Sitting in the pediatrician’s waiting room, waiting for Joey’s 9 month well visit… I was a nervous wreck! He wasn’t crawling yet, and while I KNOW that crawling can begin anywhere between 7 – 10 months, I was still afraid of what the doctor would say. Lo and behold, during the (very long) wait…he crawled across the waiting room floor for the first time. PHEW! Now I needed to disinfect him, but who cares! He crawled!

As therapists, we always encourage babies to crawl. It’s just SO GOOD for so many reasons! It really aids in the development of EVERY developmental domain (cognitive, personal/social, gross motor, fine motor, communication). Here are just SOME of the benefits:

• Crawling encourages environmental curiosity and self-awareness!
• Strengthens the core!
• Develops shoulder stability
• Hip alignment
• Visual motor skills (a precursor to reading and writing)
• Bilateral coordination (the movement and synchrony of the hands and knees)
• Fine motor skills (opening up and flattening those palms, stretches muscles used for writing!)
• Posture and balance skills
• Early onset of walking

These are just a few benefits! So, how can we encourage crawling? Get down on the floor with your baby. Crawl together. Make it fun! Be silly! Crawl over uneven surfaces, such as pillows or your legs.   Put a toy just out of reach, and encourage them to crawl to it. Open a large box on both sides, or use a tunnel, and crawl through.

How have you encouraged crawling? Did your child skip crawling? Did they end up crawling later? Share your story with us!

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