If your LO skipped crawling...

SBear12

... when did they start to walk?

Lyla has NO interest in crawling whatsoever. She hates being on her tummy and yells til I pick her back up, doesn't bother trying to scoot around on her bum, and just wants to "walk" holding our hands every.single.minute.

I've talked to a couple moms who said their LOs were the same way, and just skipped crawling and started walking instead (10 months-ish). Just curious how common this actually is...

I was thinking I might get away with not fully babyproofing for a while longer, but maybe not.

thumbkin

I am very interested in reading the answers to this post.  You described my LO to a t.

megs042107

i've heard of it happening but I don't think it's very common. ?a boy in our Gymboree class just wants to walk while his mom holds on to him. ?He'll also pull himself up from sitting to standing. ?He doesn't crawl. ?And he's 7.5 months. ?

Andrewsgal

If my child were to skip crawling it would literally scare the crap out of me. Crawling is one of the MOST imortant phase of development. It effects brain development and cordination. I work with a lot of Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist and all of them say they have never seen a "normal" child skip crawling. I would really push tummy time and do anything within your power to help her develop this skill.

SBear12

Andrewsgal:

If my child were to skip crawling it would literally scare the crap out of me. Crawling is one of the MOST imortant phase of development. It effects brain development and cordination. I work with a lot of Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist and all of them say they have never seen a "normal" child skip crawling. I would really push tummy time and do anything within your power to help her develop this skill.

Hmmm... I wondered about this, but we had our 9 month check-up today and our pedi (who is board certified in both general and develomental peds) told us that crawling isn't an actual milestone now that babies spend so little time on their tummies, and not something to worry about.

I did hear about a study linking crawling with eventual reading ability... is that maybe what you're referencing? Obviously I'm just one case study, but apparently I skipped crawling as a baby myself, and walked at 10.5 months instead... then started reading at 2.5, had my IQ tested at the 99%ile in elem. school, and went on to get a perfect score on my verbal SATs in high school... so maybe not quite "normal", but not too bad either!

pleasepickme

That's interesting because our pediatrician says that crawling actually doesn't count as a developmental milestone.  It's more common for crawling to come later or not at all because of the Back to Sleep movement, so as long as your doctor's not worried, I wouldn't be either!  Also, my first child was "normal" and completely skipped crawling, and my second seems to be following the trend.

lillanmer

I have to agree here... We had a physical therapist who spoke about this at the hospital.  She stressed the importance of crawling before walking, besides brain development and coordination, she mentioned how hips can develop differently. 

Andrewsgal

Oh sorry my bad, all the studies and experts that actually study how physical development and milstones actually effect a child are wrong. Go about your business.

SBear12

Andrewsgal:

Oh sorry my bad, all the studies and experts that actually study how physical development and milstones actually effect a child are wrong. Go about your business.

I'm sorry, in your previous post, it seemed as though you were citing a coworker and not a specific study. Do you know of any specific literature reviews for reference? I've only heard of the one literacy study that claimed to find a correlation, but most other info out there seems to be contradictory... particularly anything based on motor skills since the "back to sleep" campaign has been in effect. But I'll admit, the majority of my graduate research was in child development, and it seems like most subjects in this field generate an exhausting array of conflicting studies (especially when taking into consideration world-wide cultural differences), so I tend to be skeptical until I see truly consistent empirical data.

Kellina

My LO is not crawling yet, but I know my friend's DS didn't crawl much, just wanted to walk with mom or dad holding hands as well... He walked at 10.5 months!

I myself walked at 9 months!!  I don't know if I crawled before that! 

stellasam

Andrewsgal:

If my child were to skip crawling it would literally scare the crap out of me. Crawling is one of the MOST imortant phase of development. It effects brain development and cordination. I work with a lot of Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist and all of them say they have never seen a "normal" child skip crawling. I would really push tummy time and do anything within your power to help her develop this skill.

Your response is insensitive and overly-alarming.  My DS isn't crawling yet and I am a bit concerned (and trying to help him get it and he is close) but I don't need someone to tell me I should be scared crapless.  SIDS, fires, child molesters, these are things that "literally scare the crap out of me".  I understand you were trying to relay information about crawling and development, but please think about how you phrase things before posting.

SBear12

Andrewsgal:

If my child were to skip crawling it would literally scare the crap out of me. Crawling is one of the MOST imortant phase of development. It effects brain development and cordination. I work with a lot of Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist and all of them say they have never seen a "normal" child skip crawling. I would really push tummy time and do anything within your power to help her develop this skill.

Also, I just have to add, I can't stop giggling at this. It would "literally" scare the crap out of you? Meaning you would actually be so scared, you would poop? Like right there on the floor beside your poor non-crawling child? I am trying SO hard not to generate a mental image...

ETA -- Kidding aside, I do appreciate anecdotal info, so thank you for sharing your coworkers' experiences. Obviously correlation doesn't indicate causation, but it's still interesting to hear, and can even help researchers pinpoint other underlying variables that could potentially be connected to both individual occurences. So that's helpful! It's just kinder to be careful about coming across a bit too alarmist, unless you have enough valid and reliable data to back up your claims.

susianddan

Andrewsgal:

If my child were to skip crawling it would literally scare the crap out of me. Crawling is one of the MOST imortant phase of development. It effects brain development and cordination. I work with a lot of Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist and all of them say they have never seen a "normal" child skip crawling. I would really push tummy time and do anything within your power to help her develop this skill.

I skipped crawling and DD is too. She is so close to walking that I think it'll happen within the week. I was 9 months. DD just turned 10. When I was a baby, my mom was told by my pedi that I would have developmental issues. What a load of bull! Don't let anyone scare you about this. I do not have any mental development issues. In fact, I am currently working on my dissertation for my doctorate and have been an honors student all my life. When I was in 7th grade, I took the SAT the same time my older sister (11th grade) did and out scored her. And she crawled! I've been athletic and coordinated all my life as well - swimming, soccer, biking, ultimate frisbee, you name it. I'm also an accomplished pianist. ?Not to be an AW, but I think it's important for people to realize that just because your LO doesn't crawl doesn't mean that you are going to have a child with issues. Like any other child, you should find activities to exercise their brain and body and they'll be fine.

As for the research, I'm sure there is some out there. I can also prove that bread can kill. How many people do you know that have died and not eaten bread?!?