The child does not crawl or does not crawl well. Why is crawling so important? If the child cannot crawl

All parents are happy when their child develops on time and start to panic if the child sits down at the wrong time, holds his head, gets up. One of the important stages in development is crawling, with it you can stretch the ligaments in the hand, wrist, and this is very important for the child to fully develop fine motor skills. Russian medical regulations have established the optimal age for crawling at 6 and 7 months, in some cases everything can happen later. In some situations, babies skip this interesting stage because of their parents, they immediately begin to put them in walkers, and do not consider crawling to be something important.

The main reasons why the child does not crawl?

Parents are sure that this is better for the development of the child, both physical and intellectual. Mom's laziness, some do not want to follow the child, specially clean up, and therefore do not crawl, right away. And this is wrong, because the child must definitely go through this stage.

Also, a common cause is the mistakes of a medical worker who began to force parents to put the child to sleep on the back in order to avoid the syndrome - sudden infant death. Of course, this will really help protect kids from this terrible phenomenon. But at the same time, the child began to have completely different serious problems - the mothers stopped putting the baby on the tummy not only when the child is sleeping, but also when walking, because of this, the child's motor motor activity decreases. In order for a child to start crawling on all fours, it is imperative that both legs and arms take part in this process, because the muscles have not yet been fully trained. Muscles do not train due to the fact that the child is constantly lying on his back, because of this, the back of the head is flat, when they try to turn the baby over, he starts hard, because he is uncomfortable, very hard. Therefore, the mother begins to turn him back on his back and no longer wants to change his position, feels sorry for his child.

Benefits of crawling for baby

Of course, you don’t need to force the baby to turn over, especially when the child begins to scream and resent. But over time, it is very important to teach the baby to periodically lie on.

Because crawling has a positive effect on the development of the subcortical structure of the brain. If the child had a slight brain dysfunction after childbirth, when the child begins to crawl, this problem can be compensated.

Crawling strengthens the bones and muscles and exercises the wrists, shoulders, arms and elbows. Therefore, children who crawl are much more developed and stronger than those who have not passed this stage. It should be borne in mind that fine motor skills develop with the help of this process, because the ligaments on the hands and wrists are stretched. Then it is easy to teach children how to properly hold a spoon in their hand, a pencil, they write and draw better.

Remember that crawling develops bilateral coordination. The brain has two hemispheres that influence the activity of the right and left sides of the body. When a baby begins to crawl, there is excellent interaction between the hemispheres. Thus, the kids begin to better control the body, they can navigate in space without any problems.

If even now the child develops normally, then later it is difficult for him to learn to read and write, he makes many mistakes in words. He tries to study well, but he does not succeed. Therefore, it is so important to talk in time with neuropsychologists who will help the child, special classes will be assigned - intellectual, physical, so you can help the baby develop some abilities. It is very important that parents are well tuned, help the child, support him, only then the child will be able to quickly solve all problems.

How to teach a child to crawl?

In the first months of life, the child is actively developing, so he needs to be laid on his stomach. First, the time should last 10 minutes, then gradually increase it. Lay your baby on your stomach on your lap, changing table, before you want to change the diaper. Thus, the baby will better hold the head, then it will begin to rest well on the handles, it will gradually rise, the movements will be more confident. If the child does not want to do this, try putting him on his chest in front of you, he will begin to master the space, while not raising his head too high, it will be much easier for him, and most importantly, not scary. Often, a rolled towel is placed under the handles, the chest, it is also good to lay out toys in front, the child will try to crawl to them.

After the child is half a year old, spread a blanket on the floor, so the baby will quickly learn the world and master it around him. Remember that if he likes to crawl, this is very good.

Crawling exercises

An important role is played by special exercises for crawling:

1. You need to take the baby under the armpits, first try to lower one leg to the floor, then the second, slowly lower the child, the main thing is that he tries to rely on his hands. After the baby gets on all fours, you can support him a little by the chest, you do not need to immediately completely lower it.

2. It is good to perform exercises on the fitball, for this baby you need to lay the tummy, shake the ball in different directions, the child’s legs should touch the floor a little.

3. Very light exercises will also help you quickly master crawling, for this you need to bend and unbend the baby's legs, first in turn, and then at the same time.

4. If the child holds his head well on his stomach, you can take the child by the heels and bend the legs, perform this exercise up to 4 times, tickle the child's heels well.

Thus, it is very important to teach the baby to crawl in time. In no case should this stage be skipped, it is important in the individual. But before that, you must not forget to go through other stages of development, lay the child on the stomach, perform special exercises. There is no need to feel sorry for the baby, because this will not benefit him, but will only harm him in later life.

Recently, on a forum dedicated to raising children, I came across a question like this: “My son is 10 months old, he does not crawl. Please advise which walkers to buy.” At the same time, it turned out that the local neurologist did not see any problems with the child, so the mother was calm about this. And then other mothers seriously advised which walkers to buy, encouraging them with personal stories about how “mine didn’t crawl either, but immediately ran” or even “I didn’t crawl myself either, and it’s okay, I grew up smart!”

For some reason, the moment when the child walks is considered important (and this can be understood), but crawling seems to be something optional. Some mothers even flaunt the fact that the child missed this stage, as if he jumped through one class of school, turned out to be something smarter.

Is crawling important if many modern children skip it?

Not everything is so clear
Let's figure it out...
In human development, such a foundation on which speech and many other functions will continue to be built is motor development. Gross motor development.

And here is stages which it is very important for a person to go through exactly in the order in which nature intended it. That is, the start time of a certain stage and the speed of passage are different for all children, we can only talk about the average rate.

But here the sequence must be preserved, you can not jump over something. This is so because one stage follows from another, and during each stage of motor development there is a parallel development of other systems. Motor skills and cognitive function - it's the same neurological process.

These steps can be easily found in the literature, so let's look briefly.

Stages of motor development of the child:

- 1.5 - 2 months - the child holds his head.
- 2.5 - 4 months - holds his head and turns. Can lie on the stomach with support on the elbows, head raised, head on the axis with the body. This skill is needed to begin the formation of the vertical axis of the body.
- 3-4 months - lying on his stomach, the child leans on his open palms.
- 4-5 months - rolls over from back to stomach. A little later - from the stomach to the back.
- 5-6 months - the child rotates in the position on the stomach around the navel. It is also necessary for the formation of the vertical axis of the body and the preparation of muscles for crawling, sitting and upright posture.
The next step is rocking on all fours. The child leans on his knees and palms, tries to start moving, but the muscles still do not obey him well, so the movements are only rocking.
5-7 months - crawling.
6 - 7 months - sitting.
The child begins to walk by 1 year (without support).

What can skip the crawl phase lead to?

Now we take out from our foundation (motor development) crawling. What can this lead to?

Dr. Carl Decalato, author of a new practice known as Decalato Therapy, has put forward the idea that cognitive retardation may be due to the skipping of certain stages of motor development of the child: children who at 6-7 months did not crawl on their hands and knees, but immediately went, had certain delays or asymmetries of development.

Part of Decalato Therapy, or Sensory Integrative Therapy, is teaching the child any age missed stages of development. And most often during therapy it turns out that the child missed the stage of crawling. Therefore, it is crawling that is taught to children, sometimes even 10-12 years old, who have persistent problems with learning at school.

So, what exactly might skipping crawling affect in the future?

Crawling is necessary to coordinate the movements of the lower and upper half of the body, to alternately turn on the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Developed coordination of movements, the work of each hemisphere separately and interhemispheric interaction are important for a wide range of movements, such as running, jumping, catching a ball, cutting with scissors, drawing, writing, and others.

Accordingly, children who lag behind in the formation of basic motor skills or skip stages of motor development may experience clumsiness, problems with maintaining balance and coordination of movements.

Many children with dyslexia and dysgraphia (reading and writing disorders) have skipped the crawling stage.

Clumsy children may refuse to play sports or outdoor games because they are afraid that others will notice their coordination problems.

Crawling is associated with the development of the ability to focus on the nearest point, approximately at the distance from which we read, draw, write, sculpt, etc.

At the stage of crawling, spatial orientation skills are laid. If spatial connections are not sufficiently mastered, the perception of space, which is so important for the ability to write correctly, for orientation in time (hence there may be problems with a sense of time, with organization), for mastering geometry, etc. will be distorted.

Crawling develops tactile sensitivity, spatial representations of one's own body (body diagram), the relationship between the body and external objects are formed, and this is important for understanding and correct use of prepositions and words in the future, the correct perception of complex speech structures - spatio-temporal, cause-and-effect. That is, crawling also forms the prerequisites for mastering the grammar of the native language.

Thus, a violation of the motor development program, skipping crawling, can subsequently have a negative impact on a whole range of cognitive functions, including speech.

It is important to understand here that we are talking about risks, and not about a direct consequence. The human brain, especially a child's, is remarkably plastic. Many problems can be partially or completely compensated in the future.

But the younger the child, the easier it is to make such a correction. And the easiest way to prevent the problem. Therefore, the most correct step would be to stimulate crawling, provide the child with maximum comfort and freedom on the floor, as well as the rejection of walkers, playpens and prolonged stay in the crib while awake.

If the child has already learned to walk, and the crawling phase has “slipped”, then it is important to teach him to crawl as soon as possible and play games with him on the floor, encouraging him to crawl.

The child is not crawling a complex of gymnastics for the development of crawling by a child.

The child does not crawl: a set of exercises for the development of a child to crawl

The child does not crawl, although according to the age-specific norms of development, this skill should already be mastered? What is the reason? How to help a child master this very useful type of movement? What gymnastics should be done?

In the first articles of the cycle on the development of crawling in babies of the first year of life, we have already learned:

- what "correct crawl" how it differs from reflex crawling and crawling,

- when and how it appears and crawling develops in babies

- what kind conditions conducive to the development of crawling, and which ones hinder and why babies sometimes don’t crawl, but immediately stand on their feet,

- how to spend with a baby games and gymnastics for the development of crawling,

— how to encourage baby to crawl for the first time to the toy.

In the same article - the third article in the series on baby crawling - we will talk about special cases. What are these cases? These are situations when, even under conditions when the child has all the possibilities for crawling at home, when an adult correctly uses toys to stimulate crawling, systematically performs gymnastics (that is, everything that is mentioned in the previous two articles is done), but the child cannot learn to crawl on all fours.

These are the cases when the child needs additional help from us - adults - in physical development. A special corrective set of exercises will help the baby a lot, which teaches the baby to get up on all fours and crawl on all fours. These exercises, of course, will be useful for healthy children. But for children with a delay in physical development, they are like "daily bread."

One session with corrective exercises lasts approximately 7 minutes, maximum 10 minutes. At this time, an adult talks to the child, calls him by name affectionately, calls movements and parts of the body, comments on what is happening.

The correctional complex of gymnastics will help the child learn to get on all fours, maintain balance, crawl on all fours, coordinating the movements of opposite arms and legs.

Exercises of the correctional complex for training getting up on all fours

Exercise 1. Get on all fours. The child lies on his stomach. Under the stomach, you can put a roller twisted from a flannelette blanket. Supporting the baby under the belly with his left hand, the adult first bends one leg of the child, then bends the other leg. And helps him get on all fours.

Exercise 2 The child lies on his stomach and leans on outstretched arms. An adult supports the child under the stomach with one hand, and with the other hand, he helps him transfer the center of gravity to one arm and the leg of the same name with it and bend the leg on the opposite side. Then the adult helps the baby to shift the center of gravity to the bent leg and the arm of the same name and bend the other leg.

Exercise 3 The child stands on all fours, a roller from a blanket is placed under the stomach. The hands are open, the arms are straight (help the baby to take the correct position). An adult gently shakes the baby back and forth.

Exercise 4 The child stands on all fours, leaning on the roller with his stomach. An adult shakes the baby in different directions: forward, backward, right, left and achieves a stable balance.

Exercise 5. Watching the toy The baby is on all fours without support on the roller. A bright toy on a string is placed in front of the child's eyes. An adult moves the toy up, down, right, left by the thread, prompting the child to turn his head in different directions. At the same time, the adult supports the baby by the stomach, helping him to maintain the correct position on all fours.

Exercise 6. Take a rattle. The child is on all fours. If the child needs support, then a roller is used as in the first exercises of this complex. If the baby stands steadily on all fours without support, then the roller is not used. An adult puts a rattle with a handle that is easy to grip in front of the baby and encourages him to reach out to the rattle and take it, stimulating the transfer of the center of gravity to one side (after all, for this you need to tear your hand off the support!) Then the adult moves the rattle to the right or left or moves it away from the baby and again offers to get it.

Exercise 7. Train the legs and sense of balance The child is on all fours. An adult helps him maintain the correct posture. An adult takes one leg of the baby and takes it to the side, forward, back. Then the same movement is repeated with the other leg of the baby.

If your baby has already mastered the “on all fours” position, then you can conduct a correctional complex with him to train crawling on all fours.

Exercises of the correctional complex for the development of crawling on all fours

Exercise 1. Leg curl The child stands on all fours, resting his stomach on a roller from a blanket. The adult alternately bends his legs. After several movements, the exercise becomes more difficult. The adult bends the child's legs one by one, transferring the center of gravity of the leg to the roller (putting the leg with his knee on the roller).

Exercise 2. Get a toy. Developing balance The child is on all fours. First, a roller is used for the exercise. Then the exercise is carried out without a roller (when the baby is ready). The adult offers the baby to take the toy, holding the toy in his hand. With his other hand, he simultaneously bends the child's eponymous leg. For example, if the baby reached for the toy with his left hand (and, accordingly, he tore his left hand from the support and stretched it forward), then the adult bends his left leg, putting it on the roller. The center of gravity at this moment is transferred to other limbs - the baby's right arm and right leg.

Exercise 3 The child is on all fours. We repeat exercise 2, but in a different way. When the baby reaches for the toy with his left hand, then we bend his right leg. And vice versa.

Exercise 4: Assisted Crawling Take a wide towel and slide it under the baby's tummy. The child is on all fours. An adult shows a toy to a child, and the baby begins to crawl towards it. An adult supports the child with a towel in a pose on all fours.

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Mothers closely monitor the correct development of the baby and are very worried if the child later begins to hold his head, sit down, get up. A special pride for a young mother is the development of the baby with some advance or even "jumping" some stages, for example, when the baby, without crawling, immediately began to walk. But is it really that good? This was shared with us by the head of the Center for Psychodiagnostics and Psychocorrection at the Institute of Psychological Sciences, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department of Clinical Psychology of the Russian State Medical University Tatyana Germanovna Goryacheva.

Little couch potato: when is it time to crawl?

Crawling helps to stretch the ligaments of the wrists and hands, which is necessary for the development of fine motor skills of babies.

According to Russian medical standards, which are based on many years of observations and scientific research, with timely development, the child begins to crawl about 6-7 months, sometimes later. But some babies do not even have time to make an attempt to crawl, as parents put them in walkers, believing that the crawling stage can be skipped. Someone thinks that it will be better for the intellectual and physical development of the child, and some mothers are simply too lazy to clean the floors every day. And the child, having not learned to crawl, begins to walk. However, not only walkers are "to blame" for the fact that more and more children start walking early, without having time to crawl. Sometimes the reason may lie in a different plane. In the mid-90s, scientists around the world, including Russian doctors, began to strongly recommend that parents put their babies to sleep on their backs in order to prevent sudden infant death syndrome. As a result, the number of child deaths decreased by 50 percent! It was a huge victory for pediatricians and parents in the fight against early childhood mortality. But it also led to other consequences: since mothers began to be afraid to lay their children on their tummy not only during sleep, but also during wakefulness, the development of children's motor functions slowed down. Indeed, in order to crawl on all fours, the child needs to use both arms and legs, the muscles of which must be sufficiently trained. And how can a child train these muscles if he constantly lies on his back in a crib, sleeps with his mother in a "kangaroo", in a crib or in an arena? No way. And when the mother nevertheless remembers that, due to constant lying on her back, the back of the baby's head can become flat, and turns the child on her stomach, the baby starts crying in a minute, because he is not used to this position, it is hard and unpleasant for him. And mom immediately turns him back on his back.

Is there a difference? Should I learn to crawl?

No sane parent will forcibly force their baby to lie on his stomach when the baby is indignant and screaming. But it is still necessary to gradually accustom the baby to lying on the tummy. After all, the crawling period is very important for the development of subcortical structures of the brain. Minimal brain dysfunctions, which are now diagnosed in many children after difficult births and birth injuries, are partially compensated during the crawling period.

In addition, crawling helps strengthen the musculoskeletal system, train the arms, wrists, elbows and shoulders. As a result, children who crawled for at least a couple of months are more physically developed and stronger compared to babies who skip this stage. And their fine motor skills are better developed, since crawling helps stretch the ligaments of the wrists and hands, which is necessary for the development of fine motor skills. It will be easier for such children to learn how to hold a pencil or a spoon in their hand, and in the future to master writing and drawing.

Also important, crawling promotes the development of bilateral coordination. Our brain consists of two hemispheres: the right is responsible for the functions of the left side of the body, and the left - for the activities of the right. When a child crawls, active coordinated work takes place between the two hemispheres. Toddlers are better at controlling their bodies and orienting themselves in space.

Unfortunately, not all children independently fill in the gaps in their own development. It happens that a smart, developed child, unexpectedly for everyone, hardly learns to read and write, making many mistakes. At the same time, the kid really wants to study for one five, but he simply does not succeed. If a child has problems with studies, it is necessary to consult with a neuropsychologist, who may prescribe a course of rehabilitation classes for the child. This is a system of special physical and intellectual exercises that help develop certain parts of the brain. Such remedial courses are held today in many specialized centers. The attitude of parents is important, they must believe in their baby, cheer him up, help him, and then the child will really be able to overcome all difficulties.

Mastering the space

Starting from the very first months, you should try to spread the baby on the tummy more often. First for 5-10 minutes several times a day, gradually increasing the time. Try sitting on the bed and placing the baby in your lap, or laying him on his tummy on the changing table before changing. The baby will learn to hold his head, later he will begin to lean on his hands and rise, making it more and more confident from time to time. If the child is stubborn, put him on your chest so he can look around without raising his head high. You can also put a rolled towel under the baby's chest and arms. Next to the baby, you can place a couple of bright toys for which he will reach. If the child already easily reaches the rattle they like, move the favorite toy away so that the baby tries to crawl towards it. Of course, you should not be zealous and bring the baby to tears - after all, the first "creeps" may not turn out right away.

When the baby is 5-6 months old, you can spread a large blanket on the floor so that the baby can explore new horizons. By limiting the child's space with a playpen or a crib, the mother thereby deprives him of the opportunity to explore the world. Are you preparing lunch? Spread a blanket in the kitchen as well, and give the child a saucepan with a lid as an object of study.

If the baby loves to crawl, it is very good for his development.

There are many useful exercises. For example, taking the child under the armpits, the mother can alternately put one leg on the floor, and then the other, and slowly begin to lower the baby, prompting him to lean on his hands. When the baby thus got on all fours, gently hold the crumbs under the chest: you should not let him go at all. Let the child stand a little in this position, and the mother can slightly rock him back and forth. Or you can try exercises on a large gymnastic ball: put the baby on his tummy and gently rock the ball from side to side, so that the baby's legs occasionally touch the floor. Light gymnastics also helps to quickly master the crawling technique: the mother must bend and unbend the child's legs, first alternately, and then simultaneously. When the baby already knows how to hold his head well, lying on his stomach, you can take him by the heels and vigorously bend both legs 3-4 times. Or you can just tickle children's heels.

The child did not crawl. The train left?

Babies who skip crawling may have some difficulty reading and writing at an older age.

It is quite obvious that if a child has jumped over some stage of development, it is impossible to return this moment. But you should not despair. The child's brain is incredibly plastic and receptive until the age of 9-10 years, and during this period it is quite possible to carry out a correction that will make up for the developmental deficit. By the way, many children, even without any remedial classes at the age of 2-3 years, "catch up" themselves, actively crawling on the floor during the game. If you notice that a child during the game spends a lot of time lying down and crawling on the floor, in no case should you pull him up, calling for order and demanding to take a vertical position. It is better to lay a carpet on the floor and let him play as he likes - most likely, your child simply did not "crawl" at one time and now fills in the existing gap. And it is very, very important for him to do this.

Comment on the article "Does a child need to crawl?"

In general, we are against walkers, the child should do everything in due time, when his skeleton and muscles are ready for this. And the remote control became an incentive for us to crawl, we really liked it, better than toys.

27.02.2013 14:11:15,

in many countries, all these jumpers are banned, because. lead to orthopedic problems of varying severity. IMHO, these toys are not for kids who don't need them, but for their conceited parents. Well, what will get away from you if the child goes a month later, but ITSELF and CORRECTLY? Neighbors / girlfriends / relatives peck? After all, the child does not do a favor to that uncle, but HIS first step.
IMHO, you can intervene at all stages of the development of a child, you can teach everything, even the alphabet in a year (even a monkey can be taught to play the piano). I understand that it is impossible not to compare your child with peers and not to try to "surpass competitors", but after all, constantly and obsessively interfering, you can cut down on the root the independence and initiative of the child, his self-sufficiency and cheerfulness :(

16.12.2009 14:45:58,

Very useful article!
I was worried when my second child in the first days at all! I couldn’t lie on my back - I crouched and cried - but the doctors recommend it! I decided not to bathe and put my daughter to sleep on her tummy. It turned out she did the right thing. According to the latest medical trends, sleeping on your stomach is considered healthier for your baby. 5 years ago (when the first child was born) - children were almost forcibly laid on their backs.
The trends change, but you and your children and unnecessary experiences remain. I would like less categoricalness in the recommendations of pedators.

16.12.2009 14:18:16,

Total 9 messages .

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Why is it important for a child to learn to crawl?

Crawling is a necessary stage in the development of a child. The development of the baby in the first year of life is called psychomotor, that is, the development of motor skills is inseparable from the development of intelligence, psyche, and speech skills. The child develops sequentially, having mastered one stage, moves on to the next. By stepping over or skipping one of the stages, we leave a gap in the development of the child, which cannot be filled with other skills.

Crawling prepares the baby's arms for handling small objects, the back muscles for upright posture. During crawling, the connection between the right and left hemispheres of the brain is strengthened - this affects the development of intelligence and speech. Crawling is a versatile exercise that strengthens all the muscles in the body. In addition, free crawling gives the baby the first experience of independent movement in space, strengthens his self-confidence, nourishing his curiosity and perseverance in achieving the goal.

Often as a result of crawling small violations are eliminated or compensated tone, asymmetry, torticollis and other similar problems. Sometimes with the beginning of crawling, hidden features of brain development(insufficient connection between some parts of the brain) - when a child stubbornly crawls for more than 2-3 weeks in a certain specific way: drags or bends one arm or leg, crawls only back. If at this moment help the child learncrawl properly, then this will also have a positive effect on the development of the brain, possibly compensating for the features of development.

The most important thing is to give the child the opportunity to learn to crawl. To do this, he needs space, time and your caring participation. Making it easy - put the baby on the floor! Yes, yes, on the floor. Learning to crawl on a large bed or sofa will not work out, it’s too soft, but it’s easy for a nimble baby to fall from there, it’s enough to push off with your feet a couple of times. Nowhere to fall on the floor, but a new, unknown and alluring world opens up around.

You can already lay the baby on the floor starting from 2-3 months when the baby learns to roll over well. Make it a rule - when taking the baby out of your arms or out of the sling, put it on the floor and not a crib, a swaddle or a sun lounger. First, put it on for a short time, at the same time combining this with “no diaper” time.

Modern lungs. elastic and pleasant to the touch crawling mats are suitable for children from the first months of life. Crawling mats, consisting of several parts, fastened together like a puzzle, can be easily assembled into one large carpet or a long path, depending on the size and shape of the room. It is more convenient when the tiles of such a puzzle rug are large (for example, 33cm x 33cm) and without small details inside. The larger the details of the rug, the fewer joints the rug has and the more uniform the surface, which means it is easier to keep clean. However, large rug tiles are more difficult to purchase, inconvenient to transport, and take up more space.

Choose the moment when the baby is full, happy and active. Put him on his stomach, next to him, at a distance of his outstretched hand - a new bright toy(or a thing that he noticed and reached for a long time, for example, a bright large salad spoon, an unnecessary magazine, or something similar). Rejoice with your baby at his prey when he can reach it. After a couple of days, the distance to the new "bait" can be increased.

Crawl on your stomach, on all fours or...

All children are different and develop at their own pace. Someone starts crawling on their belly, and then quickly learns to get on all fours and soon becomes master of cross crawling. Someone, having mastered crawling in a plastunsky manner, crawls like that. We will describe the general sequence of skills development, and the terms of training depend on the individual child and his family. ( More read a book about stages of child development Beverly Stokes Amazing Babies. The necessary movement of the child in the first year of life)

A newborn baby lying on his stomach learns to raise and hold his head. Then, in a couple of months, he learns to lift the top of his body higher, leaning on his hands. When the baby is able to rise almost to the stomach from a position on his stomach with emphasis on his hands, he finds that can move backwards by pushing with hands. At this point, it is important that the small fists begin to open without pinching the thumb inside.

Crawling on your stomach back compared to just lying still, an attractive activity. The child can crawl like this for a week or two. After some time, he will start to push off with his feet, gradually getting up on all fours. During this period, the child may stand for a long time, swinging in one place and trying to match the efforts of the arms pushing back with the legs moving the body forward. Often such attempts end with a rapid throw "forehead on the floor" and loud crying. Keep calm, it's safe to hit the bumps, baby quickly learn to be careful and it is better to calculate the forces. Encourage the baby, he is already halfway to a full cross crawl on all fours.

Stage "I'm an airplane" or how to tear your stomach off the floor

Before learning to get on all fours, children go through the “airplane” stage. The child lies on his stomach and at the same time lifts both arms and legs off the floor, slightly rocking himself. It is not possible to move from a place in this way, therefore baby screaming loudly and demands attention to their experiences.

You can help the young tester by placing a roll, a soft rag ball of a suitable size, or a folded blanket under his stomach. First roller may be small, place it under the baby's breast. Then try a bigger roller, you can rock the child back and forth slightly, showing him that this way he can move on all fours. Instead of a roller, your leg will do if you sit on the floor with your child.

It will also be useful at this time professional massage which will help to consolidate new skills and give impetus to the comprehension of new motor abilities. You can do some exercises with your child yourself.

(More on exercise and baby massage).

Do you want to crawl? Ask me how!

If, despite your best efforts, your child shows no interest in crawling, try setting a good example. The most efficient call a well crawling baby about the same age. Arrange a fun crawl for the whole family, this exercise will not only surprise and entertain the baby, but also help tired mom and dad relax on their backs.

Use crawl track, a low children's slide or just a wide board (cabinet door). Make a slight tilt, so that every movement of the baby helps to move forward. Reward and celebrate every success. Let the baby first overcome ten centimeters, the main thing is that he will understand that he can. Remember the "baits", show and praise an unreachable goal, but do not give it to the child, even if he screams and resents. But what a joy to reach out and, finally, get the desired toy!

Baby on the floor? There…

Cold? If you do not live in a hut with an earthen floor, or do not walk at home on bare concrete, then the child will be warm enough on the floor. The first time the baby learns to move, use. It is important that the crawling mat is non-slip, resilient enough and easy to clean. A wool blanket is warm and natural, but as a crawling mat, it quickly gets knocked down by an energetic beginner crawler. Travel foam can also be used, but such a crawling mat is too narrow, so one foam is not enough, it is better to use two or three. Experienced parents advise using rugs no smaller than a square meter, and preferably one and a half or two, if placed in a room.

Soon the baby will learn to crawl from a warm place. If it seems to you that it is still cold on the floor, for the greater comfort of the child and your peace of mind, put him on a woolen bodysuit. (thermal underwear) or merino wool pants. Merino wool is warm, soft and does not itch, so it is suitable for babies. Wool pants and bodysuits are the best equipment for a baby who is just starting to crawl. Such clothes are warm enough to keep the baby cool, and thin and soft enough not to interfere with his movement. The less clothes a child has, the easier it is to learn to crawl. Knit your own merino wool pants if you know how, or buy ready-made ones, from natural swaddling systems, etc.

Dirty? Simplify cleaning by temporarily removing expensive carpeting. (Remember that the time for mastering the potty will soon come). You can quickly wipe down a wooden or laminate floor. In the hallway and other quickly polluted places, rugs that can be washed in a washing machine will help out. If you don’t have enough time for daily cleaning, get a robot vacuum cleaner that can handle carpet as well.

If, starting from 2-3 months of a child's life, parents " will go to live on the floor» together with the child, this will help gradually, even before the start of active crawling, to resolve issues with dust, drafts, etc. This will help protect the child from injury (there is nowhere to fall on the floor).

Microbes? For the normal formation of immunity, a child needs to live in a real, not a sterile world. It is clear that licking street shoes is not good for health, but meetingWith« homemade» germs is inevitable. Do not wash the floor with aggressive chemicals, they are even less beneficial to health. For disinfection during cleaning, you can use aromatic oils with antimicrobial properties (tea tree oil, juniper oil, etc.).

Before the baby learned to fully crawl on all fours, parents need to literally crawl the whole house on your knees. Firstly, you will set a wonderful example for your child, and secondly, you will be able to inspect your home in order to detect all dangerous for the baby objects, look into secluded corners and raise valuable and dear things higher. Do house as safe as possible for a child.

Hide the trash can and put all household chemicals, washing powders, fertilizers, pet food, houseplant pots, etc. as high and far as possible. Look out for low-lying electrical wires (a child might try them out) and sockets, dangling tablecloth edges, and other dangerous or small objects. Please note that the child must wants to taste, whatever it finds.

Create a small corner in every room with interesting and safe things for the baby. It can be a shelf at the bottom of a closet or a small box, but such a beacon should be made in every room of the apartment, even in the hallway or bathroom, if it is not locked. Having reached a new place, the child will be carried away by “local attractions”, and, if lucky, will not have time to climb somewhere else without your supervision.

Remember that from the beginning of crawling to 2.5 years - period of consolidation of love for order. It's time for parents get acquainted with the M. Montessori system to introduce life-friendly principles into the home.

Most Attractive for beginner slider toys- this is a small rag ball with a jingle inside and a tumbler. And also all the small noisy objects that are convenient to grab with a small hand and easy to throw to fly and roll, and then catch up with yourself. During the period when the baby is just starting to move and sways and rolls more in one place, be attentive to the toys that are on the floor with the child. Choose safe and soft toys that won't hurt your child if they trip or fall.

Walkers, jumpers and other "usefulness"

According to osteopaths, earlier (before crawling) learning to stand and walk has a bad effect on the development of the entire musculoskeletal system of the child. For the normal formation of the musculoskeletal framework, necessary for the start of independent walking, the child needs to crawl for two to three months. After the start of crawling, the child learns to sit down on his own, kneel, then stand at the support. All these stages the baby must go through sequentially and independently, no need to force events and prematurely teach the child to walk. Do not lead a child who has not yet learned to crawl and stand on his own without support.

Walkers and jumpers- these are items that should not appear in the house of caring parents. If the use of the playpen is simply a restriction of the child's freedom, kind of prison, which prevents the baby from developing physically, mentally and intellectually, then walkers and jumpers, due to the early vertical load, cause very tangible harm to fragile muscles and ligaments. Vertical posture, together with the child's weight, creates excessive load on the intervertebral discs for which they are not yet ready. Their crushing (compression) occurs, which in the future threatens with problems with the spine at any age. The emerging foot also experiences a large premature load in walkers.
You can understand the desire of tired parents to take a break and go about their business while the child entertains himself with jumps on his own. But learning to crawl, baby will explore the environment developing yourself and improving your health. Children who are accustomed to walkers and jumpers are significantly later start to crawl, more often and completely skipping this important stage of its development. Is this half an hour worth your peace of mind?

If the child does not crawl ...

Sometimes you can hear parents proudly say: « And mine did not crawl, immediately went!» . Perhaps they do not know that if the child did not crawl at the allotted time, this may result in incorrect posture, back pain and curvature of the spine in the future. Such problems often arise against the backdrop of poor heredity(the parents of the child and their parents had some problems with the musculoskeletal system), heavy loads, for example, at school, and during growth spurts in the child.

According to osteopathic doctors, modern children who did not crawl, but immediately walked, increased loads are contraindicated associated with early intensive sports (participation in competitions, professional sports). Roller skating and skateboarding should be avoided. When studying at school, it is necessary do physical therapy, swimming and regularly observed by orthopedic doctors in order to detect postural disorders or other diseases of the spine in time (for example, premature aging of the intervertebral discs).

All these problems are easier to avoid than cure. If your child is not crawling yet, but is already starting to get up, you should pay special attention to this. Your timely efforts will help the child learn to crawl, keeping the spine healthy and making its development more harmonious.

Haven't crawled yet. When should you start worrying?

All children develop at their own pace. No one knows your baby better than you yourself. In order not to miss conditions that require correction, regularly take your child to medical specialists you trust. Pay attention yourself and tell your pediatrician about the characteristics and pace of development of the child in accordance with his age.

If a healthy baby at 8 months does not yet make any attempts to crawl independently, it is time to pay special attention to this. Consult a pediatrician, show your child to an orthopedist, get a massage, visit an osteopath. Make sure your child is healthy and he has every opportunity to start crawling: Loose clothes, lots of time on the floor and your support. You can use the track for crawling. And the time spent in the arena or crib should be minimized as much as possible. If the baby has already learned to stand at the support, but almost does not crawl, distract him and in every possible way encourage attempts move around on all fours.

Now you can't catch up!

With the beginning of the crawling of a child in family life a new era is coming. Now your baby is no longer that cute toddler waving his arms and legs in his crib or sitting importantly on his mother's arms. Parents realize that next to them now lives another person with his own character and interests, speed and love of freedom.

Share the joy of discovery with your child and enjoy these wonderful moments. After all, very soon your baby will learn to walk, run, climb and talk. Prepare for this time together don't rush him, let him crawl!