The life of a young mother is full of worries and worries, especially when it comes to her first child. Much is clear only theoretically: how to feed the child, how to dress, bathe. Parents are also concerned about whether their babies are developing correctly. For example, if a child does not crawl at 8 months - is this a norm or a deviation?
Crawling baby
Baby doesn't crawl when worried
Doctors have derived some average norms for the development of babies. Judging by them, all toddlers aged six to eight months learn to move in space on their own through crawling.
When calculating the mean denominator, it is impossible to take into account factors of individual development. It is boring for one independent baby to lie in place, and at 5 months he sits down, and by 7-8 he completely stands on his legs. The other, on the contrary, is more phlegmatic: he learns to move more slowly, skips the stage of crawling altogether. This may be the norm, according to many well-known pediatricians, such as Komarovsky.
Famous doctor Komarovsky
If a baby doesn't feel like crawling by eight months, the adult doesn't need to sound the alarm right away. The first step is to make an appointment with a doctor. If he does not find problems, then you just need to wait patiently, giving the little one maximum freedom.
You need to worry if the child at 8 months does not sit and crawl, and does not make any attempts for this. This is how the existing deviations appear. Such a child should be examined by a doctor, recommend sports exercises that are available by age, prescribe special procedures, and, if necessary, prescribe a set of medications.
Important! There is no need to rush the development of the crumbs if he is healthy. It is better to let the baby develop at his own pace, without comparing with others.
Why is crawling important
Crawling is incredibly rewarding. It is this simple movement that develops many systems of the child's body:
- First, crawling perfectly strengthens the child's musculoskeletal system. In fact, the toddler works for himself as a dumbbell.
- Second, crawling develops binocular vision. The kid learns to catch one object with both eyes. This is useful for mastering reading and writing.
- The baby also develops psycho-emotional. He tries to set a goal for himself, is happy when it is achieved, or sad when it fails. In any case, the little one learns to feel and understand himself.
- Crawling develops the brain. During movement in this way, the connection of the cerebral hemispheres is strengthened, this helps the child to learn speech faster.
If it doesn't crawl
Pediatricians say: "The child may not crawl." But this action is useful. Will not crawling children be lagging behind in development? Of course, this will affect development, but the parents and their child will still have a chance to catch up. It will take more time and effort, but not a reason for sad thoughts.
Doesn't crawl - doesn't mean lagging behind
Why doesn't the baby crawl
The range of reasons why a child does not crawl or sit down is quite large. It is important to study all of them in more detail:
- Fear. At the end of the last century, doctors covered the topic of sudden infant mortality syndrome. All of them urged not to put babies to sleep on their stomachs. Moms went further by cutting back on tummy time and outside sleep. The overwhelming majority of the crumbs began to crawl later. But the infant mortality rate from ADHD has also dropped by half.
- New items of our time. Parents often have no time to go after the crawling child for days on end, to follow him. This also includes parental laziness, because it is much easier to seat a child in jumpers or walkers. Crawling - what can it do? Many adults think so and are wrong.
Walkers
- Health. There are serious problems that require special control and treatment of a neurologist: hypo, - and hypertonicity of muscles, the consequences of birth trauma. Relatively simple ARVI interfere with the child's learning - he is weak and feels bad.
- The weight. It is more difficult for chubby children to move around, this is a fact.
- Character. Choleric and sanguine people live in motion. Phlegmatic and melancholic people are calmer. Why crawl somewhere if it's interesting here too?
Attention! If a child is 8 months old, he does not try to sit and does not want to crawl, in general, for some reason he is inactive, and adults are given relative freedom of movement (for example, within the same apartment), there is only one way out - to visit a doctor. No need to self-medicate.
What to do
The most important thing in this case is to eliminate the obstacle that prevents the development of this skill:
- More freedom. The child needs comfortable clothing, a free floor and a minimum of restrictions. Jumpers and walkers are best removed from everyday life or left, but for short periods of time and infrequently.
Baby crawls freely
- Interest. Children should be intrigued by what is at a distance from them.
- Parental control. They do not put the baby to sleep on his stomach, but, while awake, he should lie like this. To avoid fear of ADHD, parents need to keep an eye on him during this time.
- Medical supervision. It is unacceptable to avoid routine doctor visits. If the crumbs have problems, the doctor will find them in the very rudiment, which will facilitate the task of eliminating. Such a specialist will tell you how to strengthen the immune system.
- Proper nutrition. Meals should be healthy, portions appropriate for needs and age.
Also, regardless of the activity of the crumbs, they are assigned restorative massages. Moreover, the superficial should be carried out by parents every day, a deeper one is done by a masseur, a minimum of a couple of courses in the first year is recommended.
How to teach a child to crawl
It cannot be said that there is a technique that teaches a baby to crawl in the same way as counting and writing. This does not exist. There are some general recommendations on how to tell little boys and girls to move like this.
On the belly
- The first crawl (on the stomach or on the bellies) can be helped to master with the help of Doman's track, Komarovsky believes. It's such a narrow gutter covered with fabric. It is difficult to push off from the floor, much easier if small walls help in this. You can practice with such a track from 2 months.
Doman's track
- If there is no track, you can do without it. Then a toy is placed in front of the toddler as a stimulus. At this time, an adult puts his palms under the baby's heels. He will push off from them and move towards the goal.
On knees
When a child crawls on all fours, he usually uses one side of the body to maintain balance, the other for proper movement. This movement is called cross-crawling. Parents can suggest how to do it:
- A roll can be rolled out of a towel or blanket, which is placed under the baby's breast. This strengthens the neck and back. A little later, you can start tucking the baby's knees under the tummy.
- When both parents gather around the child, they can teach the baby to crawl together. Supporting the baby, they put them on their knees, help him to rest on the arms, then one adult moves the baby's arms, the second moves the legs. You need to take your time when performing such an exercise and in no case stop supporting the child.
Important! You need to "teach" to crawl by your example. And it usually works better if dad demonstrates. Once on the floor, an adult at the same time gets the opportunity to detect all possible dangers from a child's height.
Kid crawling with dad
Threat of not crawling
Crawling is not an obligatory developmental step like holding your head. But it's incredibly useful, it's best not to miss it. It is this action that strengthens the muscles around the spine like nothing else.
If the baby briskly gets to his feet, not wanting to crawl, he cannot be held back by force. Then you need to start an additional course of professional massage, go to the pool with the toddler, and often carry out infant gymnastics. The best option would be to start helping him crawl, to set an example even before he even tries to roll over on his side, especially before he tries to sit down or stand on his feet.
Crawled, sat down, got up - ideal baby development
Summarizing all of the above, it can be noted that you should not give up crawling on your own. Parents need to understand that they are responsible for the health of their baby. First of all, do not what is convenient for them, but what is best for a small defenseless person. Doctors will help them in this, from visiting which you should not shy away from.
