You’ll never forget the moment your baby crawls for the first time. It isn’t just jaw-dropping to watch, but it also marks an important developmental milestone, as it’s a sign that they’ll soon be walking and running.
If your child is between seven and ten months old, they might soon get on all fours to move around a room, and they may even start a little earlier. Some children might even skip crawling and attempt to walk.
For the above reasons, you must create a supportive and safe environment to encourage your child to get moving. Read this guide to helping your baby crawl.
Create a Comfortable Space:
Encourage your baby to crawl from A to B by creating a more comfortable space for them to move across a room. You wouldn’t like the feeling of uncarpeted flooring when crawling, and neither will your fast-growing baby.
For this reason, you should lay down soft, smooth, and supportive playmats to help them crawl to their toys or a parent. Plus, the mats will soften their environment if they lose their balance when crawling or attempting to stand.
Introduce Tummy Time:
Babies will spend a lot of time on their back during sleep, play, or feeding, which is why you must introduce tummy time while they’re awake. After a feed and nap, lay your baby on their stomach on a soft, smooth surface to help them practice lifting their head off the ground.
It will strengthen their back while encouraging them to move their limbs, preparing their muscles for crawling and walking.
Your baby may not enjoy tummy time at first, but you must persevere. Introduce tummy time for a few minutes and try alternative positions, such as placing them on their side.
You could even lay on your back and place your baby face down on top of you on your stomach, as they might be more likely to lift their head to look up at your face.
Avoid or Reduce Walkers and Jumpers:
The sight of your baby moving from A to B on a walker or jumping up and down in a jumper will fill you with joy, but these toys might not help them crawl or walk. If anything, they might stop your baby from developing the strength they need to move alone unaided.
As great as jumpers are at safely confining your baby when you need to complete a few tasks and chores, you must ensure that your baby spends as much time on the floor as possible to build their muscles and encourage them to explore.
Gently Bicycle Their Legs:
Many new parents will bicycle their baby’s legs to alleviate gas and prevent constipation. In addition to being a natural way to push air from their system, it could also improve their range of motion and flexibility to support crawling and walking.
Place your baby on their back and gently bicycle their legs to move their knees, hips, and abdominal muscles.
Move their legs around like they are pedaling a bike, and you could even make them feel more secure and comfortable by singing, smiling, or making funny noises. Gently repeat the action three to five times each time you do it.
Increase Their Motivation to Move:
Crawling might come instinctively to your baby, but you could provide more motivation to help them move across the floor. For example, during tummy time, place an item they want in their eye line but out of reach. It will give them a goal to work toward, as they might be eager to push their body forward to grab it.
You can use different items they might want to grab, such as their favorite toy, a healthy snack, or even their reflection. Also, you must resist the temptation to help and give your baby the space and freedom to move toward an object.
Weightlifting:
Your baby might be far too young to visit the gym, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help their muscles to develop in their hands, arms, and shoulders. Once your baby can start grasping items at around three or four months old, place various baby-friendly items in front of your little one to use as weights, such as a colorful rattle or soft toy.
Sit your newborn in a highchair or bouncy seat to encourage them to pick up and hold an item in their hand before lifting another one. The more entertaining the object appears, the more likely they’ll pick it up.
Understand Your Baby Might Skip Crawling:
As eager as you might be to watch your beautiful baby crawl for the first time, you mustn’t get your hopes up. Not all babies will crawl as they might skip straight to standing, pulling themselves up, and walking, which is an amazing moment in itself.
Also, some babies won’t typically crawl on all fours. For example, some might perform a commando crawl, which is when they use their upper body to push themselves from A to B, and others might scoot around on their bum when sitting, perform a backward crawl, or even crawl like a crab. Your baby could even roll to move from one spot to another in a room.
Before panicking, you should know that all the above actions are normal, and your baby’s temperament will likely determine how they crawl. For example, a placid baby might be happy to remain in one spot, but more inquisitive children might be eager to get their bodies moving.
Each crawling style is developmentally typical, and you should only talk to a doctor if your baby isn’t mobile at all by their first birthday.
Conclusion:
Watching your baby crawl for the first time is a magical moment you’re unlikely to ever forget. To encourage your little one to explore their surroundings, you must introduce ways to help them build muscle, feel comfortable, and become more inquisitive.
Start by creating a soft, supportive space, introduce tummy time, and improve their physical strength, such as gently cycling their legs or encouraging them to hold baby-friendly objects.