All about crawling

“Crawling plays a very important role in preparing children for important tasks in the years to come. It helps baby with his gross and fine motor development and gets the muscles ready for walking and running in the future.” – Christelle du Plessis, an educational psychologist based in Johannesburg.

Most babies start to crawl by the time they reach about eight months, but don’t panic if your little one isn’t exactly on schedule or up to speed with their peers. The timing on developmental achievements can vary greatly from one baby to the next. Just enjoy the amazing experience of watching them grow and learn. Find out all about crawling, which is one of the many fascinating milestones in their young lives right here:

The midline

As one of the first steps towards crawling, most babies learn to cross the so-called midline. This means that one side of their body can cross over to the other side by moving across its centre, or midline. For example, the right hand can cross over the midline and pick up an object on the left side of the body. The ability to cross the midline is needed for a number of basic body skills and everyday movements and activities. It’s also one of the markers of school readiness. A baby who crawls will go for a toy, then naturally sit over one leg to play with it. This involves a twist in the body, which requires crossing the midline.

Problem-solving

Don’t worry if you observe your little one try out different ways of crawling to start with. While they’re busy mastering the art of crawling, babies experiment with different methods, finally choosing the one that works best for them. In this way they learn about problem solving, the cause-and-effect relationship between movement and direction, and they get positive reinforcement. This kind of learning process becomes very important as your baby’s motor skills develop.

“When our twins started crawling, we had to do some major baby-proofing. Things like plug covers and safety gates became regulars in our house. We also had to ensure there were no small items, loose cords, hanging table cloths, etc. that they could get hold of. Life also became really busy around that time and we rarely sat down anymore.” – Christine Kenny, mother of twin boys and blogger at The Kenny Family. 

Cross-crawling

Steadily, baby learns to use their arms and legs in reciprocally. Babies discover that moving is more efficient if their elbow and opposite knee move at the same time and speed. This movement is called 'cross-crawling' and it prepares her for many other physical skills, including efficient ways of running, throwing and balancing. Like all of the new abilities she’s busy learning, this one takes some practice, so don’t be concerned if she doesn’t quite get it right from the get-go.

Hand eye coordination

Baby’s eye-hand coordination is stimulated and her hands, fingers and shoulders are strengthened as she crawls after objects to pick up and hold or throw. As she gets more mobile and starts to interact with her surroundings you can expect to be a much more active parent, following her around on her exploratory missions.

“By crawling, baby develops an understanding of spatial relations, i.e. an awareness of her own body in space. This will help teach her how far to reach to pick up a toy or when she encounters an obstacle, to plan how to get around it.” – Christelle du Plessis, an educational psychologist based in Johannesburg

What if baby skips crawling?

Don’t worry if your baby skips crawling and goes straight to walking. To help your toddler gain the developmental benefits of crawling, have fun with them by playing games on your hands and knees. This may be as simple as making or buying a cardboard tunnel for your child to crawl through or playing games where you pretend to be a horse or dog and chase after each other on all fours. How about a fun game where you have to go after the ball on your hands and knees? Don’t panic if your child's progress with crawling is slow and remember that you’re doing all the right things. Each baby develops at their own unique pace. If your child’s lack of crawling bothers you, have a chat with your health professional to rule out any underlying problems.

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