The Importance of Crawling

Babies learn to move around and investigate their environment as part of their natural developmental process. Natural curiosity and a need to explore will result in more effective ways of getting around. At about 6 to 8 months a baby will learn to balance on their hands and knees and will gradually learn how to move forwards and backwards by pushing off with their hands and knees. Crawling usually happens at around 9 or 10 months, but some babies never crawl and find other methods to move around such as bottom shuffling or sliding on their tummies. Although this looks really cute, it is not good for their development.

As a baby crawls he is learning to move around the environment on his own and therefore has a sense of independence. The baby can decide where he goes and he will start to develop decision-making skills based on movement, which include motor planning. His muscles are being strengthened in preparation for walking and he is using the limbs on either side of the body to develop bilateral co-ordination. Crawling is seen as an important developmental milestone in terms of brain development.

Crawling has many benefits, as it is part of the natural developmental progress to standing, walking and running. A baby needs to learn to lift its body off the floor whilst on all fours and maintain that position. Most babies who have had plenty of tummy time will find crawling to be a natural progression because they are used to being on their tummy and have pushed up with their arms may times in preparation for movement. This helps to align the spine and develop the muscles of the back, hips and shoulder girdle in preparation for standing. 

 

Crawling is also beneficial for social, emotional, motor, cognitive, and sensory factors. Crawling helps to develop balance, strengthen muscle tone and develop eye-hand co-ordination. This is necessary for future reading writing and physical activities. Bilateral integration is improved through crawling as both hands, legs, eyes and ears are required to work in synchronization, increasing left and right brain co-ordination. The crawling movement is repetitive and this stimulates brain activity to develop cognitive processes such as concentration, memory, comprehension and attention. 

   

Crawling stimulates the inner ear of the vestibular system whilst the baby moves forwards (or backwards) and moves his head. This will help improve balance. Crawling will also give the baby sensory stimulation through his hands and knees as he weight bears through them. This is essential for gross and fine muscle development.

 

Not all movement 'styles' or variations on crawling give the same developmental benefits as the 'traditional' cross crawl movement pattern. Normal crawling uses both arms and legs alternatively to move in a forward direction. This is essential for the proper neurological development of the child and needs to be encouraged.  There may be underlying physical or neurological reasons why a baby will not be able to crawl “properly”, or it may simply be due to environmental or motivational factors.

Overall, crawling helps with physical development of gross and fine motor skills, balance and hand-eye coordination. It also helps the child develop spatial understanding, binocular vision and left and right brain coordination. Additionally, it can also help with self-confidence and decision-making skills, which are crucial for a developing child.