How to Protect Babies' Knees When Crawling

At approximately 6 to 10 months, your baby will take off on all fours and start to explore her world. Once the scooting turns into marathon crawling sessions, your may notice your baby's knees looking red, scuffed or irritated. Most babies get through their crawling stage with little irritation and don't need any intervention on your part. If your baby is particularly active, there are ways to soothe knee pain and protect your little one from further injury.

Dress your baby in 100 percent cotton pants when he'll be crawling on the floor. Synthetic fibers can irritate your baby's skin.

Put a blanket down on hard surfaces or rough carpeting to pad knees against irritation.

Purchase commercial knee protectors designed especially for babies, such as leg warmers, knee pads or pants with protective inserts.

Prevent your baby from crawling over cement, gravel or other rough, hard surfaces

Apply diaper-rash cream to your baby's knees to soothe any chafing and protect the skin from further chafing. If that fails, talk to your health care provider about applying an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream.

Tips

Avoid baby clothes that use drawstrings, as your crawling baby can get tangled in them and injure himself.

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