Becoming a first-time parent introduces a whole world of fascinating facts you might never have considered before. For example, did you know that babies don’t produce tears until they’re about 3 to 4 weeks old? Or that their stomachs are only the size of a tiny walnut? Amazing, right? It's enough to leave any new parent in awe.
Thanks to TikTok, we get to witness one dad’s shock and wonder upon learning that babies don’t have kneecaps—at least not like adults do. Apparently, this revelation has caught many people off guard.
In a video shared by Dylan and Shelby Reese, the couple behind the TikTok account @shelbanddyl, we see a stunned Dylan holding their son—whom he jokingly refers to as their “no kneecap havin’” baby—after Shelby drops this little-known anatomical tidbit.
Amidst laughter, Shelby tries to explain that the kneecaps will develop later. Dylan responds, “What kind of design flaw is this?! So you’re telling me this little nugget is kneecap-less until they’re like 2 to 6 years old? That’s wild!”
Dylan wasn’t alone in his surprise; many viewers were equally unaware.
“I was today years old when I learned that kids have no kneecaps. I’m 31,” one commenter noted.
“I have four kids, Shelby. Four kids and I never knew they didn’t have kneecaps. What in the world?” another added.
One viewer raised an insightful question: “Is this why we can crawl as children but it hurts when we grow up?” Seriously, the world needs to know!
To clear things up: babies technically do have kneecaps. However, as Healthline explains, those kneecaps are made of softer, more flexible cartilage that eventually develops into the bony kneecap, or patella, that adults have. This transformation begins between ages 2 and 6 and is usually complete by ages 10 to 12.
Having soft kneecaps not only aids in the birthing process but also makes crawling more comfortable as babies learn to walk. So yes, that transition from soft to hard kneecaps is likely why adults find crawling less enjoyable. You learn something new every day!
This just goes to show that parenting is full of delightful discoveries waiting to be made.