“Can my baby army crawl for too long?”

Let’s start with a basic overview of army crawling, because it’s a big topic!

What is army crawling?

Army crawling refers to a child moving forward (or commonly backwards initially!) with their belly remaining in contact with the ground the entire time.

There are variations within army crawling on how the arms and legs move, but typically the arms and legs will help pull/push the body forward in an alternating fashion, just like hands and knees crawling. Think: right arm pulls, left leg pushes, then left arm pulls, right leg pushes.

Army crawling is typically a pre-cursor to hands and knees crawling (the ‘gold standard’ we are looking for- see the massive benefits of it here!) and often occurs when a child is super motivated to move, but hasn’t quite nailed down the strength & coordination required to hands and knees crawl yet.

*A note on symmetry in development, meaning what one side of the body can do, the other side should be able to!* If army crawling is asymmetrical, meaning only one arm or leg is doing most of the work, it’s worth mentioning to your pediatrician and being sure no follow up with a pediatric physical therapist is warranted. While asymmetrical army crawling can be an absolutely normal variation of army crawling, symmetry in development in the first 1-2 years of life is so important for brain development and it’s worth just ensuring no other asymmetries or concerns around strength or coordination are present, in my opinion!

When do babies start to army crawl? Is army crawling normal?

One important thing worth noting is that army crawling is NOT a ‘requirement’! While it does frequently occur, especially in little ones that are motivated to go, go, go - the absence of army crawling is NOT typically a concern, and many babies will go right to hands and knees crawling, which is absolutely okay!

Many babies that DO army crawl will often start exploring it around the 5-6 month mark. This is when crawling ‘ministones’ as I like to call them, really ramp up. Those crawling ministones are the little skills that act to lay the foundation for the big milestone to occur- in this case crawling on hands and knees.

Around 4 months old, those crawling ‘ministones’ often include pivoting in a clockwise and counterclockwise circle while belly down, integrating primitive reflexes while belly down, backwards pushing when belly down (commonly occurs because there is less resistance to moving backward when they push with their hands!), followed by the beginnings of forward movement while belly down and army crawling.

Do some babies only army crawl? My baby is only army crawling but is starting to pull to stand- will they completely skip hands and knees crawling?

While there absolutely are some babies that only army crawl, seeing pulling to stand emerging before hands and knees crawling fully does, does NOT mean they’re going to skip it!

Interestingly, hands and knees crawling and pulling to stand often occur nearly simultaneously, both right around 8-10 months of age.

In general, when a child is using army crawling as their primary means of mobility, there are often subtle (and not so subtle) signs that hands and knees crawling is still on the horizon. This goes back to those ‘ministones’ I mentioned earlier- you’ll often see them briefly transitioning into hands and knees and then dropping back to their belly, maybe starting to take 1-2 ‘creeping’ steps on hands and knees before dropping back down, or briefly exploring rocking on hands & knees. Those are all HUGE signs that they are actively working on developing both the strength and coordination needed in 3 big muscle groups, the hips, shoulders & core, which allows them to make the full transition to crawling on hands and knees.

During those periods of ministone exploration & brief hands and knees positioning, they are also often seeing their world in a whole new way, which is SO motivating. They can see things that are slightly higher, they are gaining the hip and core strength to transition into a tall kneeling position with hand support, and oftentimes, this results in them kind of ‘muscling’ themselves up into a standing position on things like furniture or even people. Again - while it’s great to see that progress, it doesn’t usually mean they are going to skip hands and knees crawling - so don’t give up on encouraging it!

“Is there a time limit on when you’d start to be worried if army crawling hasn’t become hands and knees?”

While there is no set time limit, this is definitely a nuanced conversation. In my opinion, it’s less about specific timelines and more about seeing forward progress.

Let me explain!

For example, some children begin army crawling VERY early, like 5-6 months old. Often times, those are little ones that really motivated to move cognitively, but their bodies haven’t quite figured out the foundational strength & coordination required to hands and knees crawl yet.

On the other hand, some children may start army crawling a little later, and because more of those foundational skills have been laid, they may move relatively quickly from army crawling to hands and knees crawling.

Over specific timelines, I would encourage you to consider things like the following:

First - How old were they when they started army crawling? For littles that started on the earlier side (5-6 months), it may take 3+ months to see full hands and knees emerge, which would leave them still right within the average ranges for hands and knees crawling of 8-10 months of age.

Second - Are they still falling within the ranges of “norm” for hands and knees crawling of 8-10 months?

Third- are you seeing ‘ministones’ emerging that show progress towards hand and knees crawling? This one is KEY and by far, the strongest sign that things are headed in the right direction is PROGRESS! Increasing periods of things like rocking on hands and knees, maybe taking 1 or 2 crawling steps before dropping back to army crawling, just holding hands and knees position, moving in/out of sit to hands and knees, etc. are GREAT signs of progress and show me your little is working hard towards hands and knees crawling and gaining all of that strength and coordination needed to do so!

What can I do to help my baby move from army crawling to hands and knees crawling?

While any form of mobility is a win in my book, as movement truly drives exploration & development across all domains (cognitive, social, communication, fine & gross motor), there are SO many benefits to crawling on hands & knees. And while it does NOT mean your child is doomed if they didn’t hands and knees crawl, it IS something worth working towards. And remember, it is NEVER too late - even if your child (or you!) skipped hands and knees crawling, you can ALWAYS go back to the floor and reap the benefits through play!

Here are my top three quick tips get from army crawling to hands and knees:

Try putting lots of obstacles in their path to engage core, shoulders and hips as they crawl over it
Practice assisted stair crawling to activate those muscle groups & coordinate alternating arms and legs. For this one, be sure to be right with them the entire time. I recommend keeping one hand gently under their belly (between their belly and step) so you are able to stop their face from hitting the stair if their arms give out.
When they’re on the ground playing, try setting them up with their feet against the wall or a firm surface. This will stop them from moving backwards, give them something to push off of, and allow them to more easily use their arms to pull forward!

And if you or your little is feeling stuck or frustrated when it comes to conquering crawling, I’ve got your back! For a full plan on how to get your little mastering crawling TODAY, check out my Crawling Masterclass. It’s filled to the brim with all the tips, tricks & hacks I’ve learned in my nearly decade of being a pediatric therapist AND a mom of 3 that *gets it* , plus tons of important development information, ALL you need to know on how to set the environment up to encourage crawling success, AND activities that not only trouble-shoot army crawling, but show you exactly how to determine what your little needs AND address it quickly from the comfort of your home. Let’s start conquering crawling together, today!

Lastly, if you’ve been around awhile, you know that I firmly believe you do not need all the things (or really any of the things!) for your child to master their motor milestones. But if you’re looking for ideas - you can find my thoroughly tested, tried & true favorite toys that are super fun AND encourage crawling (and the ministones that lead to it!), right here.

And for more on the importance and benefits of hands and knees crawling - check out my blog here.

Happy crawling, friends!

Want more development support?

For developmental questions, tips and guidance related to milestones about tummy time, rolling & sitting, crawling and walking, check out KC’s developmental Masterclasses linked here.

Is Army Crawling Normal?