• Home
  • First Steps Bulletins
    • For Boys
    • For Girls
    • Unang Mga Tikang
  • Steps on the Way
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • Preschool
    • Kindergarten
  • Parent Tips
  • Resources
    • Teaching
      • Teach to Read
      • Teach Handwriting
      • Math Concepts
      • Teach Spiritual Life
    • Kid Friendly Recipes
    • Special Needs
      • Cerebral Palsy
      • Autism
      • Learning Differences
      • AD(H)D
    • When to Call the Doctor
    • Book Reviews
    • Interesting Information
  • Links
  • About
    • Copyright Statement
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Your Child's Journey

wisdom for the big steps little children take

You are here: Home / Newborn / What’s So Important about Crawling?

What’s So Important about Crawling?

December 11, 2012 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

Share

As a mother, I remember celebrating each of my children’s development milestones, from rolling over to sitting on their own to crawling and walking. After all, each stage of physical development is important… or is it?

In 1994 the American Academy of Pediatrics started to encourage parents to put their babies to sleep on their backs to help prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS has decreased more than 50 percent, but according to several studies an inadvertent result of the campaign is that more children are meeting their motor milestones later or bypassing them altogether. This is because the lack of time on their bellies doesn’t allow children to develop their upper bodies enough for the classic hands-and-knees crawl. Some children will only crawl for a short period of time, crawl “funny” or skip this milestone completely. The question this raises is, “Is crawling really that important?”

The answer is, “Yes.” Along with strengthening the trunk, shoulders and hand muscles, the mechanics of crawling stimulate different areas of the brain that are important for future learning. When a child begins crawling, this repetitious movement helps stimulate and organize neurons, allowing her brain to control cognitive processes such as comprehension, concentration and memory. When an infant crawls, she visually determines where she wants to go and physically moves in that direction. Her hands become the guides and the child’s first test of hand/eye coordination becomes established. This skill set is used later in life for reading, writing and sports activities.

Written by: Heather Haring, OTR/L, MedCentral Pediatric Therapy

Read more at Medcentral.org

Another article on the importance of crawling:
Early Intervention- Crawling, is it really that important?

 

Share

Filed Under: Newborn Tagged With: crawling, walking

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

search Site

Contact Me

Please ask questions or make comments by emailing me at: Diane

Topics

attitudes autism bi-lingual bonding breast-feeding breast pump character chores Christmas communication dad daddy development developmental delay discipline doctor eating feeding food intolerance games hearing humor illness immunizations independence learning lies listening meltdown pacifier parenting play post-partum depression potty training preschool reading relationship safety sleep stammering tantrums temperament time toys tummy time

My Sites

  • Diane's Blog My art and my blog and a window on my world
  • Facebook – Parent Tips Parenting Tips for babies and children.
  • Intermin My husband’s site for marriage, parenting, and choosing a life partner.
  • Peter's Wife My site for women living and working cross culturally
  • Pinterest Boards My boards with great links to subjects of interest

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in