crawling on hardwood floors

So my mother in law was just visiting us and, being the quintessential MIL that she is, she remarked about how the girls are crawling on the hardwood floors and why don't we carpet it for them? She is SURE that it is not good for their knees and can't believe we let them crawl on the hardwood.

At first I just brushed it off as another MIL remark, one of MANY...But then I got to thinking that maybe she is right? Their main play area has a rug over the hardwood floors. But now that they are VERY mobile, they crawl all over the place. We have baby-proofed the whole living/dining/entryway areas so they can go explore, which they LOVE to do. There is not really a way to carpet that whole area...

Do you think that their knees are being damaged from crawling on the hardwood? They don't seem to react differently when crawling on the carpet or on the wood. Their knees aren't bruised or anything. Just wondering what some other people may think BESIDES my MIL!

Thanks!

 

isn't it nice when MIL's offer such helpful advice? you should calmly and rationally explain to her that in many parts of the world cushy padded carpeted floors are unheard of. and yet somehow babies survive!

we have hardwood floors and the boys had no problems. we tried to keep them on the rugs and we even bought a cushioned foam play mat, but once they realized they could go places they were off the rug and onto the wood and nothing could stop them. see? proof! :laughing:

 

Where would we be without MIL's?!?! :laughing: We just may have nothing to talk about! LOL! No need to fret-my three kids have all crawled on hardwood/tile floors. The only carpet is in our bedroom and the bedrooms upstairs-which they never spent a ton of crawling in anyways.

Listen, nod your head, and say thanks for the info. Unless of course she wants to BUY you some carpeting. LOL! I can't stand carpets though. Once they are older I'd love to get rid of them, plus the previous owner put in really cheap ones.

 

We have hardwood floors too and when they first started crawling we tried to keep sleepers or pants on them (for some silly reason), but once hot weather arrived a few months ago they have only worn rompers and onesies. And in spite of crawling for months on the hardwood floors Brandon still learned to walk just fine 3 weeks ago, so no permanent damage to his knees from the hardwoods As the PP said millions of babies grow up without the comforts of soft, cushiony carpet, so tell your MIL to kindly stop worrying about your babies Though my mom said the same silly thing about our babies crawling on the hardwoods, and she also hovers behind them everywhere they go in case they fall and bonk their head It drives me batty!!

 

I had another mommy tell me recently that babies knee caps aren't ossified yet (just cartilage), so crawling on hard surfaces doesn't bother them like it would us. I haven't had time yet to check and see if she's right (but she usually is!).

 

Tell her you can't put down carpet because their knees would get friction burns. :stir:

 

The kneecap thing is true!

 

our entire main floor is hardwood and ceramics --- so my MIL jsut has to deal with it.

She would prefer they be wrapped in bubble wrap (or baklava )
Such is life.

On that note...... the babes actually do get carpet burn on their toes upstaris when they crawl --- so either way your in trouble.

 

Our house has both carpet and hardwood. I have worried about my girls on the wood but they seem to prefer the wood over the carpet! They have gotten carpet burn...I just went and bought "crazy legs" to cover their knees and they work great! They just cover the legs and leave the feet exposed for grip if needed! MIL's aren't they wonderful.

 

my kids lived on hardwood floors till they were 3 - no harm done!

 

We have both carpet and hardwood floors, too. At one point I was a little concerned about the hardwood, but I really don't think it did any harm. In fact...maybe it's what encouraged them to walk sooner! Our DD walked at 9 months and our DS walked at 11 months old.

 

My now seven year old crawled on wood floors and walked early, so maybe that helped her want to get up sooner (like someone else said)!! We now live in a new home and the babies will be on carpet only. We plan on doing wood floors but not until later so hopefully they will not get "burns".. I saw those leg covers though..that might be a solution for your MIL!! haha..

 

Your MIL would die to hear I let the kids crawl on cement!! I have both carpet & wood and they seem to prefer the wood. My sons knees are very rough and I think its from the carpet. And my MIL almost died when I said to let the babies crawl on the cement. But I figure if we're outside and they don't wanna be held or stay in the PNP put them on the ground.

 

We have all hard flooring. Ours crawl just fine and are quite fast. I will say, it is amazing how much you will clean when you realize crawling babies pick up the dirt from your floors very easily.

 

Here in the Southwest, houses have had saltillo tile floors for the last two hundred years. Saltillo tile is tons harder than hardwood, and millions of kids seem to do just fine.

But like everyone else, I'd just nod my head and say thanks to the MIL. They sure are a wealth of worries!

 

I believe that the hard floor can hurt their knees. That is only my opinion

 

It is absolutely normal. I did not think about putting on a carpet when my kids were toddlers. Then they started to crawl and explore rooms. My son hurt his knee due to a hard floor. We bought a large rug on this website. By the way, it was more than ten years ago. The rug is still in perfect condition.