This is how you support your baby when crawling

From seals to crawling

Most babies make the transition from crawling to crawling around the ninth to tenth month of life. Your baby’s first tentative attempts at crawling are reflected in a crawling gait with the hind end pushed up at shoulder height. In this position, your baby will only gently rock back and forth at first. To learn how to balance, he repeats these movements for a while. Soon after, it will dare the first, still somewhat uncoordinated, forward movements by alternately moving one hand and the opposite leg forward. These crossover movements become more confident and skillful from day to day, until your baby finally sets an enormous pace.

Why crawling is so important

On the one hand, crawling promotes the interaction of abdominal and back muscles and thus has a positive effect on your baby’s movement processes. It is also very important for the perception and optimal networking of the two hemispheres of your baby’s brain. There is evidence that babies who skip the crawling phase are at increased risk of later learning difficulties. Babies who crawl also usually develop a better sense of direction.

When babies don’t crawl

Many children skip the crawling phase completely or develop an idiosyncratic locomotion style that is vaguely reminiscent of crawling. A trend that emerged around the turn of the millennium states that it is ok for babies to develop their own technique and that movement progress does not have to follow a strict pattern. However, it is also possible that behind the “refusal to crawl” there is a blockage in the neck, shoulder or pelvic area that simply does not allow the baby to start crawling happily. So if you notice that your baby doesn’t want to crawl or moves in an atypical way, you should consider this possibility. A visit to the osteopath can quickly give you clarity and help your baby to resolve possible blockages.

So you can support your baby while crawling

If you see your baby getting on all fours regularly but not really wanting to get going, you might be able to encourage him to crawl with the following actions:

• Crawl along: Get on the floor and crawl in front of your baby. It sure feels spurred on to do the same.
• Arouse curiosity: Hold out an object, such as a ball, or your hand to your baby just out of reach and ask them to see what’s there. Your baby will surely want to know what you have there and with a bit of luck will start moving.
• Towel trick: Take a larger towel and pull it lengthways underneath your baby’s chest. Bring the two ends together and lift your baby very slightly so that your feet and palms are still in contact with the floor. Now you can give your baby a slight impulse that might make it move. It is important that you only hold the towel and do not pull or push your child with it.

Don’t be a spoilsport!

When crawling, your pants will certainly rub through and your hands will get dirty. But that’s just part of it. Crawling is a milestone in your baby’s development. Now, of course, it moves much more intensively and exercise makes you tired – maybe it sleeps more now. And that’s definitely a blessing for you too, isn’t it? Your baby can now decide for itself whether it wants to follow you or go on a great journey of discovery. This also increases the satisfaction of your child. Your baby has already developed enormously! It has learned to turn, roll, crawl, sit and crawl! Now it’s not far until your child can stand and finally walkcan. You can also read more useful tips and background information in our special “Learn to walk” .