Helping My Little Guy to Crawl

My mom was ready for my second to start crawling so everytime she came over she put a ball under her tummy and my daughter caught on pretty fast. The ball was one of those soft bean type balls then my mom "graduated" her to the soft kick ball type balls.
Good Luck he will get it when he's ready
A.
www.romance2nite.com

Wow, so many opinions already! Try not to stress too much. I agree with the leg exercises while he is on his back. I took my son to The Little Gym classes when he was this age (they have a class for 4mo to 10mo) in this class they teach leg and arm exercises. The goal isn't to get them crawling faster, just help them when they do. The leg and arm exercises help give the muscles the right idea of how to crawl. I would go try out a class and see what you think, it would probably also help because he will see other children his size crawling.
Good luck, before you know it, he will be running and you will wonder where the time has gone! :)

I heard that crawling helps children to read. It sounds like babies have their own way of crawling. My 2nd son did the butt crawl. He would sit and put his feet out in front of him and pull his butt towards his feet with a kind of hop to it. It was hilarious! He would follow me all around the house that way. He did eventually crawl but not for very long, only about 3 weeks. Now my son is 10 yo. and is on the honor roll. So, don't worry he will do it in his own time.

S.

wow, i never expected your responses to be so heated. some babies don't crawl. it not the average but more common since the back-to-sleep recommendation. babies spend less time on their bellies and some crawl later or never. if you are working on tummy time and trying some of the great tips you've received then you are doing what you need to do! he already shows interest and has a way to get where he's trying to go. who knows maybe he'll skip straight to walking, some kids do. keep your pediatrician informed and do what you're doing. good job.

It is NOT a good thing for a child to skip steps in their development. There is only a small window of time for babies to develop non-upright (not standing) motor skills. By skipping these stages, we are lessening the chance that a sound gross motor foundation for development is being made. That being said, if you are concerned, contact Early Intervention and get an evaluation for physical therapy. They can do treatments or just a consult and provide you with ideas to assist in crawling.

Before children can crawl: they need to be able to get on all fours (hands and knees). Once on all fours, children will rock back and forth. Once they can be on all fours and rock back and forth, he will be able to start learning how to crawl. You can help put him in this position.

Is he spending enough time on his tummy? You can encourage him to stay on his tummy with a really interesting toy or by sitting in front of him and talking to him. Once on his belly, can he lift himself up to rest on his elbows or hands? If he is still working on these skills, increase the tummy time and continue to work on these for crawling.

Most developmental milestones suggest that crawling occurs between 8-12 months, but I would suggest you contact Early Intervention.

This may just be his way of "crawling". Did you know there are actually over 30 different forms/ways of "crawling"? I had no idea till my youngest started her strange "monkey" crawl where she sat up and only used one leg and one are to propel herself around the room. All the while the other leg was of no use to her and she would use her free hand to carry stuff around. That's when some one told me about all the different forms. Take a look at this web site for some help http://www.tnpc.com/article/showdesc.asp?n=133&n1.... They mention rolling as a form of crawling.

J., you're a good Mommy for being concerned and wanting to help your son, but actually, he'll be fine as he is. My now 16 yo daughter would only roll places, and she is perfectly fine and developed normally otherwise. She went straight from rolling from tummy to back across the room to pulling up and cruising at 9 months. We thought for sure that she would walk right aftewards, but she didn't until about a year, which is quite normal. What we discovered was that she hated the feel of the carpet or tile on her knees and hands. She also hated being dirty--still does. So that may also be another possibility. Don't worry, if he's developing normally in other ways (which sounds like he is), he'll be just fine.

J., Don't worry, my son rolled untill he was 8 months old and then commando crawled for monthes before he crawled the way we as parents think that babies should crawl (hands and knees) Rolling to get places is just as good away to get there.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! What children skip crawling. I hope they aren't skipping it altogether. How children develop and the steps they take to get there are all part of a bigger plan and children who skip crawling end up in trouble at the other end.
My friend's little girl skipped crawling because she was always in a walker. Being the youngest of six, and part of a family of 3 BIG dogs, 2 cats and her older siblings friends, my friend thought the walker was a safer place than down on the floor. She had trouble talking and when the pediatrician heard she had never walked he had Corine (and by dint, all of us) teach her to crawl and then walk again. It was a difficult process and Eddie wasn't having any of it because she could already walk, so let's not do that.
When my own daughter looked like she was going to skip that step, I had races with her elder brother, Robyn and myself all around the room.
Since you have no older siblings to help interest your baby in crawling, maybe there is something your baby loves that you could hold out...just above his head for him to see. Even if he is on his back, if he sees it he might roll over to see it without looking up and back. Tempt him gently...holding it just beyond his reach. It is better if it is NOT food, but if food is all he will chase, go for it. Of course there is the soldier slide, then the "up on the knees rocking motion" and finally the "one move with this knee fall on my face move." Some babies slip through this part in a day, others spend days on each step. I wouldn't worry too much yet. Since to WALK is normal between 9 months and 18 months, then the first step to reach that goal, which is crawling comes at different times for different folks. Just try something to entice him every day and enjoy him the rest of the time. Don't judge him by other people's kids. We are all individuals and never more so than when we are babies and old. Hee, hee.
Good luck!

Crawling is a critical step in neurologic development, necessary for brain development and other stages of learning along the way. I'd suggest you look up "Edu-K", and "Brain Gym", and see if there are any practitioners in your area. If that's not feasible, perhaps your pediatrition could refer you to a pediactric neurologist, or occupational therapist for ideas. In the meantime, with my son, we used to have someone on the floor with him to encourage him forward, and model crawling, while another put their hands behind his feet in crawl position, sort of like starting blocks. Also, being on the floor with him and engaging him in delighted eye contact might make it less desirable for him to roll and break that contact.

You can show him how. Crawl around him when he is on his belly. Also, do leg exercises with him when he is on his back. Hold his ankles with your hands and alternately pump each of his legs. Babies love this!

I wouldn't force it too much. My little boy didn't crawl until he was 11 months old and then he walked just a few weeks after that. I think sometimes as moms we want our kids to be at the same stage that all our friends kids are at. I really just think that sometimes our kids have their own ideas about when they want to do things. As long as he's a healthy, happy kid then I'm sure he'll catch on and crawl when he's ready. Good luck.

You should simply make sure that you encourage him...
Encouragement is VERY important!
GOOD LUCK, C. Strode

I am not sure I understand your insistance that your son master this step. He moves? He is interested in his surroundings? He smiles? He is meeting milestones? So, perhaps it is more for you than for him? Let him be. don't start a lifetimes habit of making him do what you think he should be doing, just be happy with what he is doing (as long as it is normal range)

Hey J. - first off, don't worry about your little guy and his rolling for transportation - he'll crawl when he is ready... However, when my little one started crawling (around 7 months) we got several encouraging items, one that you should look into is the Vtech move & crawl ball! He loves chasing that thing around. It is a battery operated large ball that has a motor inside and makes noises and lights up & moves around on its own. Check it out!

T.

Most physical skills need to be learned on the baby's own time without coaching. The exploration period is very important. Sometimes it takes longer than we'd like, but each baby will move at his own speed. Teaching doesn't generally do any good and can do some harm if we rush a baby through a developmental stage in which he personally needs more time.

Blessings!

Hi J.!

I am a working mom with a 9 yr old son. My son was a little early in his development and was walking by 8 months. However, I didn't have a playpen and kept him on his blanket on the floor as much as possible. All of our play time together was on the floor. My mother tells me my brother was the same way. He'd roll or creep to get to his destination, until he wanted his toy on the couch. From then on he was walking. Her suggestion is to get down on the floor with him on his level and encourage him with a bright - or his favorite - toy at a reasonable distance.

You're doing everything right. Kids have a mind of their own and do things when they want to. Although he's just a baby, we don't give them enough credit for their intellect. I'm so glad you have a great husband....that makes life so much happier.

Good luck!

It's always disconcerting when our kids don't progress according to the norm. It sounds like you're doing everything right, but as your pediatrician has probably already told you, crawling is not a developmental stage. At nine months my daughter did make the least attempt to crawl. She didn't crawl until she was 11 months old. at her 12 mo. wellness check I asked the doctor when I should worry about walking. She told me that if she wasn't walkind by 18 mo. we'd start physical therapy. Well, she walked at 14 mo. (pretty standard) and she never went through the stage of pulling herself up on things and walking while holding on to things. One day she just bounced on a cushion until she was standing and took ten steps. Currently she's 3 1/2 and amazing...she was just slow to crawl. Enjoy your little boy and try not to worry about the crawling. :-)

I think that he will do it in his own time, but here are some games I played with my son.

-I would crawl around on the floor all around him. I would pretend to be different animals and make animal sounds. He would laugh so hard and we would have a wonderful time.

-Buy him some overalls. Pull the back of the overalls when he is on his belly and help him learn how to keep his belly off of the floor. Pulling the overalls will keep his belly off of the floor.

-Put him on a boppy on his belly. We used to watch a Baby Einstein dvd while we did this. I am not a big advocate of children watching tv, but this will keep his attention at least for a few minutes and help build his muscles in his neck, shoulders and arms.

-I used to lay on the floor facing my son when he was having tummy time. I would engage him in different activities like singing songs, playing with his toys, etc. This encouraged him to play on his belly.

-Play chase with your husband on your hands and knees. We played this all the time and my son loved it. We used to play it will my nephew who was 20 months older than my son and I think this helped the most in teaching my son how to crawl.

I did all of this when my son was very young, like two months old. He first started rolling everywhere, then he did the army crawl and eventually he crawled on his hands and knees. He only crawled this way for about a month before learning to walk. Keep encouraging him and have fun with him. Also accept that he might not crawl the way you want him to. There are so many different ways to crawl. Crawling IS a very important development as research has shown that it improves speech and reading skills. Have fun and rejoice in all of his milestones!

Hi J.! My little guy hated his tummy time too. I just kept at it. I helped teach my son how to crawl by putting his crib mattress on the floor, took off all the bedding so that it was bare. Then I would put my son on one end and a favorite toy on the other end. He would struggle to get there, and I would help him out at times. Seems like this helped him out the most. My mother in law also bought my son a Winnie the Pooh that crawled. This was great toy to kinda help form that connection. Hope this helps, if you have any questions, just ask!

We were told by our Pediatrician that babies need to crawl, it is a necessary link to lots of motor responses and activities.

Our Son is now over forty and doing great, he learned to crawl by mocking our Beagle Dog, "Walter".

If you have a pet this might help the crawl learning curve.

Bill Vann

Another thing you might want to remember is that rolling happens before crawling in part because it help strengthen the body to get ready for crawling. So if you are keeping him on his tummy you might be "shooting yourself in the foot" because he may be trying to strengthen himself to get to that next step.

i had to remind my 5 yr old tonight that my eight month old did not want to touch her back and that he should not try to help her do things like that too much because she just wasn't quite ready for that.

It is good for you to be concerned about his development, but as long as it is in a normal range, I would enjoy the rolly boy as long as that is what he is doing.

As soon as you put him on his tummy put an eye catching toy that he can't resist just 3 inches out of his reach. He will learn have to move to get it. With every success at moving to get it. Put it 6 inches then 9 inches etc.

DO NOT HELP HIM TO SKIP THE CRAWLING PROCESS!!!! He needs that step in develpement for good hand-eye coordination!!! Let him do it in his own time! He will get there and figure it out on his own. Let him roll if he wants to, don't do it for him. This is something he needs to figure out. Sorry to be so blunt, but this is an important step for him, esp. to do on his own terms.

Hi J.,
When my girls, now 10 & 7, were starting to crawl but not quite getting it, I would use a beach towel as your Dr. recommended. It worked and they started crawling shortly following. I wouldn't recommend skipping the crawling stage all together because I have read in several different books that it is an essential part of development. It has something to do with the eye movement and cordination. I've also read that it helps the child with reading when older.

My daughter turns a year on Tuesday, and she just started doing the commando crawl. She rolled everywhere she wanted to go up until about a month ago. Dont worry. He will crawl when he is good and ready. Thinking back to when my son was little, he never did crawl, went from rolling to walking. There is a toy at Wal-mart I saw that rolls in front of the child to help encourage crawling and motor skills, if you want to try that. Good luck, and dont sweat it, he will figure it out and then be off and running in no time.

Hey J.,
Don't worry about the crawling. Mine went rolling, to walking with help, to crawling, to walking on her own. She learned to roll and she got around that way for a little while too. Then at about 9 months she wanted to walk. So we would help her get around by holding her hands. Then one day out of the blue she decided she could crawl on her own. I called it the tripod crawl. lol. It was one hand, one foot and one knee. She was 10 months old. Then a month later she was on her way to walking. Going from chair to chair and then a little further. By the time her birthday came a month later, we were buying her her first pair of shoes. Now, she is 19 months old and trying to run. She is so much fun to play with.
My little one was a month early and I just knew we were going to be delayed in alot of things. Just keep working with him. I learned they all tend to do thing in their own way and their own time. Enjoy. The fun is just beginning.
S.