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1 May 2025
WHY IS CRAWLING IMPORTANT
WHY IS CRAWLING IMPORTANT
WHY IS CRAWLING IMPORTANT AND HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE THIS MILESTONE
Crawling is highly recommended by child development experts and paediatric physiotherapists because it offers a range of crucial benefits for a baby’s physical, cognitive, and sensory development. Here’s why:
- Motor Skills Development
Crawling requires the use of various muscle groups, helping to build strength in the arms, legs, and core. This muscle development is essential for future gross motor skills, such as walking, running, and climbing.
As babies crawl, they often pick up small objects, which helps refine their fine motor skills. This transition from gross motor to fine motor skills is vital for tasks like writing and self-feeding later on. - Spatial Awareness and Vision
Crawling allows babies to explore different areas and learn how to navigate spaces. This experience helps them understand their surroundings better and develop spatial reasoning skills. Crawling opens your babies visual pathway which helps them practice focusing on objects at different distances and using eye-hand coordination as they move toward them. This skill is foundational for reading, as it teaches eyes to follow a pattern from left to right across a page.
Crawling encourages babies to judge distances and navigate obstacles, which enhances their depth perception and awareness of how far they can reach or crawl. - Bi-Lateral Coordination and Balance
The bi-lateral coordination required for crawling, using opposite limbs, promotes neural connections between the left and right sides of the brain. This movement is crucial for cognitive skills, including problem-solving and critical thinking.
Crawling helps babies learn how to plan and execute movements, which is foundational for more complex actions and cognitive tasks. As babies shift their weight from one side to another while crawling, they develop a sense of balance. This skill is necessary for standing, walking, and later, participating in physical activities. - Sensory Exploration
Crawling helps babies become more aware of their bodies in space, contributing to overall coordination and motor control. This is helping in the develop of the proprioceptive sense, responsible for body part awareness, force and control.
Crawling exposes babies to a variety of surfaces (carpet, tile, grass), allowing them to experience different textures. This sensory input is important for cognitive development and understanding the world around them. As they crawl, babies encounter new sights and sounds, which stimulates their senses and cognitive processing. - Confidence and Independence
Mastering crawling gives babies the ability to explore independently, which boosts their confidence. This sense of autonomy encourages them to engage with their environment, leading to more learning opportunities. As babies crawl, they become more mobile and can interact with caregivers and other children, enhancing social skills and emotional development.
While missing the crawling stage isn’t a red flag on its own, it has been shown that skipping crawling can lead to delays in other areas of development, such as walking and later or difficulty with more complex movements such as handwriting.
Encouraging crawling can help ensure a more well-rounded development so here are our top tips!
- It’s probably no surprise that tip number one is plenty of tummy time. This doesn’t have to be directly on the floor but can include a range of fun play opportunities like in our classes, flying on your shins, doing the flagpole and the ‘sack of potatoes’.
- Motivate your baby with toys, mirrors or your smiling face! Place them just out of reach to encourage your baby to move toward them. Use sensory stimulating toys such as bright, colourful balls or items that make noise to capture their attention.
- Gently help your baby practice crawling by placing them on their hands and knees. You can guide their movements by gently rocking them back and forth. You can help your baby onto all fours by lifting their tummy up with a tea towel or sensory scarf and help to manipulate their movements.
- Offer lots of encouragement and praise when your baby makes attempts to crawl. Positive reinforcement can motivate them to try more. Every baby develops at their own speed. Be patient and provide support without rushing the process. By creating a supportive environment and providing opportunities for movement, you can help your baby develop the skills needed for crawling!
To find out more about our Bugs programme for ages 4 – 10 months and how we can support your child’s development CLICK HERE