12 month old not crawling or going on hands and knees

[Eggletina]

Starting to get anxious about my little boy who turns 1 soon. He can move about a bit on his tummy by dragging himself around, and rolls around easily, and he can swivel about on his bum. But he never tries to go on his knees, or his hands and knees, and therefore can't crawl. He also never tries to pull himself up and is not very strong when standing. Is he still within normal range or should I be worried? I'm trying to be relaxed but it's a bit stressful when you see a baby who is 5 months younger happily cruising around the place! He's very good with fine motor skills and with babbling etc so I'm hoping there isn't a development issue.

Can he bear weight on his legs? Ie would he stand holding on to something if you stood him up?

He can bear weight on his legs, but I need to support him myself. If I stand him up next to something and try to get him to hold on, he will only last a second before falling over. I've noticed that he keeps his legs completely locked and straight when standing, whereas other babies seem to be able to bend them whilst standing.

My DD was exactly the same - no sign of attempting to crawl and then two weeks before her first birthday she got up on her hands and knees, a look of fierce concentration on her face, and off she went.

She was also better with the fine motor skills and loved to watch people and babble away to them. Moving about just didn't seem to interest her as much!

To be honest, every milestone since (riding a bike, walking, running etc) has always happened suddenly and only when she's good and ready, no amount of encouragement from us has worked at all!

Your little one sounds fine to me, try not to worry about it.

And pulling herself up to stand didn't happen until sometime after her first birthday...I also remember the locked knees.

No experience of this myself but a friend's child was very similar. She started crawling at 18 mo but they were really worried before then. I'd speak to your HV or GP personally about your concerns and perhaps agree a deadline at which point you maybe think about investigations, if nothing changes. But just wanted to reassure you that in my limited experience all was fine

Don't worry - DS was well over 1 when he first crawled and didn't walk 'til nearly 2. He's a sporty little guy now - football, cricket, dodgeball, tennis and a good sprinter

Don't worry about what the others are doing.

Yep, don't worry. D.S was 13 months when he crawled and 18 months when he finally stood / walked. But when he did walk, he was really sturdy - no wobbling, etc.

He did start walking on his tip toes, which we took him to the GP for, but we didn't need to, as he grew out of it within a few weeks.

Thanks for the comments. I definitely feel more reassured. It's difficult not to sometimes wonder if there is something wrong, particularly when other people seem shocked/surprised. But he is definitely making progress, if slowly!

It could be that he's a bit double jointed - can u hear click on his arms or legs? Is he flexible?
U can visit a Physio who will give him exercises that strengthen his joints