OVERVIEW New! DIRECTORY INFANTS AND TODDLERS PREGNANCY AND BIRTH PAIN RELIEF SPECIFIC CONDITIONS CST FOR CHILDREN CST FOR WOMEN FOR CST PRACTITIONERS FOR CST SCHOOLS FIND OUT MORE
Subscribe To This Site
Baby Crawling.
Watching your baby crawling for the first time is an exciting time for all parents!
When will my Baby Crawl? Most babies learn to crawl between the ages of 6 and 10 months. They crawl when they've mastered the necessary skills needed to crawl. These skills are about developing neurological skills and physical strength.
Babies start to crawl by learning to balance on their hands and knees. Then they work out how to move forward and backward by pushing off with his knees.
Why is Crawling Important for my Baby? Crawling stimulates optimum baby development. This allows your baby to grow stronger while improving visual skills and physical abilities. Crawling helps your baby to:
Develop their vital motor skills.
Get to know their surroundings.
Become physically stronger.
Improve visual skills.
Why isn’t my Baby Crawling Yet? Most babies begin crawling naturally and instinctively. But for some crawling proves difficult.
Let’s look at some common reasons why your baby may experience a delay when learning to crawl. The two important elements in helping baby to crawl are:
That Baby has good head control.
They are comfortable lying on their stomach.
In the early months of your baby’s life they start to strengthen their neck muscles. Some babies need help with this as they have experienced neck strain (
infant torticollis
) during the birth process or in utero. If they have been born by Vacuum or
Cesarean Section
they may also need help in releasing restrictions along the spine and head.
I have noticed that babies who have poor head control find lying on their stomach uncomfortable. But lying on their stomachs is important as it encourages the use of their arms and legs. This strengthens the muscles and prepares for future walking. If baby has problems with head control or lying on their tummy this then causes a delay in crawling.
How can I Help my Baby to Crawl Correctly? There are a number of things that you can do to help Baby crawl correctly. These include:
Allow your baby to lie on their tummy on the floor as often as possible. Try not to carry baby in your arms all the time as they need time on the floor to develop crawling skills.
At around 6 months babies will reach the developmental milestone where they will be happy to sit unsupported. You can now place toys a little out of their reach to encourage your baby to move onto arms and reach out.
Soon baby will be moving to an “all fours position”. If they find it difficult to hold this position, put a support (rolled up towel) underneath baby's upper body and allow their arms to hang over the front. This helps strengthen their arms and allows baby to look around.
Now baby’s body is parallel to the floor and arms and legs are straight. He can now rock back and forth. Get down on the floor directly in front of your baby. Babies learn and develop by doing and experiencing, so let him see your face as you talk and encourage him to move forward.
Baby will become mobile when he uses his knees to push himself forward. Some babies get stuck here as they slide on wooden floors! Try giving your baby some crawling time on a carpet floor.
Why is my baby doing his own “special” crawl? Some babies I see in my craniosacral clinic do a “bum shuffle” and use their hands to move forward instead of an “all fours crawl”. By freeing up restrictions along the spine I have seen babies begin to crawl correctly.
Another problem I sometimes see is where a baby uses only one leg in crawling. Again a craniosacral treatment will assist the baby to crawl by checking hip and spine mobility.
If your baby is crawling backwards you can encourage him to move forwards by placing him with the wall to his back and placing interesting toys in front of him – but just out of reach!
Around 9 or 10 months, he'll learn to go from a crawling position back into a sitting position.
Soon you will notice that baby is progressing onto "cross-crawling" (moving one arm and the opposite leg together when he moves forward) rather than using an arm and a leg from the same side.
Your baby has now mastered an important developmental milestone and is well on his way to walking!
SPECIAL NOTE:If you are concerned that your infant is not progressing through these developmental stages please consult your doctor or health nurse for further advice.
