This was the running conversation with my mom when my children were just starting to be mobile. “Are they crawling yet? Because you know if they skip crawling it might lead to developmental problems.” I don’t know if this is an old wives’ tale or not so I decided to find some answers. I asked Dan Rindler of Child’Space NYC to answer one of the most common questions asked by parents with mobile babies: My child is pulling to stand already – but he doesn’t crawl yet. What if he skips crawling?
Crawling is developmentally important for many reasons and so I teach parents to handle and play with their babies in ways that are likely to lead them to crawl. However, if your baby does skip crawling, there are things you can do to help fill in the gaps of what he may have missed.
Crawling has a beneficial influence on many factors of development. When babies crawl, they develop balance and strength in their arms, legs and trunk. As they develop the ability to get what they want for themselves, crawling babies’ sense of self and their relationship to their environment change. Crawling uses the brain in a specific way too. The contra-lateral movements of a diagonal arm and leg together engage the brain in a way that is much more sophisticated than early movements that use arms and legs together. Additionally, crawling babies move their spines in ways that influence their future way of walking. I even use crawling at times in my private practice with adults, and they are often surprised at how revisiting crawling movements can lead to profound improvements in their coordination.
Given that there are so many beneficial aspects to crawling, I do believe that it’s important that your baby crawls. If your baby does skip this step, I suggest that you find ways to encourage crawling even after walking has begun. Throw the couch cushions on the floor for an obstacle course too challenging to walk through or set your dining room chairs in a row so that the legs form a tunnel to crawl through. These are just a few of the many ideas I use with babies and in Child’Space NYC classes – perhaps you and your baby can invent more games together. So parents, if crawling was skipped, please breathe easy and get playing!
– Dan Rindler, GCFP, is the Director at Child’Space NYC, which offers unique, joyful programs for babies and their parents or caregivers. Their method fosters new connections between parent and child through touch and by teaching parents hands-on techniques to support their babies’ development.