Whether you’ve heard the term ‘scooting’ floating around in baby books or parenting blogs, or you’ve seen one of the children at your and Baby’s playgroup propelling himself or herself across the floor by scooting along on his or her bottom, you might be wondering where the motion falls on the learning-to-walk timeline.
Scooting is one of the stages of motor development that some children stay in longer than others, and still others skip right over entirely. Scooting is often a prelude to crawling though, which is then often followed by pulling up, cruising, and walking. There is no wrong way to learn to walk – the important thing is that Baby gets there, not how they look along the way – which, incidentally, is pretty darn cute. Have you ever watched a baby scoot along the floor on his or her bottom? Well, you might have the chance soon. Until you do, Youtube has you covered.
If you’re getting a little impatient, and you want to help Baby‘s movements along, the best way to encourage them to get a move-on into scooting, crawling, rolling, or whatever form of pre-walking movement catches their fancy is to make sure they get plenty of tummy time, especially in a space that’s big enough for them to maneuver around and explore.
If Baby chooses to scoot instead of crawling, rather than as a lead-up to it, it’s nothing to worry about, and it won’t cause any problems in their quest to walk upright. If Baby isn’t using their arms or legs in their attempts to get around on their own, or if they favor their left or right side, or if they aren't trying to get around at all in the next 3 months or so though, check in with the doctor just to be sure everything is developing the way it should.
