Come and get me

Crawling is one of the things that often turns up somewhere between seven and ten months — a long stretch, and none of it needs equipment. In this game you are the destination: you move a body-length away, stay down at their level, and leave the choice of coming to them. The arriving is the good part — the greeting at the end of it, not the distance covered.

🛡️ You are travelling backwards over floor you cannot see — glance behind you before every move, for hot drinks, their fingers, and the top of the stairs. Never let the game draw them toward a stairway, a step down or an open door: put the gate up first and play on the safe side of it. And a baby who is moving reaches everything at floor level, so sweep the route for cords, small objects and sharp corners before you start. Outdoors the sweep is a different list — check the ground they will cross for stones, cigarette ends, animal mess and anything small enough to go in a mouth, and keep the game well away from steps, a driveway, a pond or a paddling pool.