was scooting and rolling to get around before that. I agree that if he is moving around in someway, then I wouldn't be overly worried. An evaluation by ECI wouldn't be a bad thing though.