Baby Steps - Stages of Baby's Self-Locomotion

For many infants, the first inclinations of self-locomotion take the form of reaching. While reaching, they may lean forward so much they end up a little further ahead on their tummy. If already on their tummy, they will stretch and point their toes and may even "scoot" forward. At around 3 or 4 months of age, infants begin to successfully master reaching.

At around 8 months of age, infants are able to crawl. For some babies, however, crawling can occur as early as 5 1/2 to 6 months and even be as late as 10 or 11 months. Previously, many researchers have claimed that if an infant does not crawl, it drastically hinders his or her development. But lately, many have retracted that statement. More and more infants are going straight from reaching to walking. Though crawling can be beneficial to some infants, it is certainly not something to be upset about. Research shows that when observed at 18 months, there was no difference in the development of infants who had and who had not crawled on schedule.

Walking independently can be mastered as early as 11 months to as late as 16 months, although for many infants it occurs around 13 to 14 months old. However, many infants around 7 months old or so are able to begin pulling themselves up on furniture and walking with an aide. For a fun game for a 4-10 month old, grab a hold of their hands and let them steer the way. My baby girl just giggles and takes off jogging. (She is currently just over 9 months old)


1. How Children Develop by Siegler, Dloache, Eisenberg. Page 189-190