How cute it is watching your baby crawl and come to your lap and you hug him/her with love! However, for some children, the scenario can be a little different.
Children may experience difficulty with crawling due to a handful of factors including neurological conditions, developmental issues, etc. Crawling promotes strength, muscular development, brain development, vision development and many more.
If you see your little champ has not started crawling even when the time arrives, you should not take it lightly. Consult an occupational therapist or physical therapist today!
Crawling- An Interpretation Of The Process
As you may know, crawling is the first form of independent locomotion for every baby. It’s the time when babies put weight on their hands and knees to develop strength and stability for future walking. In addition to future walking skills, crawling also promotes the development of balance, sensory skills, cognition, and coordination among babies.
Why Is Crawling Necessary For Babies?
- Crawling is the first moving step that promotes stability and strength of the arms, legs and trunk of the babies. This helps children develop the gross motor skills they need to walk. Before walking, babies must strengthen their muscles and enhance their skills in balance. Crawling is a must for developing fine motor skills such as writing, holding an object or manipulating small objects.
- Every time a baby crosses the midline with their arms or legs, it helps to build a connection in their brain which is very much important for later life. Crossing midline is a fine motor skill that promotes good vision, great learning skills, good handwriting, etc.
- Crawling also helps build smooth coordination between the mind and body. As you may have noticed, in the process of crawling, babies move their opposite legs simultaneously. This process helps the two sides of the baby’s brain to communicate and coordinate the body and mind accordingly.
- Crawling is a process where the baby uses five different sensory systems including muscles, joints, ears and inner ears, skin, and eyes. This helps children develop the gross motor skills they need to walk. Before walking, babies must strengthen their muscles and enhance their skills on balance. Crawling is a must for developing fine motor skills such as writing, holding an object or manipulating small objects. This helps your baby to better understand how the body fits into space and interacts with objects around it.
How Can You Encourage Your Baby To Crawl?
- You need to give your baby a lot of floor time.
- You should not overuse baby equipment, for instance, walkers, activity centers or jumpers.
- You can prop a towel under the chest to give better support to your kids.
- You need to make sure the elbows are under their shoulders because this posture will help them to push up
- Another thing you can do is to use a box, pillow or other objects as an obstacle to climb over.
Bottom Line
So, in short, crawling is an important developmental milestone.
If you see your little one is not crawling by the age of 9 months, it is suggested to look for an experienced physical therapist or occupational therapist.
Experienced physiotherapists can collaborate with occupational therapists to devise customized therapy plans that can promote crawling in babies.
Visit our pediatric rehabilitation center to get in-depth information about the best pediatric occupational therapy or occupational therapy for children.
Our occupational therapists in Dubai are always ready to assist kids by all means.
