# My Friend's Son Has a Weird Crawl **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friends-son-has-a-weird-crawl/678584 "2014-01-12T15:19:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friends-son-has-a-weird-crawl/678584/21 "2014-01-15T14:08:49Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Should they mention it? Sure. That’s what their pediatrician and the regular check ups are for! Is it very very very likely perfectly normal? Yes. All sorts of mobility variations out there in the under 15 month set. (My favorite are the [tush scooters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkpVlGjYgA0)!) My daughter never went through the crawling or “cruising” stage at all. At about 16 months she started scooting around on her backside, and she wasn’t walking unaided until about a week before her second birthday. Now at 29 months you can’t stop her running around. By all means mention it, but kids do things in different orders. Mine could count to 20 and talk in sentences but still not walk. Other kids younger than her were running and climbing but hardly talking. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friends-son-has-a-weird-crawl/678584/22 "2014-01-15T15:36:32Z")
Anecdote (likely irrelevant?): In rural Thailand it’s common to sit on the floor even when chairs and tables are available. When I was still new here, a family came to visit mine. The very young son seemed quite healthy, strong, alert, yet had a weird way of moving along the floor, perhaps similar to what OP describes. I observed him in confusion, wondering if I should ask his parents about it. While pondering this, the father (intelligent, healthy, good job, etc.) sidled his way a few feet to take a toy from our toy cabinet. _The father’s seated “crawling” was identical to that of his son._ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friends-son-has-a-weird-crawl/678584/23 "2014-01-15T16:08:48Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Should they mention it? Sure. That’s what their pediatrician and the regular check ups are for! Is it very very very likely perfectly normal? Yes. All sorts of mobility variations out there in the under 15 month set. (My favorite are the [tush scooters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkpVlGjYgA0)!) Especially since the kiddo just turned one, there’s probably a pediatrician appointment due anyway for a general check-up, shots, etc. So it’s certainly worth mentioning for peace of mind since you’ll be in the office anyway. That’s why the doctor asks “Anything else you have questions about?” That said, it’s probably nothing and just babies being weird. ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friends-son-has-a-weird-crawl/678584/24 "2014-01-15T16:26:27Z")
My oldest two nephews were side-winders… they never crawled traditionally. It’s always good to talk to the pediatrician. But I think it’s just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friends-son-has-a-weird-crawl/678584/25 "2014-01-20T07:33:35Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > My daughter never went through the crawling or “cruising” stage at all. At about 16 months she started scooting around on her backside, and she wasn’t walking unaided until about a week before her second birthday. I’m told I never crawled either, but for different reasons: as the first kid of my generation in the family with a lot of aunts and uncles and teenage cousins, whenever I started ineffectually flopping in a direction, there was always somebody around to pick me up and carry me where I wanted to go. 😃 Edit: OP’s friend should probably get the kid checked, the wonky knee may be a symptom of something that will be a problem when he starts walking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friends-son-has-a-weird-crawl/678584.md?page=1)