My child isn’t crawling yet. Should I be worried?

What the evidence says

Most babies start crawling somewhere between 6 and 12 months, but there's a wide normal range, and some skip crawling altogether and move straight to walking. What matters more than the specific skill of crawling is whether your baby is generally on track with other gross motor steps, like rolling, sitting without support, and pushing up on hands and knees, and whether they use both sides of their body equally. Canadian guidance (from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, drawing on Canadian Paediatric Society milestone data) notes that milestone ages should be judged by the oldest age at which a skill is expected, and that closer monitoring is warranted for babies with risk factors like premature birth or low birth weight, or if a parent has any concern.

Routine standardized screening isn't recommended for babies showing no signs of delay and no parental concern, but ongoing developmental surveillance by your doctor continues regardless. UK health services (NHS) suggest checking in with a health visitor or doctor if your baby is not sitting independently by 8 months, or shows no form of independent movement (crawling, bottom-shuffling, or otherwise) by 12 months. Signs worth mentioning to your doctor sooner include using only one side of the body to move, no forward progress at all, or not bearing weight on the legs when held standing.

The old idea that skipping crawling causes later reading or learning problems has been looked into and is not supported by evidence. If your baby is otherwise active, curious, and moving using both sides of their body, there's usually no reason for concern, but it's always reasonable to raise it at your next well-baby visit if it's on your mind.