Baby Development – Crawling

Crawling before walking is a blessing in disguise as it is necessary for the baby to strengthen her muscles before attempting to walk. She’ll start with balancing herself on her hands and knees and when she’s comfortable with that, she will try to move back and forth by pushing off with her knees.

When Does It Start

Almost all babies will start crawling till they are six to ten months old. On the other hand some will try to slither around, shuffle their bodies to move. A few will just pull themselves up, stand and even start walking. Doesn’t matter how they do, they will be moving and that’s important.

Development of ability to crawl
The first step for a baby is to be able to sit well without support which most of them accomplish by the time they are 6-7 months old. At this point of time her body parts like her arms, legs and back have the strength to support her body if she is about to fall. Neck muscles are also strong enough for her to hold her head up all the time.

In the next two months your baby will learn to use her four limbs to move around rather than just sitting all the time. She’ll learn to lean back and forth when she’s on her four limbs and would just start to enjoy it.

When she’s about ten months old then she’ll learn to push herself forward by applying pressure on her knees. She’ll get a feeling that she can move around by pushing herself with her knees. Gradually she’ll perfect getting back into sitting position from crawling.
After some practice she would also be able to cross crawl in which she would move a hand and the opposite leg at the same time. In a year’s time she will be able to develop dependable crawling abilities and practice will make her better by the day.

If she is crawling backwards (sitting down with legs straight in front and pulling her self back with hands) or is not crawling perfectly don’t worry. As long as she’s able to move herself around easily – she is going absolutely fine.

Getting Ready To Walk

Next to mastering crawling is to develop ability to walk and gain the ability to be completely mobile. She’ll start pulling herself up on anything and every which she can use to hold on. She might pull your leg for that!
When she is able to balance herself with confidence then she’ll try to move around by pulling herself using the furniture. After that it will be soon that she is walking, jumping and leaping with a smile on her face.

Role of Parents

You should always try to encourage her to reach out and grab things she loves like toys or even yourself. Just keep it a little beyond her reach and as she’ll try to get it and develop her ability to walk. Make her negotiate a simple obstacle course by placing soft obstacles on the floor like pillows cushions and card board boxes. She’ll gain in confidence and will be able to develop speed while walking. Don’t forget to be there when she’s trapped under a box as she might not know what do.

Babies can get into mischief while crawling. Just keep a check that they don’t go near stairway gates as babies always like to explore new areas in their house. Ensure that your baby is away from unexplored zones of your house until she has mastered her walking skills (it will be by a year). Always be at her side if she’s trying to explore when she’s never been.
Until she masters walking on her own, she’ll not need footwear as she’ll not walk as much as she would after some time.

What Can Go Wrong

Babies will develop crawling and walking skills at their own pace. If your baby does not try to move by herself (like rolling, scooting, crawling or shifting), you should make sure that she learns how to move her legs and arms in a coordinated fashion by the end of 12 months of her birth. Premature babies might be slow at developing these skills so do keep it in mind and fix an appointment with your doctor to get a chekup and get rid of uncertainties.

Baby Development – Crawling

Crawling before walking is a blessing in disguise as it is necessary for the...