13 Month Old Doesn't Crawl

[Mummy200418]

My 13 month old son doesn't crawl. He gets to where he wants to be using his own unique style...

Both hands down flat on the ground
Left foot flat on the ground
Right knee on the ground

He never liked tummy time as a baby, even now if we place him on his tummy he'll immediately just get up on his knees and then onto his bum (which is fun when trying to change his nappy / wakes in the night and sits up and cries).

I mentioned this to someone I know who used to be a health visitor. She said we ought to try and encourage him to crawl properly as it'll help him walk etc - however all I've read and heard is that some babies don't crawl and they just go to walking? My son (as far as I know) has only pulled himself up to standing once - the rest of the time he just does it on his knees).

Has anyone else's little one not crawled and been ok with their development towards walking? I think he's just a lazy boy. And I don't mean that in a horrible way. From the start he was lazy, I had to cough at my 12 week scan to wake him up and had to be tipped upside down at my 20 weeks scan to make him move!!

I’ve always thought as long as he has his own way of getting around it’s fine. Not “normal” but they are all different!

DC1 did and Army Crawl around 14months then walked two weeks later.
DC2 properly crawling from 5 months then walked at 10 months.
They’re all different, and I always wonder how exactly you’re supposed to ‘encourage’ a baby to crawl ‘properly’? He’s figured out a way to get around, he’s unlikely to do it any other way until he figures out how to walk and realises that’s faster!

None of my cousins crawled - they sort of bounced along on their bottoms and then went straight to walking.

Isn't there an importance to the children learning to crawl beyond just being able to get around? This article explains it and this one is interesting, too.