You know its time, you know it must happen too but the baby is chilling in tummy time and not lifting off the floor?

Well, no need to worry until 10 months of age; most babies will begin crawling from 6 months of age until 10 months. Some kids don’t crawl right away the moment they hit the 6-month mark. They take their time, and it’s only indicative that their bodies still need some adjusting to do before they can feel motivated to begin crawling. Nevertheless, an anxious parent needs to be calmed and not feel guilty of having ignored the child so here are some ways in which you can motivate your child to begin crawling.

Tummy time’s the best

Lay the baby on the floor on a baby-safe mat and let the fun be! Put toys around and maybe just slightly out of reach so that the baby feels driven to move towards them. Tummy time comes with a lot of benefits apart from crawling motivation too. Muscles develop well especially of the back, neck and arms and these are the ones used in crawling. Tummy time also eases the stomach, makes the colic go away and overall a comfortable posture for fun. For best results and non-fussy baby, put the child in a comfortable and known space like the nursery for a warm vibe.

Lift the baby off the floor

To encourage the baby to begin moving, you can play with them like this — lift them off the floor into a more vertical position, but the feet must be on the ground itself. Support them by holding them at the armpits and arms. The legs get strengthened by this and they might feel motivated to begin motion themselves. But be careful of pulling the arms or trying to lift them off the floor by a tug on the arms as the shoulder and elbow joints are the weakest in children until age 5 and might dislocate at the slightest pull.

Allow the baby to play in front of the mirror

We all love looking into the mirror isn’t it? When the baby was smaller, he or she had no idea that it was them in the mirror they were looking at but by 6 months+ in age, they know already. They feel excited to see themselves in front of the mirror as they animate their limbs and try to grab the reflection. Reaching out and holding and hoisting them up in the front of the mirror will happen eventually, thanks to the baby’s curiosity. This should help them get all motivated to begin crawling soon! You can also try and place them a little further away so they are more inspired to move towards it and might show interest in crawling.

Toys are the best!

Nothing can be more motivating than exciting toys that are right outside the comfort zone. The toys spell reward — more so, a toy tunnel is a great way to get the child moving. Place a shiny bauble at the end of the tunnel or applaud loudly when they attempt to inspire them to try harder.

Try all sides

Let them be on the floor and allow them to play on all sides. Only one side on the tummy or on the back hamper development. Playing on all sides develops muscles well. There might be a time when they are only using one or two limbs to go forward instead of all four. It is fine if it is a short phase and all sides play should improve it but if it is a constant method of movement for the child you must see a doctor right away.

Crawl away!

If the baby is trying hard, you get down low and mimic the movements. Seeing you doing the same things might push them in the right direction! Crawling with them will motivate them well. Also, doing push-ups can be a good idea. Lie on the floor alongside and demonstrate push-ups to your baby. If you show them how to lift your body off the floor over and over, there is a good chance that they might begin to copy the movement. It helps if you put a rhythmic baby-friendly music in the background too!

Avoid too much hard work

Don’t push it too much. If the baby is tired, allow complete rest before they are ready to try again. Just because you want them to do something does not mean they must perform the trick. Allow them time and space, ample rest and relaxation. The unnecessary pressure will make them associate tummy time and crawling practice with pain and tiring experience will further discourage them to try again. You need positive associations and they won’t set in unless you allow plenty of rest when they look visibly flustered.

The launchpad

You can try putting your palms behind the child’s feet, like palms over the child’s sole when they are on all fours so that they can get the required take off when they push against your palm. This will stabilize them and they feel more comfortable beginning to crawl like this. You must have noticed how they ‘jump’ off any hard surface in contact with their feet while lying down on their back, this works the same way.

Avoid long periods of time in baby gear

Baby gear is life-saving when you are trying to feed them or keep them safe while you are off to do homely chores but it’s not good for the child to be in that high chair all the time, or in the walker for long periods because unless the child is on the floor devoid of any kind of harness, their muscles will find no need to develop. Avoid keeping them in gear for longer than absolutely necessary. Practice time is needed, and it won’t happen unless you strap them out of the seat or carrier and put them on the floor, unassisted. Don’t forget a good mat underneath though.

Baby knee pads help

While some people think that we should let baby crawl naturally without any baby gear, some researches do show that baby tends to avoid getting hurt, such as scraps and bruises when knees are on the floor. The pain in the knee causes a delay in the child’s crawling attempt. This can go unnoticed while being the major reason behind delayed crawling. A small percentage of babies can even stop trying to crawl. That’s where baby knee pads come to our life.

It’s true that not all babies don’t want to crawl due to the pain on their knees. But prevention is always better than regret, and a pair of nice baby knee pads can greatly help during baby’s crawling stage. In the end, we will recommend a brand that has protective and comfortable knee pads for babies.

Never actually push

Physically pushing them along to speed train them into crawling is a big no-no. your impatience might instigate but it is not advisable to physically push them around as it can bruise the delicate baby skin, demotivate them to move on their own and also put undue pressure on joints and muscles. The lithe frame of a child might not be capable of tolerating such unexpected pressure and you might harm them unintentionally.

Safety comes first when you are looking to encourage the baby to begin crawling, because once the child discovers this super-power, he or she will be unstoppable; often you might be driven until anxiety because a baby fears nothing! Our next section talks more about how to make the home safer for the baby to crawl in.

Simply Kids, a Baby Knee Pads expert

Simply Kids baby knee pads are made of baby-friendly material with adequate soft padding so that the crawling experience becomes a comfortable one for the little one. You can find their baby knee pads on Amazon: http://pixelfy.me/XaV0i4