If you want to get your baby to crawl sooner, this is how you do it! But why teach a baby to crawl? The main reason for me - babies are so much happier once they can crawl! They can explore, move to where they want to be, and experience more of the world around them.

And that leads to a more content baby in many cases.

In this article you're going to learn some simple activities you can build into your day to help teach your baby to crawl faster.

They're all really gentle and fun for your little one, so they're easy to add into your daily play time without forcing your baby to do anything they don't want to.

Hopefully once you start doing these activities you notice your baby quickly developing the strength, skills and confidence they need in order start crawling.

It's a fun new stage for everyone! (though you better get those baby gates ready, because they're going to be getting into EVERYTHING as soon as they're on the move.

3 Tricks Experts Use To Teach Babies To Crawl Sooner

Crawling Tip 1

I'm going to teach you three activities to start doing with your baby today that will teach them to crawl sooner.

Now, in case you're thinking there's no need to do that, because they'll learn when they are ready, consider this.

Once babies learn to crawl, they are generally happier.

And why wouldn't they be? Once they're crawling, they can choose where they go, what they see, touch, or explore.

And a happier baby generally makes for a happier household all round.

You can start doing these activities as soon as your baby's able to push up on extended arms while they're lying on their tummy, which usually starts between five to six months of age.

And the first thing you want to start with is a really simple activity.

For this first activity, all you need to do is place an enticing toy in front of them, but out of reach and slightly off the floor.

So you may place that toy on a couch or on a play table, and this will encourage your baby to actually look up and find the toy by lifting their head and pushing through their straight arms.

When you see your baby pushing up with their arms straight, you want to wait and see if they can independently get into that crawling position, but if they can't, then you just help your baby by simply flipping their legs underneath their body.

Now, once your baby is in this crawling position, you may need to give them some additional support, so they can actually stay in this position rather than sliding on out.

And you can do this by simply placing your hands on the sole of their feet, and if they need additional support, then you can place a rolled up towel underneath their chest or their tummy to give them some more postural support or you can position your baby, so that their tummy is resting on the lower part of your leg while they're in that crawling position.

Crawling Tip 2

And pretty soon, your baby will become stronger and more stable in that crawling position, and start to rock backwards and forwards.

And when you see your baby doing this movement, it's time to move on to the next activity.

But before I cover what that activity is, if you haven't already, make sure you click on the link in the description box below to get the free Developmental Milestone Chart.

This will give you an invaluable peace of mind, as you'll know when to be expecting certain skills in your baby's first year of life and when to be concerned.

Once your baby is able to hold that crawling position and starts rocking, it's time to encourage your baby to start crawling, and to get your baby to crawl, the first thing you need to do is give them some motivation.

And the way you do this is by placing a toy or you slightly out of reach.

Now, this might be enough and your baby may start crawling after the toy or you.

Or your baby might need a little bit more support and you can provide this additional support by placing your hands on the soles of your baby's feet, and waiting until your baby reaches out with one hand.

When your baby reaches out with that arm, you want to apply slight pressure on the opposite side of the body.

And when you apply some pressure to the sole of that foot, it gives your baby something to push off and encourages them to move forward.

Then, as they move the next arm forward, you would push on the sole of the other foot until they start crawling.

Now, if you do this activity with your baby and you notice that their arms actually collapse underneath their body like they do in this article or they're unable to keep their arms straight when they are trying to crawl, it's important to go back a step and just let your baby practice being in that crawling position, because they simply need more time to strengthen and stabilize those muscles before they're going to be able to crawl in that forward direction.

Crawling Tip 3

The third activity isn't really an activity, but rather, a very important thing that most parents often overlook.

In fact, this one thing can significantly hinder a baby's ability to firstly get into that crawling position and then actually start crawling, so what is it? Well, I want you to think about what it looks like when a dog is trying to run on a slippery surface, no matter what that dog does, they just cannot get any traction and continue to slip and slide, that is exactly what it is like if you're expecting your baby to crawl on tiled floors, lino, or floorboards when they have pants and socks on.

Their pants and socks make it really difficult to get into that crawling position in the first place.

And if they can miraculously get into that crawling position, they definitely find it near impossible to move in a forward direction.

Instead of crawling forward, what you will most likely see is your little one actually sliding backwards.

And in my daughter's case, getting stuck underneath all the dining chairs.

So when your baby is initially learning to get into and hold that crawling position or crawl, it's important to make it easier for them to do these activities by doing them on carpet, on mats or allowing your baby to go pants-free, so their knees and feet are not covered.

By making this one simple change, your baby may surprise you and just start crawling.

Once your baby does start crawling, you may notice that your baby's crawling style looks a little bit different and this may result in you starting to worry.

Firstly, don't worry.

Not all babies crawl in a traditional manner.

In fact, there are seven different crawling styles.

So make sure you read this article next to see what these seven different crawling styles are and most importantly, if you need to be concerned.

Toddler Development