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The Importance of Crawling

Apr 15, 2021

Many times we overhear parents bragging that their 'advanced' child skipped crawling and went right to walking. Even though this may seem like a wonderful feat, that baby missed out on crucial developmental milestones. Let's dive into the importance of crawling, the neurology behind it, and how it molds their brain for the future.


Children typically start crawling between 7-10 months. The signs that your baby is ready for crawling are: being able to hold the head upright and steady, support the upper body with the arms, get the knees underneath them and be stable on all fours. Your child may have "crawled" on their belly, or scooted on their butt, BUT this is not true crawling. When they are able to be on their hands and knees they may rock back and forth which helps build strength in the core, arms and legs. Once this position is mastered, you may encourage your baby to reach for you or a toy. As they reach, they will likely fall and that's ok! They will learn that they moved closer to what they wanted. This new skill will benefit their brain and future motor skills.


A baby is always creating new nerve pathways that will serve them as they develop more strength and coordination. We want all babies to develop a strong 'cross crawl' pattern. This specific pattern is using the opposite leg and arm to move forward, rather than using the same sided leg and arm. Once this skill is developed, practice makes perfect!


A good crawl should be established by year one. However, the average age for walking isn’t until about 12 months; this means that half of children walk after this age. Concerns of late walking shouldn’t start until 15 to 18 months.


The more your baby crawls, the more nerve connections are made and the smoother their coordination becomes. Crawling allows your baby to explore their world and start making independent decisions which uses large amounts of brain power. As the skill becomes more and more automatic, their spatial skills start to blossom. Now they learn through sight and touch for the ability to locate objects.


Research supports the idea that hands and knees crawling plays a huge part in inter-limb pattern of coordination and is a preparatory phase for walking. It also says that it helps develop many other components such as body awareness, motor planning, visual perception and eye-hand coordination. While a baby learns to crawl, their spine is busy developing its curvy shape. Babies are not born with any spinal curves, crawling and walking are what create them over time. Developing a strong core through crawling is crucial to children having healthy spines! Without a strong core your baby will likely have delays with being able to sit up, hold the head steady, and will lack basic coordinated movement skills. Although you may be ready for your child to walk, don’t forget that crawling is very important for your baby's overall development. Crawling is the launching point for proper brain development as well as building strong dense bones!


If you notice your child may not be developing a strong consistent crawl, get them assessed by a pediatric chiropractor like one of us at Thrive Family Chiropractic. Many times, when a child does not crawl properly it is due to restrictive joints in the pelvis. The birth process is challenging and many times it leaves hip bones needing gentle adjustments to increase the range of motion allowing for full development of crawling!




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