From their first smile all the way through to learning to walk, there are lots of exciting milestones that your little one will achieve in their first year of life. Crawling is one of those exciting times, yet it is easy to overlook how complex this skill is and the crucial role it plays in your baby’s overall development.
Crawling typically begins between 6 and 10 months and involves using opposite limbs in a cross body movement pattern. As Occupational Therapists, we refer to this as “bilateral motor coordination.” This pattern might seem simple, but is incredibly complex and powerful for your baby’s brain development. Crawling sets the foundation for how the two sides of your baby’s brain communicate effectively. The more your baby practices this, the stronger the neural connections between the left and right sides of the brain become. These connections lay the ground work for more complex tasks like handwriting, using scissors, and playing sports that require the hands and feet to work together later in life.
Crawling provides your baby with essential sensory input to help them understand their body’s position in space. Every time your baby’s hands and knees press into the floor, they are learning more about their body and coordination.
This crawling movement also helps develop your baby’s vestibular system (which is responsible for balance) and proprioception (knowing where their body is in space). As a result, crawling not only helps babies develop independence to move from one place to another, but it also supports the development of motor planning and body awareness, both of which are necessary for more complex tasks later in life.
Encouraging Crawling and Bilateral Development
As a mum, I know how exciting it is to watch your baby hit these milestones, but it’s also important to let them develop at their own pace and not push them too early. Every child will achieve their milestones at different rates. Not only this, but how a baby crawls can be very different from one child to another. It is important not to worry if your baby opts for commando or bottom shuffling as their way of getting around. This will only foster greater independence and further exploration of their environment which is essential for their overall development.
However, as an OT, I also encourage parents to introduce their child to hands and knees crawling down the track when they are stronger through other games and activities to help them develop the critical skills of bilateral motor coordination. This will only set them up for further success in the years to come.
Some tips and activities that you may wish to explore with your little one are:
- Make sure to give your baby plenty of tummy time and space to explore on their own.
- Place toys just out of reach to encourage crawling and use soft surfaces to help them feel comfortable as they learn this new skill.
- Removing clothes can help your child to get more sensory input about where their body parts are in relation to one another.
- Placing your child on all fours over your leg so that your leg can support their chest/tummy whilst they develop greater shoulder strength to maintain the position independently.
- Placing a towel under babies tummy to help take some of their weight while they try to move around and learn to coordinate their arms and legs at different times.
- Encouraging baby to maintain an all fours position and rock back and forth on the spot as this strengthens their hip and shoulder joints.
- Using a raised surface or set of small foam steps to encourage baby to crawl up towards their favourite toys.