Crawling is often one of the first ways a child starts moving. A child who starts crawling can suddenly discover much more of the world. Crawling gives the child more exercise and will allow him/herself to enjoy all the things he or she encounters along the way. Although crawling isn’t necessary for development, it is a lot of fun!
Crawling and development
Crawling is good for the child’s motor skills. It learns to support itself on the arms and knees, and to maintain balance. The child also learns to use both halves of the body and to use the arms and legs together. A child learns to keep his head in balance while crawling. Although this is good exercise for the body, scientific research shows that crawling is not absolutely necessary for normal development. Children who skip crawling develop just as well later in life as children who did crawl.
Age for crawling
Most children start crawling between six and ten months of age. But there are also children who start crawling earlier or later. Because every child develops at his own pace, there is no standard age for learning to crawl. If a child is twelve months old and does not yet want to move in any way, it is wise to report this to the child health clinic.
Encourage crawling
You can stimulate crawling in different ways. An important incentive for a child is to explore his environment. To encourage crawling, it is best to provide an interesting environment. Make sure you have enough toys that are not within reach. You can also place a toy that your child really likes just out of reach, so that the child wants to grab it himself. To stimulate crawling, it is also important to place the child on the stomach a lot. A child can start crawling from this position. Make sure the floor is not too slippery. A slippery floor makes crawling more difficult. In addition, comfortable clothing ensures that the child can move more easily. For example, loose sweatpants are better than tight jeans. Also make sure you wear non-slip socks, or better yet, bare feet. This ensures that the child does not slip away as quickly and has more grip. Let your child know that he is doing well by giving compliments.
Other forms of crawling
Not every child starts crawling on their hands and knees. Some children move around the room in a different way. A well-known variation on crawling is crawling. When crawling, the child slides forward on its stomach. Many children who crawl later go on to crawl. Tigering is easier in the beginning because the arm muscles are often developed earlier than the leg muscles. If the leg muscles are also strong enough, the child will sit on his knees and start crawling. In addition, there are children who slide forward on their buttocks. It is estimated that this is about 5 to 20 percent of all children. Many children who slide buttocks no longer crawl on all fours. It is thought that sliding on the buttocks is mainly due to slippery floors. It is then easier for the child to slide. Another cause may be that the child has not been lying on the stomach enough and has often been placed in a sitting position. This gives the child less incentive to crawl. Many claim that crawling is better for development than sliding on the bottom. However, this has never been scientifically proven. However, some studies show that children who slide on their buttocks walk later on average than children who crawl. It is also possible that the foot is not placed completely straight when walking, but this will correct itself over time.
What if a child doesn’t crawl?
There are children who skip crawling. A frequently mentioned possible cause of this is the use of a walking chair. As a result, children would not be sufficiently stimulated to crawl. However, this has never been proven. Skipping crawling has no negative consequences for development, but crawling does make life a bit more fun. That’s why you can try to encourage children who don’t want to crawl. If this doesn’t work, don’t worry too much. All children develop in their own way and in the long term the child will not experience any disadvantages because he or she has never crawled.
