Would you let your baby crawl here?

[WeepyNsleepy]

1. In your own home: in the bathroom
2. On the lawn in your own garden
3. On the lawn in a park or public green space
4. On the ground of a public playground
5. In your own home in an area where people wear outside shoes
6. Indoor play area for older children
7. On the beach
8. Any other place that might not seem immediately obvious bit turned out to be baby crawling (and parent heaven)

(Assume that you are supervising your baby.)

Just curious what other people think is ok. With DD I was over protective and didn't let her crawl in any of these. Now with my second I don't want to make the same mistake (of being over protective) but am genuinely wondering if I'm overlooking some serious health or safety issues.

Not many mobile babies are going to happy sitting in a buggy or a sling for the day!

Yes to all of those, it's good for them to get out and explore. Obviously I'd always check over the area to make sure there's no hazards and keep constant supervision.

I was thinking no to most - I don’t have a baby (yet) and clearly know nothing! I am now scared of beaches having heard of a kid standing on a hot bbq buried in sand.

Okay... so, yes to all...

But what shocks me the most: do people not ever wear shoes in the house?!? I do, all the time. Like, if I've been out in the garden and come back in, I dont take my shoes off immediately. Am I weird??

I do too.

Yes to everything from outdoor playground. Soft play only if it is very quiet.

It is hard to balance freedom with not letting them get covered in germs that could make them actually ill. Apart from keeping mine from anything obviously dirty and dangerous I let mine explore most places, just with extra hand wiping/washing.

Yes to all, although I'd make a judgement in the playground/indoor play centre dependent on how busy it was - I'm happy for DD to crawl there but if it's busy with lots of children I'd probably keep her away so she doesn't get trampled and don't think it's fair expect the older ones to moderate their behaviour/slow down when it's an area for them to play iyswim.

How did you even stop them ? Once my kids were on the move it was impossible to restrain them and horrible as they hated being stuck, even the buggy unless moving at that stage, hated playpens and would last around 5 mins in one..
What do people do to stop babies crawling and moving and tbh I just let them at it as would never restrain a screaming child as it’s wrong and also doesn’t it just stilt progression ? I notice one of my friends babies is very slow to move but they are over a year and always in buggies when out or strapped into high chairs , my dcs would never have tolerated that anyway and they all walked anyway very quickly after crawling as loads of opportunity to pull themselves up. I could see it was totally innate and natural , they were hell bent on moving and wanting to be upright . I honestly don’t get how babies just sit for ages as mine never did but that’s just a personal experience.

Yes all of them but would be on high dog poo alert at number 3.

I had a large playpen for mine. Took up most of the living room but I could nap comfortably in the middle of it while the baby crawled over me.

Yes to all

My own home floors are clean enough ie bathroom and we generally are no shoes indoors so it isn’t filthy

Ourdoors I would obviously Do a quick scan for dirt/ poop/ etc but otherwise of course they would play in grass, parks, sand

Yes to all of those.

She crawled around the play area in our local hospital and came out eating a very large scab. So that was nice.

I honestly can't believe anyone even considers not letting their babies crawl in these locations! That is nuts!

I would take let them crawl in an indoor play area for older children, @WeepyNsleepy, because they might get stood on or tripped over - the baby might get hurt, and it is unfair to expect older children to avoid a crawling baby in an area that isn’t intended for babies.

Other than that, I let my babies crawl everywhere you have listed.

Yes to all except perhaps the outdoor playground if very gritty/broken glass, or maybe the indoor soft play if they might get trampled.

Not on a beach...too often I've discovered cigarette butts or tiny pieces of broke glass.

Yes to all of those

Wouldnt have let her crawl in somewhere like Costa as the floor is so manky but everywhere else fine

Now she’s walking and having seen her actually licking our cat, eating his food, licking windows, putting other babies shoes in her mouth etc I’m glad I didn’t worry too much

Yes all of those places.

My (almost) two year old had his leg amputated back in February and crawling/'knee walking' is the only way he can get around so I let him crawl anywhere any other child would be able to walk - makes him happy

It really isn’t a good idea to let a crawling baby crawl round in an indoor play area intended for older children! They risk getting trampled underfoot, and it isn’t fair to make the older children have to watch out for babies underfoot in an area that isintended for them to charge around in.

I'd let them crawl in all those places, but I'd check for sharp things or dog poo first in any public place, then decide on a cases by case basis.

I would let my baby crawl in all of those places!

Yes to all, just wash hands afterwards. Germs won't kill them and they need to build their immune system

Yes, all of them. They’ve both survived so far!

If you have let you kid crawl in a soft play area of go into a public ball pool, she has crawled in much dirtier spaces than that.