On The Move
Getting up onto hands and knees, real crawling, pulling to stand, cruising, and those first independent steps — broken into the strength and coordination they're actually built from.
Your baby is moving. You're just not sure it's the right kind of moving.
Maybe they're dragging themselves across the floor on their forearms.
Maybe one leg does something different from the other.
Maybe they've been pulling to stand for weeks and haven't taken a step. Maybe they're doing nothing yet, and everyone keeps telling you not to worry.
The advice you get is either “they'll do it when they're ready” or a list of things to buy. Neither tells you what's actually missing.
Because none of these are single skills.
Crawling is upper-body strength, trunk stability, hip mobility, weight shifting and cross-body coordination arriving at once. Walking is balance, single-leg control and the confidence to let go of the couch.
And underneath both sits the least glamorous skill of the whole stage, getting between positions. A baby who can't get themselves from sitting to hands and knees isn't going to crawl, no matter how strong their arms are. When something looks off, it's almost never mysterious. One of those components isn't there yet, and it's findable.
Stop waiting. Start diagnosing.
On The Move teaches you to look at how your child moves, identify which component is lagging, and then gives you the play that builds exactly that.
You'll learn the transitions first — sit to hands and knees, belly to sit, sit to stand — because they're what turns strength into independence, and they're the part almost everyone skips.
You'll learn to tell hip tightness from hip weakness, and what a “janky” crawl is telling you versus what an army crawl is telling you.
Different problems, different answers — and 22 lessons devoted to the two of them.
You'll learn the balance and single-leg work that has to exist before a first step, so walking arrives because it was built and not because you got lucky.
By the time they're walking you won't have waited it out. You'll have built the transitions, then the crawl, then the balance, in that order and on purpose.
What's inside
1. Transitions
- Prerequisites for Transitions4 lessons
Is Your Child Ready for Transitions?
Activity 1: Sidesitting
Activity 2: Sidesitting at Couch Cushion
Activity 3: Single-Arm Sidesitting
- Sitting and Vertical Transitions (7–8 Months)4 lessons
Introduction
Prep Activity: Playing on Tall Knees
Transition 1: Sidesitting to Tall Knees
Transition 2: Sit to Tall Knees
- Floor Transitions7 lessons
Introduction
Transition 1: Back to Sitting through Sidelying
Transition 1, with Modification
Transition 1, at Incline
Transition 2: Belly to Sit with Shoulder Walk
Transition 3: Hip Roll to Sit
Transition 4: Belly to Sit with Hip Tuck
- Pre-Crawling Transitions5 lessons
Introduction
Transition 1: Belly to Hands and Knees with Hip Tuck
Transition 2: Belly to Hands and Knees with Arm Walk
Transition 3: Sitting to Hands and Knees Over Parent's Leg
Transition 4: Sitting to Hands and Knees with Parent Assist
- Pre-Walking Transitions3 lessons
Transition 1: Sit to Stand from Parent's Lap
Transition 2: Sit to Stand from Bench or Cushion
Transition 3: Bear Crawl to Stand
2. Crawling
- Crawling Prerequisites, Part 1: Side Sitting4 lessons
How to Place Your Baby in Side Sitting
Side Sit Transition: Cross-Body Reach on the Floor
Side Sit Transition: Side Sit to Tall Knees at Elevated Surface
Transition 3: Lateral Reach from Bench or Parent's Lap
- Crawling Prerequisites: Transitioning to Hands and Knees4 lessons
Introduction to Hands and Knees Transitions
Transition 1: Hip Tuck to Hands and Knees
Transition 2: Tall Knees to Hands and Knees
Belly to Hands and Knees with Arm Assist
- Crawling Foundations12 lessons
Hip Strength Activity 1: Playing on Tall Knees at Horizontal Surface
Hip Strength Activity 2: Tall Knees at a Vertical Surface
Hip Strength Modification: The Headband Trick
Tummy Strength Activity 1: Baby V-Ups
Tummy Strength Activity 2: Hands and Knees Play on Incline
Tummy Strength Activity 3: Tummy Circles
Arm Strength Activity 1: Back to Sitting through Sidelying
Arm Strength Activity 1: Modification at Incline
Arm Strength Activity 2: Baby Plank Over Couch Cushion
Arm Strength Activity 3: Wheelbarrow Play
Arm Strength Activity 4: Hands and Knees Play with Parent Assist
Let's Put It All Together: Facilitation Techniques
- Addressing the “Janky” Crawl10 lessons
Introduction
Determining Hip Tightness, Activity 1: Single Leg to Chest
Determining Hip Tightness, Activity 2: Sidesitting
Determining Trunk Tightness: Trunk Rotation
Addressing the Hips, Activity 1: Playing on Tall Knees
Addressing the Hips, Activity 2: Tall Knees with Towel Assist
Addressing the Hips, Activity 3: Half-Kneel to Stand
Addressing the Hips, Activity 4: Tucking
Addressing the Hips, Activity 5: Crawling with Resistance
Addressing the Hips, Activity 6: Lateral Reach
- Addressing the Army Crawl12 lessons
Introduction
Common Indicators of Hip Weakness, and Hip Activity 1: High Kneel at Incline
Hip Activity 2: Wedge Sitting
Hip Activity 3: Sidesitting
Hip Activity 4: Hands and Knees Play at Incline
Hip Activity 5: Knee Walking
Common Indicators of Arm Weakness, and Arm Activity 1: Weight-Bearing through Extended Arms
Arm Activity 2: Wheelbarrow Play
Arm Activity 3: Assisted Hands and Knees Play
Combo Activity 1: Transition from Back to Sitting through Sidelying
Combo Activity 1, with Modification: Transition with Incline Assist
Combo Activity 2: Crawling Over Parent's Legs
3. Standing & Walking
- Pre-Walking Skills7 lessons
Introduction
Activity 1: Sit-to-Stand from Parent's Lap
Activity 2: Side to Side Rotation in Standing
Activity 3, Option 1: Single Leg Stance on Parent's Leg at Horizontal Surface
Activity 3, Option 2: Single Leg Stance on Parent's Leg at Vertical Surface
Activity 4: Squatting at a Vertical Surface
Handling Techniques to Encourage Assisted Steps
- Cruising and Balance5 lessons
Cruising Activity 1: Walking Along a Right Angle
Cruising Activity 2: Walking Around a Chair
Balance Activity 1: Standing Over Parent's Leg
Balance Activity 2: Moving Away from Stable Surface with a Toy
Balance Activity 3: Single Leg Balance on Parent's Leg in the Middle of the Floor
- Independent Steps and Transitions6 lessons
Activity 1: Walking Between Two Surfaces
Activity 2: “Stop and Go” with a Push Walker
Activity 3: Walking Over Parent's Legs
Transition 1: Bear Crawl to Stand
Transition 2: Sit to Stand
Closing Activity: Walking Backwards
What you'll walk away with
A read on your own child. Which specific component — arms, hips, trunk, coordination — is holding the movement back.
Real crawling. The progression from side sitting to hands and knees to actual reciprocal crawling, not a workaround.
Fixes for the two most common patterns. The army crawl and the janky crawl, each addressed on its own terms — 22 lessons between them.
First steps that were built for. Balance, weight shift and single-leg control come before walking. That's the part most people skip.
Who it's for
Parents and caregivers of babies roughly seven months and up, through first independent steps. Especially useful if your child is moving in a way that looks a little off to you and you can't get a straight answer about it.
Who it isn't for: if your child has a diagnosed delay or you have active concerns, this supports professional care rather than replacing it.