Have you been wondering what you can be doing to help your baby master the developmental
milestone of crawling?
In this video I will be talking about 5 activities you can do to teach your baby how to crawl.
And did you know there are actually six different crawling styles?
Not all babies will do the classic hands-and-knees crawling style.
Stick around till the end of this video to learn about all those variations.
If this is our first time meeting, I’m Dr. Belousov.
I equip parents with knowledge so they can care for their baby with confidence.
This video is a part of my baby development series.
Some of the other videos will be linked at the end of this one.
Just like with any of the other skill sets, learning to crawl is a gradual process.
Some babies learn to crawl as early as 6 months, and most are crawling by 11 months.
Leading up to a baby being able to support herself on her hands and knees, she will need
to develop strength in her shoulders and arms.
Doing tummy time consistently on a daily basis gives your baby the greatest opportunity to
strengthen those muscles.
You will notice by around 3 to 4 months of age that during tummy time your baby will
start to support her upper body with her arms and lift her chest higher off the surface.
You want to continue to give your baby the opportunity to strengthen those muscles so
that by the time she is developmentally ready to start crawling, she is strong enough to
support her upper body while being on her hands and knees.
If you need suggestions on how to get your baby doing more tummy time and enjoying it,
I have a separate video on that.
It’s linked up here.
During tummy time it's a great idea to start putting out toys that your baby loves and
is motivated to move towards.
Place the item close, but just out of reach.
As she tries to move towards it, you can place your hands at her feet, and allow her to push
off to get closer to the objects.
Once you see that your baby has good strength in his arms and legs, you can practice positioning
him on his hands and knees to give him the experience of what it feels like.
Initially you might need to help your baby figure out how to bend his legs to be able
to get on all fours.
When he is holding his upper body up with his arms during tummy time, try tucking your
hands under his knees and get his legs into the position of being bent at the hips and
knees.
Make sure the knees are directly aligned under each hip.
You might need to practice this exercise over several weeks before your baby gains the strength
to be able to hold the body up in this position.
If she still needs help supporting her upper body, place one of your hands under her to
hold up her body and with the other hand guide both legs into a bent position.
Hold her there for several seconds.
As she gets stronger, you will be able to ease up on the amount of assistance that you
need to provide.
Once your baby is able to get onto his hands and knees, you can help maintain him in this
position for longer periods of time by placing one of your hands under his arms around his
rib cage area and the other just above the opposite hip.
As she gets stronger and is able to hold herself up on all fours for longer periods of time,
you can transition to gently rocking her body back and forth repeatedly.
When you notice that she doesn’t need any more help doing that, let her do it on her
own.
This helps her gain the strength and balance that she needs in order to be able to hold
her body up while shifting her body weight as she’s crawling.
Ultimately your baby will need to figure out how to rhythmically coordinate the arms and
legs to perfect the crawl.
At first his crawl will be a bit uncoordinated.
But continue to have him doing a lot of play time on the floor to get plenty of practice.
Put objects out in front of your baby, but out of reach, to motivate him to move towards
them.
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Now I want to make you aware of the six different crawling styles, because some parents think
that their baby isn’t crawling when in fact their baby is.
The first one is the belly or commando crawl.
The baby keeps her belly and thighs on the floor while dragging herself around through
the movement of her arms and shoulders.
The legs only help a little bit.
Some babies start off crawling this way before transitioning to the classic hands and knees
crawl.
The second style is the classic hands and knees or cross crawl.
This is what most of us think of when we talk about crawling.
The baby holds his body off the floor and bares weight on his hands and knees, while
moving one arm and the opposite knee forward at the same time.
Some babies add variations to this style by doing a step crawl mix where the baby crawls
on the knee of one leg, but steps on the foot of the other leg.
The third variation is the bear crawl.
It looks similar to the classic crawl, the baby holds his body up off the floor, but
instead of having the elbows and knees bent, the baby keeps them straight, this gives the
baby an appearance of walking on the hands and feet like a bear.
The fourth style of crawling is what is called the bottom scooter.
While sitting upright, the baby uses the legs and sometimes the arms to scoot himself forward
on the floor.
The fifth variation is the crab crawl.
While holding the body in an upright position, the baby moves around while bearing weight
on the hands, the knee of one leg and the foot of the other leg.
The sixth style of crawling is the rolling crawl.
The baby uses rolling around as the mechanism of movement to get from one place to another.
As long as your baby is learning to coordinate each side of the body and is using the arms
and legs equally, then there is no cause for concern.
The important thing is that your baby is able to explore her surroundings on her own and
is strengthening the body in preparation for walking.
Of course if you feel like your child is not moving normally, discuss your concerns with
your baby's healthcare provider.
In the comments section below, let me know which of these recommendations you found to
be most helpful.
If you would like to track your baby’s development and know which developmental milestones should
be achieved next, get your free baby development checklist through the link in the description
below.
I’m looking forward to seeing you in my next video.