Here I present you the best toys for crawlers. They not only encourage babies to crawl, and later – standing, but they will also provide hours of entertainment. Playtime is a fantastic opportunity for your little one to explore and learn new things about the world, and reach next developmental milestones.
| Key Takeaways:
|
Crawling is one of the important movement and physical milestones. Play can help your soon-to-be toddler reach this milestone, as well as other emotional, social, language, communication and cognitive milestones, while having fun and bonding with mommy and daddy.
To encourage your little one to crawling you can put their favorite toy out of reach or use a pull toy and roll it back and forth between you and your baby. Choose a toy that will be interesting for your kiddo to crawl after. This will help your little bundle of joy to practice coordination and manual dexterity which are necessary to become a crawler.
This article is NOT a substitute for medical advice. Content and pics may contain affiliate links.
Toy For Baby Crawler – My TOP 3
Recommended by 94% of verified buyers!Last update on 2024-12-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
My Favorite 8 Best Toys To Encourage Crawling
Below you can see my recommendation of the best toys that help baby crawl – and you can rest assured these toys make your child’s safety and healthy development a priority.
1. Lovevery Play Tunnel
My Verdict: Best Overall Toy For Crawlers To Practice Muscle Strength
Get This Tunnel For Your Child
This kids tunnel is a perfect toy for crawling babies and supports development of motor and coordination skills, as well as muscle strength.
You can place interesting toy on one end to entice your little one or use it for playing hide & seek. Your baby will have a blast time while learning through play.
| According to many parents this is absolutely the best crawl tunnel ever! I’m pretty sure you and your baby will love it too, and here’s why:
|
I think it’s the best choice for babies who already can get into hands-and-knees position with their belly off the floor and are already learning to crawl forward. The tunnel will give them plenty of opportunities to practice this new motion and balance.
By the way, if you’re looking for Montessori toys that encourage crawling, you may also want to check out Lovevery playmat – its design aligns with Montessori rules.
Recommended age: 12 months+ (but parents often start using it from 9 months – always for supervised play)
2. Best Crawling Play Mat By Toki Mats
My Verdict: Safest Baby Play Mat That You Will Use For Many Years
This is a wonderful thing not only for the playtime, but also for all those activities that get your child one step closer to crawling (as well as standing and walking!).
It’s actually really useful from the first weeks of baby’s life. As your child grows and reaches next milestones, the play mat accompany them. Whether you baby is 3 months old or 9 months old the playmat will come in handy. And even when your toddler starts to walk, you can still use it for playtime, because it’s much more comfy than a bare floor.
| Play mat is a wonderful investment and it will serve you for a long time. Your little one will definitely love to use it for these activities:
|
The mat by Toki Mats is thick and gives babies proper support when the are on their knees and hands. If you pair the play mat with tantalizing baby toys (like an activity ball or soft blocks) this will be a perfect set to promote crawling. When babies see a clear reward for their effort, they will be extra motivated to try out new movements.
As you can see the play mat supports both physical and cognitive development.
Toki Mats Crawling Play Mats have one more HUGE advantage: they are truly non-toxic. They are made from baby-safe and eco-friendly materials. In contrast to popular colorful foam play mats or puzzle baby mats, the crawling mat by Toki Mats is free from harmful substances like: EVA foam, PVC, Phthalates, BPA, BPS, lead, glues, VOCs etc. Toki Mats are the safest baby playmats!
If you’re looking for a safe place for your little one to play and learn – this is the best choice.
Recommended age: 0 months+
| PRO TIP: If you’re looking for something more affordable for your baby crawler, I recommend you this Wee Gallery Playmat. It’s made from organic materials and it has cute black & white design – to stimulate infant’s vision. In case of spit-up or diaper blowout, you can toss it into the washing machine. Highly recommended for overhead play, tummy time and crawling. And here you can check out more organic & non-toxic play mats for crawlers. |
3. Sassy Developmental Bumpy Ball
My Verdict: Best Activity Ball For Crawling Babies
Activity balls will come in handy for crawling baby, because they attract their attention and motivate them to crawl.
Its high-contrast colors help baby to focus and strengthen their vision. They are appropriate for infant’s developing sight.
The ball features multiple textures and materials so it stimulates tactile sensitivity too.
There are chunky sized bumps that encourage baby to reach out, grasp and manipulate with their little hands. This is an important exercise for improving fine motor skills and developing the pincer grasp.
When the ball rolls it makes gentle rattle sound. This way it stimulates baby’s hearing, teaches them cause and effect, and encourages them to shake it or toss it. This is also a great exercise for younger babies for learning to track and follow moving object. And once the child gets older, they will enjoy chasing this activity ball and rolling it around.
Soft balls are also fantastic for playing peek-a-boo which teaches little ones object permanence.
Recommended age: From 0 months up to 3 years
| PRO TIP: I also recommend you this Vtech Ball. When you toss it or roll around, it makes noises. This baby crawl toy has soft textures, bright colors and tags which make it really interesting for curious, exploring infants. It features a motion sensor that triggers sounds and phrases, what’s why it’s a great choice for babies learning to crawl. |
4. Tummy Time Crinkle Cloth Book With Baby Mirror
My Verdict: Best Sensory Toy To Encourage Newborns To Tummy Time & Infants To Crawl
The best way to encourage baby to crawling is to practice tummy time. A lot of tummy time! This is the natural way to help baby reach next milestones like crawling and standing. But of course you will need some entertaining activities to keep your baby attention and to make them like tummy time.
One of the best option is a soft cloth book with high contrast pictures, rattling and crinkling toys inside, and a baby mirror. These sensory toys are perfect for for stimulating baby’s brain development and helping them to strengthen leg and arm muscles (which eventually will to prepare them for crawling).
The book that I’m reviewing here will come in handy basically from birth, up to 12 months. There are black and white pictures, which are suitable for newborn’s still developing sight, as well as colorful pictures of animals and food to help baby learn new objects.
There are multiple activities adjusted to smaller and older infants so I’m sure your baby will have a lots of fun playing with this book.
It attracts baby’s attention and encourages them to crawl to it. There are also a few teethers if he/she likes to mouth toys (BTW, mouthing is a very important part of child’s healthy development).
It works great for seated play, as well as for kids who are already on their hands and knees with belly off the floor. Its size makes it portable and perfect for tiny hands
Recommended age: From 0 to 12 months
5. Melissa & Doug K’s Kids My First Activity Book
My Verdict: Best Book That Develops Fine Motor Skills & Encourages To Crawl
This is another soft book that I recommend – you can introduce this toy during tummy time and continue using it for your little crawler. It’s cute and funny, can stimulate your baby’s vision and tactile senses, and encourage your baby to crawl.
This educational toy is made for crawling babies, infants that can scoots on their belly, as well as for toddlers who already started cruising.
You can use it to attract their attention and inspire them to crawl! When your baby is on their knees and hands, they can also play with the book, and engage in lots of fun activities: buttoning, buckling, playing peek-a-boo and even counting (with other babies).
Besides, this baby crawling toy helps them to develop their creativity and stimulates their fine motor skills (precise movement of those cute little fingers). It can be also used for seated play.
Recommended age: From birth up to 2 years
6. Melissa & Doug Match & Build Blocks
My Verdict: Great Toy For Multi-Sensory Stimulation
These soft blocks are perfect for babies to manipulate in small hands. Kids can use them to build different things and practice their spatial skills, as well as fine and gross motor skills.
There are also colorful pictures and numbers that engage babies in matching activities. They can pair numerals, quantities, animal halves and everyday shapes. They provide excellent visual stimulation and support learning new cognitive abilities like recognizing shapes and common objects, and noticing similarities. It’s a great exercise for problem solving skills, logical thinking, and creativity.
The blocks are light and babies love to knock them down and toss around. This is a fantastic toy for crawling baby, because it inspires them to chase it. Besides, it provides multi-sensory stimulation and supports healthy brain development and allows to practice so many skills – it’s just perfect for 9-month-old children and up.
By the way, this is an inexpensive toy to help your baby crawl.
Recommended age: 9 months+
7. Playset For Climbing And Crawling
My Verdict: Must-Have Toy To Support Gross Motor Skills (Climbing, Crawling And Standing)
Check Out Different Colors & Discounts
This indoor playset allows you for multiple configurations so you could create a fun play for your little one to climb, crawl and slide. Why do I recommend it? Because it provides perfect opportunity for the baby to practice hand-eye coordination, develop leg and arm muscle strength and learn to balance.
This is a great gift idea for a child who is already able to sit unassisted, get into hands-and-knees position and has started crawling. You can place your baby’s favorite toys on the top of the square cube to encourage your little explorer to crawl and climb to it. It can be also used as an activity center – to practice fine motor skills while playing with other toys and manipulating small objects.
This will be a great exercise for balance. And as the child grows and becomes more independent in their movements, this playset will help them to practice coordination grip and gross motor skills. It’s one of the best toys that encourage crawling and standing.
| PRO TIP: If you have a bit more flexible budget, I also recommend you this crawling playset with ball pit. It will give your baby even more entertainment and fun ways to play. And it’s padded with ultra soft and plushy fabric so it’s really comfy. The best thing is that the cover is fully removable so it’s easy to clean in case of a diaper accident. |
Keep in mind that this toy is only for supervised playtime!
Recommended age: 9 months+
When Should Babies Crawl?
Babies usually start to crawl around between 6 and 10 months of age, with the average age of 9 months. But as we all know, all babies are unique – some start later, some start sooner.
Some infant may begin crawling at 6 or 7 months of age, while for others it may take a bit longer to get up on all fours (10-12 months).
It’s also important to notice that some babies skip crawling altogether. And in most cases that’s perfectly normal and you don’t have to worry about it!
When Should I Be Concerned About My Baby Not Crawling?
Although crawling is important and gives your little one opportunity to learn new skills and straighten muscles (and it’s full of adorable moments), it’s not a must-do milestone! Some tots are not interested in crawling at all and simply move from sitting upright to standing, cruising and walking.
Why your baby is not crawling yet:
- Not enough tummy time – It’s really simple, babies can’t practice crawling when they are lying on their back! Tummy time helps to practice raising yourself on all fours and strengthen muscles in neck, back and arms that little ones need to start rolling over, scooting, and then crawling.
- Baby is not ready to crawl yet – It takes time to learn this new move, so it may be just your little one is not ready yet to put four on the floor.
- Your baby learns to crawl in a different style than the “classic crawl” – There a LOTS of different techniques and they all count! Your little one may be creeping, dragging the tummy and legs behind them, scooting on their bottom, move along tripod style or just rock back and forth. Or push themselves backward instead of forward. Remember that it’s all legit. Your child may start with one style and progress to another or stick with their favorite moves.
You should also know that some babies who are not the world’s greatest crawlers or don’t crawl at all – are early walkers.
As long as your child is learning to coordinate each side of their body and uses both sides equally, there’s no reason to be worried. Even if you baby skips crawling, they should be able to explore surrounding on their own and have plenty of opportunities to strengthen their body – to prepare for walking.
You should be concerned about your baby not crawling, if you feel like they are not moving normally, not using their legs and arms equally, or if they are behind in other developmental areas as well (like language, social skills or other motor skills). In that case you should definitely consult your pediatrician1.
How Do You Know When Your Baby Is About To Start Crawling?
One of the signs that your baby is about to start crawling is sitting unassisted and leaning over to reach a toy. This way babies may discover they can prop up their body on their hands and arms, they may hold themselves in plank pose, or rock back and forth. Soon they will figure out how to move along and how to get back up to sitting position. This is a sign they are ready to crawl.
It’s also important to remember that usually babies start to learn this new skill with just their arms, because they master using arms first, separately from legs. Over time they learn coordination between their upper and lower extremities.
Here are some of the first signs of crawling:
- Creeping – your child keeps belly and legs on the floor and pulls themselves along with their arms. This is also called “commando crawl” or “belly crawl”.
- Using legs to pull themselves forward and sliding their bottom along the floor (called “bottom scoot”)
- Getting on all fours and rocking back and forth (“the roll”)
- Getting into downward-facing dog yoga pose or plank pose and trying to move forward on their hands and feet (“the bear crawl”)
- Crawling backwards – At first babies have better developed muscles in arms than in legs and it’s easier for them to push themselves backward than forward (“the crab crawl”)
Keep in mind that all those movements are also considered as different crawling styles and some kids just stick to them and that’s normal! Others will move to the “classic crawl” technique – from the tummy, baby pushes up on their hands and knees and moves forward by alternating the opposite leg and arm.
In this article you can read more about asymmetrical crawling and other styles of this movement.
How Do You Get A Baby To Crawl?
Here’s what you can do to encourage your baby to get on all fours and discover crawling:
- Plenty of supervised tummy time – It helps the baby to gain strength for further skills: rolling over, creeping and crawling. During the “gymnastics” time you can use various toys for babies and toddlers that develop their cognitive skills, stimulate their senses, and support fine motor skills. Place some intriguing baby toys just beyond their reach and cheer them on as they move closer to their goal. Check out my ranking of the best wooden play gyms that can be used for tummy time.
- Seated play – sitting unassisted (when the baby is ready!) helps to develop strong abdominal and back muscles which are necessary to build crawling skills. Over time baby will learn to lean forward, stay in plank pose, rock back & forth, and finally move forward.
- Belly bait – placing intriguing baby crawling toys just out of baby’s reach during tummy time or seated play will encourage them to try out new moves. Having the reward in sight, will extra motivate your little explorer.
Remember about child-proofing your home for your little crawler. Get down on all fours yourself and look around for any hazards. Remove obstacles and breakables from baby’s path. Gate off the stairs, both top and bottom.
When the child crawls he/she can see the world from a different perspective, explore it and experience new things. But seeing others standing and walking, will make the baby eager to try out other ways to move too and in what may seem like the blink of an eye, your crawler will be cruising, walking and running!
How Do You Entertain A Crawling Baby?
To entertain a crawling baby it’s best to invest in intriguing, tantalizing crawling toys. Place the toy nearby, but just out of reach – it’s important that the baby could see the reward. Go down on your belly in front of your child and cheer them as they get closer to the goal. All of this will motive them to experiment with new ways of moving their arms and legs.
As the baby becomes more agile, you can place some small obstacles – soft blocks, pillow or boxes – so your child could crawl over or between them.
For a child who is already cruising on all fours, kids play tunnel will be a fantastic choice – it will help them to master this new movement and get ready for first steps.
| Safety note: American Academy of Pediatrics2 advises against the old-type baby walkers which actually don’t help baby to walk and pose a threat to their health (it may easily tip over and baby may get hurt)3. Instead, it’s better to use a stationary activity center or push & pull walker wagon – like the one that I recommend above. |
The purpose of this article is informative. It’s not a substitute for medical consultation or medical care. Remember: safety first! The author of this article does not accept any responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, from any information or advice contained here. This post contains affiliate links.
Pictures belong to respective brands. Sources:
- Lovevery
- Toki Mats
- Sassy Baby
- Melissa & Doug
- Leap Frog
- Factory Direct Partners
- Thremhoo
Hello Moms! I am Zooey. I am a wife and a mother of three amazing kids: almost 5-year-old Haley and 2-year-old twins Jesse and Matthew. I am a jogger, cooker and blogger.If you have a question or a comment, do not hesitate to write to me! 🙂