It is exciting and funny to see your little one trying to figure out how to move from point A to B. He may get stuck on one leg, or move ‘commando’ style on the floor, or just roll around. The crawling stage is important as it helps to develop strength, motor skills, and neural connections. Give your baby every opportunity to roll, crawl, and stretch to avoid developmental delays.
The crawling stage aids in the following:
Physical Development: Crawling helps your baby strengthen muscles in the arms, shoulders, neck, legs, and fingers. It also fosters development of motor skills.
Brain Development: Crawling plays a key role in cognitive development in babies. This stage helps encourage your baby to cross the mid-line (the invisible line that divides the left side and right side of the brain) which furthers the development of the two brain hemispheres. Repeat crawling strengthens this and enhances coordination between the two sides.
Vision: Crawling is important in improving your baby’s visual skills as it develops peripheral vision. In the crawling stage, babies train their eyes to peer into the distance to an object or destination they want to reach and look back down to their hands. This enables babies to make sense of their surroundings. Additionally, it can enable your baby to learn to track objects which is helps in reading when they start school.
Coordination and Balance: The crawling stage is the start of the development of hand-eye coordination. Your baby learns how to reach for objects and move forward.
Self Confidence: Through crawling, your baby can interact socially and navigate their environment which helps in instilling a sense of confidence. Your baby can take risks when crawling and know the boundaries in their environment. Additionally, the baby also learns how to navigate barriers and deal with failure.
Tips to get your baby crawling
You’re probably anxiously waiting for the day your baby will start crawling. Here are ways you can help your little one get on all fours:
- Give tummy time: Giving your baby tummy time can help them develop their muscles in their arms, legs, neck, and back which play an essential role in helping them crawl.
- Use toys: Placing your baby’s toys in front of them is a great incentive to encourage them to crawl.
- Crawl with your baby: One great way to encourage your baby to crawl is by supporting their abdomen to hold their body weight while they are on all fours on the ground. This helps them familiarize themselves with crawling movements.
- Lift baby off the floor: Picking up your baby by the arms to support their body weight while their feet touch the ground can help them strengthen their legs and practice walking motion.
- Play in front of a mirror: Babies are naturally curious and love to explore their environment. You can take advantage of this curiosity to encourage them to crawl by placing a mirror in front of them. They’ll want to check their reflection which leads them to reach out toward the mirror.
- Allow baby to play on all sides: Encouraging your baby to plan in different positions and sides (back, tummy, left side) can help strengthen their muscles and help them crawl.
