For a child, crawling is the next developmental step that has come after he has learned to sit. This is also the first attempt to gain independence and independence, as well as a way to move around without any help.
Initially, the child learns to balance the body while standing on his knees and arms. Then, standing on all fours learns to swing back and forth. Then, pushing her knees off the floor, she learns to move forward and backward, well, and then - quickly crawl in any direction.
The crawling learning process is actually a very complex and painstaking process for a child. Children learn to coordinate the movements of their arms and legs, develop muscle strength in their arms, shoulders and legs, learn to properly distribute their weight when moving.
What time do children begin to crawl?
Most babies begin to crawl between 7 and 10 months. Some babies - earlier, others - later. Some children may develop their own unique mode of movement, for example, sitting on a priest, sliding on their stomach or rolling like a caterpillar around a room.
Parents should not worry about the style of movement of the child. At this stage of life, it does not matter for the baby how it learns to crawl and move, since many children can bypass the crawl stage immediately learn to walk.
Experts say that more chubby children begin to crawl later, since it is harder for them to pull up, stand on all fours and move excess weight. Very quickly, children begin to crawl in families where older brothers and sisters are present. Older children motivate the infant to move earlier, reach for the proposed toys, and repeat the movements of older children.
As children usually crawl
1. On the tummy. About half of the babies begin to crawl, leaving their tummy lying on the floor. Initially, they learn to do mini push-ups by raising their head and upper body up, using their hands for support. Then pushing the body with legs to move around the room while holding the tummy on the floor. For some children, this method of movement remains the only way to crawl. For others, it is a transitional stage on the way to the classic crawl on his knees and further walking.
2. On the knees. This type of crawl is a classic. With him, the child alternating arms and legs, and balancing the body easily moves around the room in any direction.
3. Like a bear. The child moves on all fours on unbent arms and legs.
4. Like a crab. When crawling, the child moves on his stomach using only his hands to move.
Is it necessary to teach a child to crawl?
Although many experts cannot give a definite answer about whether or not to teach the child to crawl, many parents know that this type of activity is one of the most important on the way to the proper development of the baby. A child mastering crawling movements becomes stronger, improves visual skills, improves his physical abilities.
Obese children with poor head control often do not like to lie on their stomachs - a pose that is fundamental for the toddler to begin to crawl. Therefore, if parents want their chubby little toddler to begin to crawl, they should teach the baby to first lie on his stomach, then hold his head well and then crawl. In training, you can use bright toys, several proven practice methods that are used and recommended by professionals.
Before starting to learn, parents must make sure that the child is ready to learn, shows signs, can support his head, rolls over and can sit.
How to teach a baby to crawl
To teach a child to crawl, parents should:
Step 1.
Allow the child to spend a lot of time on his stomach. 6-7 month old babies in most cases like to play lying on their tummy with various bright toys. This helps them develop basic motor skills, learn how to control the muscles of the arms, legs and neck.
To make the baby feel comfortable during the game, parents are better off being on par with the baby. If the baby is tired, it should immediately be placed on its back. If this is not done, an exhausted child may injure himself or hit the floor severely.
Step 2.
Limit the time a child spends in a walker, car seat or highchair. Specialists have noticed that walkers kill the child’s desire to move independently. Therefore, they advise more often to encourage the baby to make independent movements without mobile toys and devices. The more movements the child makes on his own, the better he will coordinate the movements of his own body, and therefore will begin to crawl faster and then walk.
Step3.
To help the child develop the muscles of the back and abdominal muscles with the help of exercises that make you look upward - waving colorful toys over your head. A simple exercise will help your baby strengthen his back, neck and shoulder muscles. As soon as the child learns to carry out lunges forward, to keep balance in his hands - he is ready to crawl.
How to determine that the baby is ready to crawl?
The baby cannot be forced to crawl if he does not want it or is not ready, because it can injure him both physically and emotionally. Parents should not compare their child with peers, but should focus on the progress of their own crumbs and develop it.
Experts believe that a child is completely ready to crawl only when it can:
• easy to sit without adult support;
• quickly move your head in different directions;
• control the movements of the arms and legs;
• turn over from the back to the tummy and back.
If the child has all of the above skills, then he is ready to start crawling.
Where is the best crawl
The child must learn to crawl in a convenient and safe place. The surface of the floor should be soft enough and not slippery, so as not to impede movement. If a child learns to crawl on carpet or a baby blanket, care should be taken to ensure that the coating does not crumple and move out of place.
If the house has parquet, tile or laminate floors, they should be covered with a soft carpet so that the child could not be injured during the crawl.
During classes, it is better to put the baby in a thin cotton jumpsuit so that there is no direct contact between the skin and the surface of the floor or the ground.
At the time of training, the room should be well lit, as dim light can cause the baby to become drowsy and nullify the entire learning process.
To stimulate the baby to crawl, you need to lay out your favorite toys outside of his reach. During training, parents should encourage the child to receive the toy.
In most cases, at the heard requests of the parents, the babies begin to swing back and forth, learning to move the body to the side of their favorite toy. When this skill is well developed, the infant will try to move towards the object with the help of arms and legs, and therefore, try to crawl.
Toys during training should be placed a few centimeters from the child. This will teach the crumbs to quickly receive their favorite thing, will not hurt the psyche, will develop interest in further knowledge of the world.
During training, parents can crawl with the child. This will push the baby to do the same thing that mom and dad can do.
If the baby begins to cry during the game, or seems upset, do not force him to continue training. Parents are better off waiting for the next day, and try learning again.
If the parents make the child crawl when he does not want it or is not ready, this can lead to a delay in the process and the child develops a negative attitude towards learning.
If the baby does not crawl at 7 months?
If the baby does not have health problems, he is active, flips from side to side, sits well, but makes no attempt to begin to crawl - maybe he will just skip this step and immediately begin to walk.
To duplicate the desire to crawl in the child, parents can put the toys in non-reach areas, so that the baby's handles can easily reach the subject. As soon as the child learns to reach out and get the desired toy, he will begin to make attempts to crawl to more distant objects.
Quite often, infants refuse to practice crawling and immediately go to the practice of walking, using furniture and stable objects.
If the baby does not crawl at 8 months?
This one is also not scary, as different children develop in different ways. However, if your little one is overweight, and does not show any attempts to move independently, you need to get the recommendations of a pediatrician and orthopedist about changing the situation. Perhaps your baby will be recommended therapeutic massage, special children's gymnastics, a special diet aimed at weight loss.
If your child does not creep - what Dr. Komarovsky says
The beloved doctor of many mothers, Komarovsky, believes that the little toddler can sit, crawl, stand and walk only when he really wants it, without much help from his parents.
In this case, the role of parents is reduced to allowing the little man to complete the listed skills on his own and not to turn them into obligatory and hard work. Parents can temper and develop the muscles of the child, take measures to prevent rickets.
In other words, the doctor claims that there are no exact criteria when a baby should begin to crawl. There are factors that form motor skills in each individual child:
• health indicators;
• physical and personality criteria for the development of the baby;
• family environment.
The doctor considers the question of how many months the baby should begin to crawl is incorrect. He believes that crawling is a necessary step in the development of each baby, but many babies skip this step and immediately begin to walk - and this is considered the norm.
