From the minute your baby is born, and you
see her shining face, you begin to imagine her life, and plot out all the
beautiful memories you will make. You imagine
her smiling, sitting, crawling, heading off to school, riding a bike, chatting
with her friends, and watching her walk down the aisle. Of course, you know almost none of it will
turn out the way you plan, but there is something about the dreams and putting
your best foot forward, right?
Although many of your plans are years away,
there are a few of those that you simply cannot ignore, like crawling. It will happen as soon as you blink (time elapses
so much faster when you have a baby). And
if you are keen to make your baby’s life as happy as it can be, then now is the
time to start planning around those early milestones.
So, When Will My Baby Begin Crawling?
(And Why Do Babies Crawl?)
All babies begin crawling at different times. Even twins do not always begin at the same point. But, generally, babies start crawling around 6-10
months. Although some babies begin crawling
later, most are not capable of crawling before they can sit independently. You can expect to your baby’s face light up
with the success of sitting one day, and then, in the next minute, see that he
has almost immediately shifted to concentration mode as he tries to master crawling. Of course, some children like to revel in
their accomplishments before moving on to the next challenge.
Developmentally, there is a reason that babies
crawl before they begin walking. And
strangely enough, it has to do largely with depth perception, and not the strength
of their legs. When babies crawl, they develop
the ability (and need) to search into the distance. Once they have set a target, they then must shift
their focus by checking their hands in front of them. This can happen later, once they become consummate
walkers, but most kids learn the basics of depth perception during the crawling
phase. This is why many paediatricians recommend
that you encourage crawling even if it looks as though your baby may be ready
to walk.
Preparing Your Home for a Crawler
The first thing you must do is understand choking
hazards. These are bigger than you would
expect. If you are at all unsure about
whether something is dangerous, then assume it is. This is wildly important because as soon as your
baby can move, she is sure to move quickly within a matter of days. Before you know it, it will be too late to move
all those objects from the coffee table that you thought you would get around
to eventually.
Make sure older siblings also understand
the importance of choking hazards. But, never
frame his tidying up in light of better
for baby. You can always let him know
that his small cars and toys are his special toys that baby cannot play with
until she is bigger. Most older siblings
love this distinction.
The next thing you need to look at is the
floor itself. If you have carpeting, do
not wait to have it cleaned. Although it
makes a cosy addition to your home, carpeting is fantastic at holding all sorts
of dust, pet hairs and even microscopic bugs.
That is not to say that you should not let your child crawl on it, only
that you need to ensure it is cleaned – and cleaned often for the next couple
of years. Spending a bit of extra time vacuuming
when your child is small is not a bad idea either. In addition to cleaning though, you should also
check the floor for any other hazards. For
example, that cracked tile in the kitchen could result in a scraped knee, even
if you have gotten used to stepping over it.
Of course, there are always the stairs to consider. Developmentally, children do not have a fear
of heights until they have been crawling or walking for several months. They do not realise the falling distance to
ground level from the top of the stairs.
And, they obviously do not have the skills when they first start to crawl
to navigate up or down. As such, safety gates
are required at both levels of any staircases, unless, of course, your baby has
absolutely zero access to one of the floors, which is unlikely.
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| Lindam Safety Gate |
The best way to prepare your home for a crawling
baby is to walk through it deliberately.
Do you want your baby to have access to the kitchen without
supervision? If not, then you need to place
a gate in front of the entrance. Even if
your kitchen seems safe enough, you will still need to invest in cupboard door and
drawer locks, not to mention appliance door looks which are often overlooked in
the process. Make sure that every space
of your home is considered, and do not forget about chairs (which are terrific
for climbing) that are positioned too close to open windows and other possible hazards.
Do Not Stress about Normal
Not only do babies learn to crawl at
different times, but not every baby crawls in the same way. Some children, no matter how much encouragement
you provide never crawl at all. These
kids move straight into walking, much to the surprise of their parents. Although there are developmental benefits to crawling,
if your child begins with walking, do not worry about what they have missed;
they will pick it up in other ways, and in their own time.
The same applies to children who tend to drag
a leg (or both) behind them, or simply get to another point in the room by
rolling themselves across the floor. These
are all normal, even if they are funny to watch. Think of crawling like dancing – everyone does
it differently and every style is natural.
If you do have a concern about your child’s
development or abilities, the best thing to do is check in with their doctor. It is always better to chat with a professional
than to allow yourself to stress about your baby. Spend that time and effort worrying about what
you’ll prepare for supper instead.
