Is it ok to practice standing if your child isn't crawling yet?

In one word - yes - it's fine to practice standing if your child isn't crawling yet.  But how and how much are your keys to ensure you don't end up causing a problem later in development.

Babies have a reflex when they are born that allows them to stick their legs out straight and stand.  Parents are delighted by this and it's fun to play with, but it usually goes away and for most kids they go through a period where they don't automatically stand when you hold them upright.  Many will pull their legs up in a frog like position.  Standing then returns once the muscles of the legs get strong enough in the front and back so that they are actually using their strength to lock those little knees in a standing position.

Once babies are able to stand again when they are held in that position many babies love it so much they want to do it all the time (using "play and walk away" from Suppernanny can help so that your baby will engage in playing in other positions and by themselves - more on this later, but Google Suppernanny "play and walk away" if you want more information now).  Others could take or leave it.  Charlie loves it and could do it all day, Jemma could take it or leave it.  Parents usually love it though!

Crawling is important for many reasons besides just giving your little one a mode of transport all on their own.  It helps develop hand muscles, strengthens shoulders and hips, and even strengthens eye muscles.  So, even for babies that end up scooting on their bottoms or use an army crawl its still a good idea to practice with your baby on hands and knees even if they seem like they may skip crawling all together and go straight to walking.

Practicing standing is fun and a great developmental step to share with your baby.  Its a great idea to start practicing from the beginning by putting your baby at a couch or table so they can hold on themselves instead of you doing all the work for them.  Its also a great idea to start showing them from the beginning how to get down!

I have been reading lately about sleep regressions - it seems we may be suffering two of them here at my house (both twins at the same time).  Sleep regressions sound really common around 8-10 months because of the amount of movement that babies do in the middle of the night - asleep or awake.  Sometimes they accidentally roll over and can't get back or just can't calm their brains enough to get back to sleep.  Standing at the crib and not being able to get down also sounds like a big reason for sleep regressions - so show your baby how to get down!

The best way I have found to help your baby understand how to get down is by bending both of their legs at the same time at the knees and putting them on the ground in a tall kneeling position on the floor.  This takes some practice and it would be nice to have 3 hands when trying it, try it and keep practicing, it will get easier.  Then you can help them get to sitting.  Most babies will start sitting back down by plopping down on their bottoms from standing, but it's much less scary if they can get down to their knees.  Getting to their knees also helps the strength in their muscles so they can start bending those little knees in standing.

Its best NOT to practice standing only using a bouncer or exersaucer.  These items are great if you need to put your baby somewhere for 15-20 minutes to unload the dishwasher or vacuum, but not a great place for any baby to be for a longer period of time - unless you plan on sending them to kindergarten in their exersaucer - just get used to practicing standing in a more natural way.

Its easy to spend all day standing with your baby because it's so much fun!  But it should be balanced with practicing all the other development they are going through as well.  A couple minutes each time they are awake practicing standing is plenty.  You also need time to practice tummy time or hands and knees, holding toys and moving them back and forth between hands, discovering how to play and explore toys, etc.

Have fun with standing but don't overdo it!