As a pediatric Occupational Therapist, the more consultations I have with parents, the more I find that the clients we work with have had minimal to no crawling time, never mind tummy time*.
“… my child didn’t crawl at all and went straight to walking!”
Some parents feel elated that their child skipped crawling and went straight to cruising along furniture, walking then running. Although these appear to be gross motor achievements for the child, it can actually be very detrimental to a child’s development to have skipped the stage of crawling. It is important to appreciate why therapists continue to encourage crawling-based activities during therapy sessions, even when the child has passed this phase and there are no reported concerns in walking or other gross motor milestones.
My argument is always the fact that I look at the quality of the movement performed and what affects this quality. For example, does the child have enough endurance for basic activity performance (whether it be dynamic gross motor movement, floor-based activities or table-top work) and what affects this.
What is crawling?
Crawling refers to a specific movement pattern which consists of: the left hand, right knee and right foot lifting from the floor, moving forward a few centimetres then being placed down for some stability, thereafter immediately repeating the exact same motion with the opposite side.
At times, other movement patterns are mistakenly identified as crawling, however from an Occupational Therapist’s perspective, it is not!
Crawling is imperative for both the physical and cognitive development. The child moves around independently in their immediate surroundings, learning about the world around them, at their own pace. This movement is independently carried out by the child while moving about from point A to B on their hands and knees, exploring their environment and objects close by.
How is crawling beneficial for my child’s development?
The more obvious benefits of crawling are physical, for example improving core strength, postural stability, balance, neck-shoulder stability, hip stability and upper and lower limb coordination. However, as an OT, I explain to parents there are other key areas that also develop during this stage. These are areas such as crossing of the midline, as eye-hand coordination, visual tracking and depth perception. These are important foundation skill areas that are crucial for learning development during pre-academic and academic years.
Another vital aspect of development that occur during the stage of crawling is the integration of some primitive reflexes, which is important for strengthening the nervous system, emotional regulation, as well as attention and concentration.
The repetition of the crawling movement helps to build neurons in the brain, increasing communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and ultimately contributes to reading and writing later on during their initial academic years.
Masnoena Allie – Mother, OT
Senior Occupational Therapist
As a working mother myself I have learned that the few hours a day I spend with my daughter is vital for her development in all areas. It does help that I have the background knowledge of an Occupational Therapist to encourage and to facilitate her development. The most important advice I give parents is that parent-child bonding is imperative for growth. This will give your child the confidence to play, grow and learn while doing so.