# Crawling on Hardwood Floor



## WyattsMom2008 (May 9, 2008)

ds is starting to try to creep and will probably be crawling soon. We have hardwood floors throughout the house. Is it okay for a baby's knees to crawl on a hardwood floor? Should he wear knee pads? I don't think I want to put down interlocking foam tiles. They would be so much harder to keep clean.


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## janasmama (Feb 8, 2005)

We have had hardwood floors for both of our children to crawl on. They both crawled on the early side and they are both now walking. They knees look great, they have good posture, they never had bruises. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't be okay.


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## moonbeem (Sep 7, 2006)

we have hardwood too, and found the foam tiles to be a great assist for crawling and the eventual learning to walk stage. it is much easier to watch the spills and falls happen on the mats.

i agree they aren't as easy to sweep, but the upside is they clean up great in the tub or sink. they are easy to vaccuum

as he's grown past crawling he's enjoyed stacking them an making little tunnels and forts


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## aschmied (Apr 22, 2007)

I don't think so. We have hardwood floors, too. Neither kid had any problems crawling. DD was greased lightning, in fact. She could crawl faster than your average 2 yo can run. SIL's ped said hardwood floors were perfect for crawling, in fact. Don't judge it by how it feels to you. Their knees are rather different. You'll be able to tell when it isn't comfy. They won't do it, they'll stop, yell, "crawl" on feet and hands instead of knees, SOMETHING. He'll be a-ok.


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## tallulahma (Jun 16, 2006)

dd1 learned to crawl on concrete and saltillo tile.
she was fine.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Don't they sell something called Babylegs, kinda like leg warmers that would protect little knees when crawling on hard surfaces?

ETA: Yep, they sell them at Target.


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## PatchChild (Sep 1, 2006)

My DS learned on hardwood floors. We found babylegs made things worse because then he slipped a lot.


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## eastkygal (Feb 19, 2006)

My DD1 never crawled really and we had hardwood. I always put down blankets to cover the entire floor. Then, we put down those foam tiles, but they were hard to clean. So, with this baby I'm going care hardwood to see what happens.


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## ishyfishie (Dec 20, 2006)

Our house is all hardwood floors and dd does fine. She *does* seem to prefer crawling on carpet, which only happens if we're at someone else's house, but the wood floors certainly haven't stopped her! She sometimes crawls with one foot under her but not all the time. We tried putting BabyLegs on her and she slipped all over--I'd rather have her knees bruise than have her face-plant and knock out her teeth! We're considering the foam tiles for her bedroom (well, more like playroom) just because we sit in there with her and it's a small space so it wouldn't take a ton of tiles to cover, it's really for our comfort though in sitting down and not because she acts uncomfortable crawling on the wood.


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## FREEmom1120 (Feb 23, 2008)

We recently moved to a house with all tile/hardwood and dd seems to love it. Her pace picked up quite a bit immediately. I like the noise of it to. clip clop clip clop.


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## ilovebabies (Jun 7, 2008)

All hardwood floors here too and no problems. My crawlers have never seemed bothered by it in the least.


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## Valerieg (May 13, 2007)

Half of our first floor is hardwood and both of my children were early crawlers. I have noticed that DS's knees are more red after going on the harder floor but nothing terrible.

I made my own babylegs from a cute pair of socks and he slipped. IMO he is safer without them (now for diaper changes, totally different story,







).

They sell some kneepads at One Step Ahead online that I considered buying but nothing major is happening here that would make me feel like we need them.


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## lnitti (Jun 14, 2004)

hardwoods haven't phase my little one at all. She started army crawling at 5 months, just started hands and knees at 10 months, but she is lighting fast at the army crawl.

My ODD physical therapist said that kids tend to learn earlier on hard surfaces rather than carpet because it is easier for them to slide across the floor. I wouldn't use baby legs since the baby would have a hard time getting traction. It would be pretty slippery. We also avoided pants most of the time too since we often just go in a diaper and top and often the diaper is a just a fitted with no cover. Pants made it tougher for traction, but she adjusted to that too.


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## poppyseed (Dec 22, 2005)

Crawling on a hardwood floor is no problem for a little ones knees, but just be very careful of what you are cleaning your floors with - use the least toxic/chemical based cleaners you can, as crawling babies ingest and breath in so much down on the floor.


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## WyattsMom2008 (May 9, 2008)

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I feel a lot better now. I've just started setting ds down on his tummy directly onto the floor, and he's immediately learned how to creep backwards and spin himself around. I do think the slippery surface will enable him to learn to creep on his belly faster.


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## stickywicket67 (Jan 23, 2007)

my ds sniper crawls (on yummy) on hardwood and tile and crawls on his knees on grass and carpet. he's quick too.
he knows what feels right and adjusts.


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## Lily's_Mom (Feb 11, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *limabean* 
Don't they sell something called Babylegs, kinda like leg warmers that would protect little knees when crawling on hard surfaces?

ETA: Yep, they sell them at Target.









: Baby legs was the first thing that came to mind.

Eta: I actually finished reading the rest of the posts and it seems babylegs are slippery on hardwood floors. Oops.


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## amberskyfire (Sep 15, 2007)

It's just fine. After all, pretty much nobody had carpet before 100 years ago and the human race turned out okay


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## jayell79 (Jun 18, 2007)

http://www.beeskneesbaby.com/index.htm
I don't have any of these, but was thinking of getting a pair to try out. DD is just starting to crawl backwards.


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## baby_lover (Jan 11, 2021)

Each parent needed to see their baby crawling. It looks entirely cute to see the baby crawling around the house. Parents do numerous defensive measures to ensure their babies stay protected from any sort of issue while doing crawling. This is the main purpose to realize why to keep the child's knees safe. For this purpose check our website we provide tips on baby knee pads. Read these tips, it will help you when you buy them.


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## Neff90 (Jan 12, 2021)

Thanks for all your thoughts!


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