What time do babies start crawling on their stomachs? What does this crawling machine look like? Possible reasons for the delay

Issues of mental and physical health crumbs are of paramount importance for all parents, so dads and moms closely monitor the development of their baby and rejoice at every new skill that he has mastered. Rolling over, sitting down, crawling, walking - the baby goes through these developmental stages in turn, and each of them becomes a small victory in the child's life. Therefore, it is no wonder that the question “when does the baby start to crawl” is very popular and causes a lot of anxiety. Let's try to figure out how the crawling skill is formed and when it manifests itself.

Stages of crawling

A newborn baby has a number congenital reflexes, among which is the crawling reflex (Bauer). It manifests itself in pushing away the crumbs lying on the stomach from the support placed at its heels. This reflex is the first stage, it precedes the classic crawl and fades by four months.

The next step in the development of the skill is the movement of the baby on the stomach. It can manifest itself in different ways: it is moving around its axis, and crawling in a plastunsky manner, and moving backward or sideways. All these movements are useful for the baby, as they contribute to the development of his muscles. Usually, children make their first attempts at such movements at the age of five or six months, but sometimes later.

Then the baby moves on to mastering the next stage, which precedes the period of active crawling and manifests itself in the fact that the child tries to crawl, raising his body above the surface of the floor or bed. At the same time, he can move like a frog, throwing his arms forward and pulling his legs towards them with a jump; can move backwards, or can get on all fours and, swaying, fall forward. All these albeit sometimes clumsy attempts to move in space will lead to final stage: self-crawling.

Some parents at the pediatrician's appointment are surprised to ask why the child crawls backwards in the first place? It is likely that this movement is related to underdevelopment movement coordination. The baby is simply not yet able to understand what needs to be done in order to move in the opposite direction.

And finally, the most difficult stage has come. It is called the classic cross crawl and is an alternating coordinated action of the arms and legs of a baby standing on all fours. It is considered the most difficult, because it requires not just movement in space, but also skillful control of your body.

Importance of crawling

Although there are babies who skip the crawling phase, this should not be considered a significant achievement. The existence of a period when a child begins to crawl on all fours is natural and due to nature itself. With active crawling, energetic physical activity develops muscles and bones, heart and blood vessels, improves metabolic processes, has a beneficial effect on nervous system. In addition, crawling puts moderate stress on the spine and prepares the body for the next level: learning to walk.

In order for the baby to develop faster, it is recommended to lay it out on a clean, dry and warm floor, which can be covered with a thick blanket or carpet. It is very useful to leave him as undressed as possible, because the stimulation of receptors located on the surface of the skin accelerates the development of the brain.

Many mothers do not focus on the moment when the child begins to crawl in a plastunsky way, but they are very worried about the question of when the baby should master the ability to crawl independently. Since all children go through an individual path of development, it is impossible to unambiguously answer the question of when a baby should start crawling, but orthopedists and pediatricians consider the period from six to nine months to be normal for mastering the skill of crawling.

There are times when the baby does not show interest in crawling - in this case, you should contact the specialists: a pediatrician, neurologist and orthopedist must confirm that everything is in order with the crumbs. If they do not find any developmental abnormalities, you should not be upset: perhaps the baby will either crawl later or skip this stage.

There is a category of children who develop more slowly than others. There may be several reasons for this: ahead of time, transferred to the period prenatal development hypoxia or disease. If your baby belongs to this group of children, then you should remember that his pace of mastering new skills is slightly different, and parents do not need to get upset and even scold the child if he does not live up to their expectations. Their task is to help the baby on the path of mastering crawling and other skills.

If a child started crawling late, it means that his body has only now formed enough to take the next step in development.

Strengthening exercises

To teach a baby to crawl, it is necessary to stimulate his desire to reach out to an object of interest, as well as to develop those muscle groups that are involved in this skill. For this, there is special gymnastics, which will help the baby strengthen the muscles of the back, arms, legs.

Fitball is ideal for strengthening the back. The child is placed on him with his tummy and, holding under the armpits, perform swaying movements back and forth and left and right. In addition to developing the back muscles, this exercise trains coordination, and also contributes to the development of the lateral abdominal muscles.

Training of the muscles of the hands is carried out in a position on the back. Mom arranges her thumbs hands in the fists of the crumbs, and with the rest of her fingers wraps around his wrist. Then he gently raises the baby, first to an angle of forty-five degrees, and later, when he learns to sit, and to a sitting position, then slowly lowers him back. You can develop the arms by crossing them on the child’s chest so that he seems to be hugging himself. Then the arms are spread apart and crossed again so that the right one is on top, then left hand.

Demonstration of strengthening exercises

When the baby is able to fully lift his body, resting his arms on the table or floor, you can perform the exercise "walking on your hands", lifting the back of the body and holding the crumbs.

For the development of the baby's legs, they are bent and unbent in the supine position. Moreover, bending must be carried out in a divorced state, like the legs of a frog. This exercise ends by turning the baby on its stomach: let the baby push off with its legs from the mother’s palms.

The final stage of the exercises can be a massage for the child: gentle stroking and light rubbing skin. They will help relax the muscles after exercise and further prepare them for crawling.

Although crawling is genetically programmed into the development of a newborn, the question of how to teach a child to crawl correctly is not an idle one. Many parents ask how to help their baby learn to crawl.

The easiest option is to be interested. Put a toy in front of the baby at a sufficient distance, thus stimulating his interest and attempts to reach the object. Any attempts by the baby to crawl should be encouraged: praise, kiss; encouraging words will also help in the case when the child is afraid to crawl.

To make it clear to the baby what is being expected of him, adults or older children can clearly show how to crawl. Toddlers love to imitate and will try to repeat these movements with pleasure.

When the baby crawls more confidently, you can complicate his task by placing various obstacles on the floor (twisted towels, pillows, chairs, etc.). Good results shows the use of a special device - the Doman track.

Some mothers put the child's arms on some kind of stand and begin to slowly move it forward - the baby is forced to move the legs at the same time. A similar exercise can be performed by holding the child by the chest, and helping him move his legs bent at the knees.

How not to teach a child to crawl? All children move differently: someone on their back, moving head first; someone is jumping like a frog; and someone even crawls at first only backwards. All of these manifestations are completely normal. You do not need to force the baby to move exactly the way you think is right, and force him to crawl, even if the baby cannot master it for a long time. No need to try to quickly teach a child to crawl, because the development of any skill is a natural process; it will be mastered only at the moment when the baby is ready for it.

If the child does not want to crawl

Despite the fact that crawling is a useful skill that most babies learn, not all children demonstrate this skill: some of them go straight to walking, bypassing the crawling stage. If a child at ten or eleven months or even a year does not want to crawl, but at the same time he is cheerful and active, and doctors have no complaints about him, then parents should not worry. Maybe your baby will crawl a little later, or maybe skip this stage of development altogether. The exercises and massage that we recommended above will help the child strengthen muscles, develop coordination of movements, and this is quite enough.

Thus, the answer to the question "at what age will the baby begin to crawl on its own" depends on the nature of the baby and on the characteristics of his individual development. Should a child be taught to crawl? Certainly, it is necessary. But worrying that by a certain age the baby has not yet crawled is not worth it. Love your baby, help him in development, and he will not be slow to please you with achievements.

The moment when the baby makes attempts to crawl around the apartment on its own, examining everything around, parents are looking forward to. After all, this is the beginning of a new round of growing up and development of the baby in all areas. So at what age does a child begin to crawl, and how should one respond to this? You can find out about this by reading the article to the end.

Age features of training in crawling skills

Many parents raising infants, worries about the question of how many months the child shows timid efforts to crawl. As a rule, this happens between 6 and 9 months, when the motor skills, muscles of the back and arms get even stronger and gain strength. Unconsciously, a baby can reach for an object they like as early as 5 months old, which must necessarily happen under the supervision of adults so that the child does not inadvertently get injured.

The stage when the baby begins to crawl is closely related to the stage when the baby tries to sit and roll over on its own. Therefore, these aspects should not be skipped in any case. In the event that the strong man was born quite well-fed, then you do not need to wait for the first attempts to crawl up to 8 months.

If this actually happened, then it makes sense to show small miracle a pediatrician who can examine and prescribe a course of massage that develops muscles. It is believed that the most correct posture for crawling - all fours, when the body is supported on the knees and palms.

According to the data World Organization health care, and girls can begin to crawl in completely different ways. This process is influenced individual characteristics development of children. Someone crawls, leaning on his stomach, someone is a “worm”, and someone immediately gets on all fours and moves forward. Here, as in many issues, everything is purely individual. Some babies, like caterpillars, crawl, moving first their arms and then their legs, and some copy the jumps of a frog, moving slowly on their stomach, and then making a sharp jump.

It also happens when the child gently sways the torso, gradually rises and begins to crawl independently on his stomach, elbows or all fours. Having presented this picture in detail, you can easily “outline” in your head all attempts at independent movement.

What time does the child begin to crawl - Komarovsky and his personal opinion

Many parents on the Komarovsky forum are very proud of the fact that the baby, having missed that very “creeping” stage of development, immediately stood up and walked. However, crawling for every child is of paramount importance. Since such movements take direct involvement in the formation of the baby's spine and literally "sculpts" a beautiful posture.

The famous doctor Komarovsky claims that crawling on his knees has a positive effect not only on the muscle frame of the baby, but also on the activity of the brain. In addition, the formation of intelligence takes place much faster, because during such a warm-up, not only the body, but also the brain receives a load. Accordingly, starting to crawl is not only not harmful, but even useful!

How to teach a child to crawl on all fours with massage and gymnastics?

Consider 3 ways:

  • Cross. Among the varieties of training, one of the most difficult is cross crawling - this is when the right leg and left hand are alternately put forward first, and then vice versa. It is worth noting quite rightly that with such a movement, the baby most often falls on his back than on his tummy.
  • Using a rubber ball. If the crumbs need to develop the muscles of the whole body, then an excellent way out is to use therapeutic exercises on a rubber ball, as well as various massage techniques. Such exercises well develop the muscle groups responsible for crawling on all fours. As a result, the baby is faster than other children to learn new skills.
  • Classic body stroking. Teach your baby to crawl, you can also use strokes . For home muscle relaxation, light movements in active zones are suitable.

Watch a video on the topic from the YouTube channel

If we are talking about a deeper impact and relaxation, then it makes sense to contact a professional doctor who is fluent in all the techniques and techniques of competent bodily therapy. Usually the field of such procedures is noticed when children begin to crawl a month earlier than their peers.

by the most the right time for massage, the first half hour before and after the ritual of feeding is considered. Such manipulation can easily improve intestinal motility and digestion, solving problems with the baby's stool and sleep. Massage for crawling baby is best done no more than once a day. As for the mother's hands, at this time they should not be wearing any rings, gloves, or anything that can deliver little angel discomfort.

Often parents want their baby to grow up as soon as possible - roll over, sit down, crawl, get up and finally go. However, is it worth considering the fact that the child began to walk independently from six months as a matter of pride?

The need for the crawl phase

In modern pediatrics, it is believed that it is extremely undesirable for children to skip the crawling stage, because upright walking creates a strong load on the baby's spine. When crawling, the back muscles are actively developed, which are responsible for maintaining the spine in an upright position.

In addition, when a child begins to crawl, at the same time his thinking develops, since the harmonious alternation of arms and legs will require complex brain work.

Baby starts to crawl

Age at which babies start crawling

  • gymnastics for hands

The purpose of gymnastics is to strengthen the muscles of the arms and back. The mother takes the child, lying on the back, by the handles, having previously ensured that the baby grabs well thumb mothers. Then the mother gently raises the baby's hands up and lowers them. You can also hold the child’s arms apart, and then cross them on the baby’s chest. After that, you can try to slowly lift the child by the handles (up to an angle of 45 degrees), and then lower him.

  • flip exercises

If the baby is not quite confident in the coups, then this exercise will help speed up the process a little. Mom puts her thumb in the baby's palm and holds his hand tightly. Then the mother begins to direct the body of the crumbs to the coup. Wherein right hand mother holds the left leg of the child, helping him to turn the pelvis.

  • exercise "frog"
massage to start crawling

Mom takes the legs of the child, who lies on his back, by the shins and smoothly begins to bend them into a frog pose, and then unbend them just as smoothly. Turning the baby on his tummy, it is useful to give him the opportunity to push off with bent legs from the folded mother's hands several times and move forward.

When performing exercises, you need to calmly and affectionately communicate with the baby, creating a favorable environment for him. emotional background and developing a positive attitude towards exercise.

Watch the video: how to teach a child to crawl

Firming massage

Of course, a special therapeutic massage prescribed by a doctor can only be performed by a health worker. At the same time make simple restorative massage to the child, so that he begins to crawl more actively, mom and dad can at home. The main thing to remember is that the skin small child very gentle, and at home it is best to limit yourself to such a technique as stroking. You can not perform massage earlier than half an hour before or after feeding, limit yourself to once a day. On the hands of the mother during the procedure, rings and other jewelry should not be present. The duration of the massage can be about 5-10 minutes, but if the baby does not like it, and tears begin, then it is better to postpone this matter for now.

Moms take note!


Hello girls) I didn’t think that the problem of stretch marks would affect me, but I’ll write about it))) But I have nowhere to go, so I’m writing here: How did I get rid of stretch marks after childbirth? I will be very glad if my method helps you too ...

Stroking hands, feet, back

It is most convenient to carry out this procedure on a special changing table. Mom strokes the child's hands both inside and outside from the hand to the forearm. Leg massage is carried out in sequence from the feet to the thigh, bypassing the knee joints. We turn the baby over on the tummy and start stroking the back up and down. After light and pleasant strokes to strengthen the muscles of the arms, legs and back, you can knead them a little in the sequence described above.

Getting the baby to crawl

It happens that the baby is already crawling well on the crib in a plastunsky way or like a frog on all fours, but does not want to crawl into any on the floor. How then to help the child start to crawl?

  • We teach and help

Convinced of proper development baby, from five months you can prepare the baby for crawling. The best place is a clean floor covered with a rug or blanket. Putting the child on the floor and placing a roller under the breast, you need to show him your favorite toy and put it at a short distance from him so that he wants to reach for it. The heels of the baby should rest against the wall or in the arms of the mother, helping him to push forward.

You can put your favorite toys or new items in front of your baby, close enough that the baby wants to take them, but far enough that he had to crawl to them instead of reaching them. Be sure to praise the child if he managed to crawl a little. Let the baby still not parse your words too much, but he very accurately feels the intonation of approval.


  • illustrative example

Crawling adults or other crawling babies nearby will serve as an excellent role model for a child. This action will help identify all dangerous places and objects in space, and prevent unforeseen precedents. Encouragement from parents and a friendly atmosphere will push the baby to more active efforts to crawl. After some success, the tasks need to be complicated, creating obstacles in the way of the baby.

Little children who have learned to crawl at least a little love to overcome various obstacles: low barriers, passages under chairs, etc. Use this to make crawling more active. You can buy a special track with small obstacles in the store, or you can make it yourself or use it as such "obstacles" simple means, which are always at hand, for example, rolls of towels.

Summarize

  • On the stomach in a plastunsky way:

On the stomach, the child begins to crawl after six months, depending on the development and readiness of the body. If the baby does not show attempts to crawl after 8 months, you should contact a specialist. The efforts of patient and smart parents will help prevent many diseases and poor development of the baby. To activate the muscles, doctors recommend practicing professional massage and exercises for mastering the skill of crawling.

Some children, having learned to roll over on their stomach, begin to try to move with the help of their arms and legs, spin in circles or move backwards. Statistics show that children usually begin to crawl in a plastunsky way from 8 months. Raising the torso, the baby rests on his hands and moves, pulling up the body.

  • On knees:

From 9 months, the baby can stand on all fours and sway, preparing himself for further crawling. Timely crawling on all fours will serve to develop the back muscles of the baby, preparing him for walking skills. A child can fully crawl from 10 months, when the arms and legs move synchronously and confidently. Cross crawling is the pinnacle of toddler skill.

Girls are ahead of boys in development, so they start crawling earlier.

Importance of crawling

and, finally, get rid of terrible complexes fat people. I hope the information is useful to you!

Crawling helps strengthen the musculoskeletal system, but many pediatricians believe that this skill has a beneficial effect even on general development: affects intelligence, promotes rapid formation speech. Children who have learned to crawl begin to sit faster than their peers, so you should not skip this stage of development.

When the baby starts crawling

At how many months the child begins to crawl, many mothers are interested. Pediatricians believe that children show the first reflex attempts to crawl from birth. You have already noticed when you turn the baby on his tummy, put a support under his legs, the baby is actively repelled from it. However, you should not rejoice at the rapid progress, this stage will pass after 3 months.

At about 5 months, most babies have already mastered an independent flip of the torso face down, actively moving their arms and legs, thereby pushing their body forward. During this period, you need to be especially careful, because it often happens that turning away for a second, the baby can be found on the floor. Do not worry when the child begins to crawl incorrectly sideways or backwards - this is the norm for most children of this age.

When does a baby start crawling on all fours?

In order for the baby to master real cross crawling, when the arms and legs move synchronously, more than six months must pass. Doctors believe that children crawl well at 9 months, but you should not be guided by such a strict framework. The time when children begin to crawl on all fours is determined strictly individually: some children master the skill in six months, other children in a year or more.

Timely crawling will only benefit:

  • the baby improves coordination and tries to navigate in space;
  • there is a strengthening of the spine and muscles;
  • develops mobility and flexibility of the joints;
  • sleep is normalized.

When the baby starts to crawl and sit

Parents often assume that when a baby begins to crawl on all fours, then it's time to take vertical position Simply put, it's time to get up and sit down. In practice, the age of 7 months is the period when they are only trying to make attempts to move independently. The task of parents is to help them, not to force them to do more.

The optimal period when children begin to crawl and sit is from 9 months to a year and a half. Having made the first attempts to get comfortable while sitting, your baby will stay more confident. This is because much more is available in this position: you can reach the desired toy, it is better to see mom and dad, learn new games. At this time, they begin to teach the children to the potty or put them at the children's table.

When the boys start crawling

It is believed that children of the same age, but of different sexes, will begin to get on all fours at different times. This is true, for example, girls learn all the necessary skills faster. It is difficult to answer exactly what time boys start to crawl, it largely depends on the individual abilities of the child. It is generally accepted that babies try to get up at 8 months and up to a year and a half.

What time do girls start crawling?

From six months to 9 months is the optimal period when girls begin to crawl. As a rule, newborn female babies learn not only crawling lessons earlier, but also learn to get up faster, then walk and talk. If by this time your baby is not yet trying to move on her own, you should not sound the alarm. You should know that every newborn is different. If the baby is healthy and active, then the time has not yet come.

How to teach a baby to crawl

Until the baby himself is ready to attempt to crawl or sit, all the efforts of the parents will be in vain. Only after the baby learns to roll over on his stomach or try to kneel, it is worth stimulating his actions. There are several rules for teaching a child to crawl:

  • Regularly stretch the muscles of the legs and arms, even monthly baby Do a simple back massage.
  • Do light gymnastics. It’s good if you yourself can stop being afraid, master the exercises on the fitball or teach the baby to swim.
  • At 6 months, the muscles of the arms and legs of the baby are very weak, so squatting down is not easy: the body sways in different sides, the baby cannot keep balance for a long time. Help your child at this stage by holding the ass, imitating the movement of the arms and legs.

Video: how to help a child learn to crawl

What time a child begins to crawl depends on his physical capabilities, character and, to some extent, on the desire of the parents to gently, but effectively and purposefully contribute to his development. When a child begins to crawl on all fours, he opens up many opportunities for learning about the world. But only if the parents allow him to do this, do not keep him in the crib during the wakeful period, or whatever worse than that- in diapers.

In books for parents, it is written at how many months the child begins to roll over and crawl on his stomach, these are approximate dates. Babies begin to roll onto their tummy at about 3 months of age, and about a month later, from tummy to back. And after 5 months they begin to crawl.

Usually, children begin to develop their skills with moving on their stomach. That is, the baby moves while lying on his stomach with the help of movements of the arms and legs. When he gets a little stronger, he will get on all fours. But it won't crawl right away. And it will be funny to swing back and forth for some more time.

Children begin to crawl in different ways. Somebody " the classic way”, someone moves not forward, but backward, and someone in a circle. But if the child has learned to skillfully move on all fours, he can go a little later than his peers. There is such an interesting observation among pediatricians. However, this should not be intimidating. Crawling is a very useful skill. And he is recommended to teach all children, even those who hardly crawled, but immediately went (there are such babies).

1. Do not swaddle while awake. Children under six months sleep a lot. There is not much time left for games, so do not limit their physical capabilities. IN last resort- swaddle only before going to bed. While awake, the child should be wearing sliders and a vest that does not hinder movement.

2. If the child is awake and in a good mood, lay out his floor, covered with a warm blanket. Make sure there are no drafts. Do not leave in the crib - there is too little room for movement. And you should not leave it on a sofa or bed that has been moved apart. It's easy to miss, and the baby will fall down.