View full version. View full version If a child does not crawl at 9 months
Everything is different. One begins to sit at 5 months, and at 8 months he is already trying to stand and even take the first steps around the perimeter of the crib, while the other at this age is still just mastering the sitting position. There are children who seem to have no intention of sitting at all - they tend to crawl straight away, since in this position they are most comfortable and safe.
About skills
If a child is ahead of the calendar development, this causes pride and delight in the parents. And if he lags even slightly behind his peers, mothers begin to sound the alarm and blame themselves for everything. Many people try to help their baby learn new skills, and rightly so. With questions about how to teach a baby to crawl and whether it is worth doing it at all, they often turn to doctors.
Evgeny Komarovsky calls on parents to abandon value judgments regarding their own child. Each child has their own norms and terms of development; they can differ significantly from the statistical average. Parents are especially concerned about the physical development of toddlers - one child crawls at 5 months, another does not sit or crawl at 7 months.
The best thing parents can do for their child is to stop paying attention to neighbors and girlfriends who persistently instill uncertainty about the proper development of your child. If you create all the conditions for the normal development and growth of the child, and also regularly visit the pediatrician, and the physical development of your offspring does not raise any questions or concerns, then there is absolutely nothing to worry about.
About crawling
There are children who do not crawl. At all. From a sitting position, they immediately begin to stand up and take their first steps. The crawling stage, according to Evgeniy Komarovsky, is very useful and necessary for the health of a person’s back. That is why crawling should be encouraged and supported in every possible way. If the child begins to crawl on his own, it will be easier for parents. If he categorically refuses to move on his belly or on all fours, this is a reason for parents to seriously think about whether they did everything right.
Often, mothers and fathers, in an effort to see their little one walking upright as soon as possible, ignore crawling altogether. They put the child on his feet and lead him by the hand, buy him various devices that help the child stay upright (walkers, jumpers, etc.), or they could simply crawl with him. The benefits of this would be much greater.
Attempts to verticalize a fat, plump child or an overweight child are especially dangerous. In such babies, crawling should be encouraged with double enthusiasm. And all walkers and jumpers should be hidden as far away from him (and his parents) as possible.
How to teach?
The ability to crawl is inherent in nature; parents should only help the baby a little to “remember” this. Typically, the process of moving in space using crawling begins at the age of 5-6 to 8-9 months. If an older child does not sit or crawl, it is worth consulting with a doctor to find out what the reason is - muscle weakness of the back and limbs or the individual characteristics of the baby. Stimulating crawling is a necessary set of measures.
Preparatory stage
The preparatory stage consists of stimulation and creation of motivation. If a child is not interested in crawling, he will not crawl. This means that we need to create a need for him to crawl. Place in front of him a beautiful bright toy or a very interesting object that the baby cannot reach without trying to move his body at least a little forward from the position lying on his stomach. If the child is already sitting, this will make the task easier; if not yet, you should not force him to sit down, it is better to stimulate crawling.
The main stage of training includes a healing massage to strengthen the muscles of the back, neck and abdomen, as well as the classes themselves. Ideas about what position is best to crawl in are just parental ideas. Babies themselves choose a comfortable body position for themselves. Even if from the outside it seems that the child is crawling incorrectly, pushing off with only one leg (or crawling on his stomach, spreading his arms and legs and waving them), there is no reason to intervene and try to change anything.
Slow crawl
Quite often, children who are helped to get on all fours “freeze” in this position for a long time. They can sway, as if checking whether they maintain balance, but they are in no hurry to move forward. Komarovsky recommends not to rush such “slow” toddlers anywhere. They go through an important stage, studying the vestibular capabilities of their own body.
Wise parents will help them with this - they will turn on rhythmic music or begin to recite poems and rhymes in time with the movement.
The specialist recommends that parents do not search the Internet for a video about how to teach a child to crawl at 5 months using the Komarovsky system (this is a very popular request). Such a video does not exist, since the age at which a child begins to crawl is different. The little one needs active help from parents when he himself is ready for a new way of moving, and this often happens much later than 5 months.
However, Evgeniy Komarovsky still suggests a few techniques that will help teach a baby to crawl.
- Personal example. From the outside it looks funny and sometimes even absurd, but a better way to teach a child something than a personal example has not yet been invented. If the baby is lying on his stomach, crawl next to him on his belly. If he is already on all fours, stand next to him and show him how to move. Children who are afraid to move forward can be helped by supporting them with the palm of their hand under their tummy. If the whole family, including brothers and sisters, gets down on all fours for a couple of days, it will be absolutely ideal.
- The mission must be achievable. If you place a toy too far from your baby in an attempt to get him interested in crawling, your baby will quickly realize that getting to it is difficult, difficult, or even impossible. Then he will stop trying and come to terms with the inaccessibility of the desired object. Alternatively, he may start screaming heart-rendingly, demanding this toy. But if you place it nearby, and move it a little further every day, then the crawling process will occur naturally, with mutual interest of the parties.
- Movement training. It is worth adding new exercises to your daily gymnastics or massage procedures that will imitate crawling and train muscle memory. You can put your child on his back and alternately bend and straighten his legs at the knees. This is not only a useful procedure, but also a fun game. You can put a soft roller under your child’s tummy, take him by the legs and “roll” his stomach a little on the roller, while the baby should rest his hands on the hard surface of the floor.
Another effective exercise is reminiscent of the movements of a frog - place the baby on his stomach on a hard surface, alternately bend both legs at the knees and slightly spread them apart (this will be similar to the way baby frogs swim). After some time in this position, you can place your palm so that the baby’s feet rest against it, then the baby will learn to push off and make the first inertial movement forward.
Walking on your hands will help strengthen your arms and shoulder girdle. If the baby leans well on his hands while lying on his stomach, gently grab his legs and lift them slightly, lightly push the baby forward so that he begins to “step over” with his hands. Do not do this too quickly, otherwise the baby may hit his head hard.
It is enough to repeat these exercises 2-3 times a day for 15-20 minutes. If parents carefully observe the timing and systematicity of classes, the child will master crawling in 4-6 weeks.
Where to crawl?
A cramped playpen or limited space in a crib does not in any way contribute to the development of a child's crawling skills. To make the process go faster, it is best to organize a place for your baby to exercise on the floor. You should not do this on a cold floor; it is best to cover it with a warm, but not very thick blanket, and lay diapers on top. You should not practice crawling on a sofa or bed, otherwise you will inevitably fall.
Safety
Dr. Komarovsky advises mothers to look at the world through the eyes of a child in order to better understand what he wants and what he is afraid of. To do this, he recommends that mothers lie on the floor, first on their backs, then on their stomachs, and take a good look around. It will immediately become obvious where and what sticks out and lies poorly, which attracts the child’s attention. Wires, dangerous corners, inviting dresser drawers - all this will become obvious when viewed from below, and it will be easier for mom and dad to understand how to protect the child.
Some parents believe that to ensure safety it is enough to buy a playpen for their baby. Evgeny Komarovsky emphasizes that a playpen is an excellent way to create a safe space for a baby, but only for the time when the mother needs to leave (to the kitchen, to the bathroom, to the toilet).
If the mother is free and in the same room with the child, there is no need for a playpen. While the mother is reading or working on the computer, it will be much more beneficial for the child to crawl on the floor.
If you decide to buy a playpen, then you can choose a multifunctional design that quickly transforms into a changing table, a crib, or an electronic rocking chair with music and a night light. Many playpens have wheels on the legs, with their help you can easily move the playpen with your child around the apartment. This way, the baby can cook dinner in the kitchen or vacuum in the living room with his mother.
When do you need to consult a doctor?
If parents regularly do exercises and massage for a couple of months, but there are no noticeable results (besides, the child is already 9-10 months old, but he does not sit or crawl), this is a reason for a visit to doctors - an orthopedist and a neurologist. If no health problems are detected, parents will have to resort to certain pedagogical “tricks”.
Little tricks
- All children are greedy. If you invite a friend to visit with a child who already crawls or even walks perfectly, and leave the children to play in the same space, the guest who is more mobile will quickly take possession of all the toys of your lazy little one. Usually the sense of ownership takes over, and the child begins to make attempts to move around to take back his possessions. Maybe this will not happen on the first visit of friends (and not on the second), but it will definitely happen.
- All children love to play. If you make small reins from a sheet, which are placed under the child’s arms to provide support from above, and equip the surface according to Glen’s method (an inclined surface on the main one), then such leisure time will be perceived by the child as a game, and crawling will become the natural ending of this game.
- Convenience. To crawl with pleasure, a child should not feel uncomfortable. Check how spacious his clothes are and whether the seams, fly, zippers and button fasteners are in the way. In summer, it is better to carry out such exercises in one diaper. In winter, the child should be dressed lighter than at rest, because active movements will increase sweating.
You should start actively helping your child learn to crawl only if the baby himself is “lazy” or is slightly behind in development. It is better not to disturb babies who have independently chosen their crawling style and have already begun to implement an individual development program, even if the child moves with only one leg or even does it backwards.
Pediatric practice shows that a child who has learned to crawl quickly will later begin to walk. Therefore, the transition from crawling to standing must also be timely, correct and smooth.
See below for more details in the short video of Dr. Komarovsky.
- When it starts to crawl
- Doctor Komarovsky
At 9 months, a child makes every effort to explore the world around him, and his first attempts to master a new space are that he begins to crawl. This is a lot of work for a baby, because you need to travel long distances if you want, for example, to get to your mother’s kitchen.
However, these difficulties are a large and necessary stage in his preparation for walking. The kid overcomes all difficulties with enviable persistence, trains the muscles of his arms and legs, especially if his elders encourage him in this.
Reasons why a 9 month old baby is not crawling
Not all children develop in the same way and it happens that after reaching 9 months of age the baby does not crawl, which causes concern for some parents.
You only need to worry if the cause is nervousness or another disease that has affected the baby’s psyche. In this case, parents should consult a doctor, since they themselves are not able to help him. Another reason for a child’s refusal to crawl is a disorder of the musculoskeletal system.
Other reasons why a 9-month-old child does not crawl are not so significant and should not alarm parents:
- Child's illness.
- The character of the child.
- Child's body weight.
If a child is sick, then his activity is reduced, because the body fights infection. This phenomenon is temporary and as soon as the baby gets better, he will catch up and crawl even faster.
All children are different in character, some are more active, and some are less, some are naturally curious and from the first 4 months they begin to study everything and grab with their hands and pull into their mouths. Others are more careful, they are calm, they study the world around them, sitting in their mother’s arms. More active children, as a rule, begin to crawl earlier.
If a child is overweight, this often becomes the reason for his reluctance to crawl; children with this weight are characterized by inactivity.
Walk before crawling
Some parents worry if their child is not crawling yet, but it’s time to start walking. There is no need to worry about this; some children simply skip this stage in their development; they immediately begin to try to walk. When the child turns one year old, he begins to stand on his feet and begins to walk with the help of your support.
And yet, it is better to be careful; if a child is not crawling for 9 months, you need to contact an orthopedic specialist; you may need to perform massage and gymnastics to strengthen the baby’s muscles.
Some well-known pediatricians believe that crawling is an essential stage before walking, which helps in the development of a child. If the orthopedist has not found any pathology in the child, and he still does not crawl, you can find him an example to follow.
Invite your friends who have a child your child's age who can crawl. Your child will also not remain indifferent, because you can calmly crawl to the toys and take the one they like.
06.03.2009, 15:57
Hello, Polina!
My son is 9.5 months old, weight 9200, height 73
We have the following problem: weak muscles (hypotonia). A neurologist diagnoses muscular dystonia
The child does not want to sit, does not sit down on his own, does not hold the seated position, does not stand on all fours, and therefore does not crawl and has absolutely no support on his legs. When I put it on, he immediately sits down.
The child, it seems to me, is very calm, practically does not give me any trouble, he can lie down, play with toys, loves to chat and sing in his own language, and is very smiling. But, on the other hand, I constantly bother him, trying to encourage him to be active: ah:
I read a lot of your consultations for children with similar problems, we do the exercises that you advised them, but, in my opinion, we don’t succeed much.
I'll tell you what we can and can't do:
1. We started turning over in all directions at 7.5 months, but now we really love it.
2. When we lie on our stomach, he lies on his elbows, but does not straighten his arms. He can lift one hand, then the other, and take a toy. It can also spin in circles on its stomach.
3. When I try to put him on all fours, he can stand for about 2 seconds without support, then he immediately bends his arms and his legs spread apart.
4. If I try to sit him down, he immediately reclines his back and absolutely does not want to sit on his own. When he sits on my lap, his back seems to be straight, but he pulls it away from me. Also, when he sits in his high chair, he pulls himself up to the table. (I try not to plant it myself, because I’m afraid that the back is not ready yet, I’m afraid of the curvature of the spine).
Every day we practice on a gymnastic ball, back and forth, left and right, circular movements, “wheelbarrow” on the ball. But it seems to me that we are not doing very well, although he really likes playing on the ball. I'm just worried that I'm not doing the exercises correctly and therefore I'm not getting the results I want.
We are now doing our third course of massage.
I really look forward to your return to the forum, and I really hope for your help!
Thank you in advance!
09.03.2009, 16:12
Mariam, good afternoon. I have additional questions:
How long have you been doing exercises on the ball? What do you think you're doing wrong?
Have you tried the sitting position in the saddle? if not, do a search and try it.
How does the child sit down/pull up by your hands (the head lags behind the body, at the same level, ahead)?
Have you tried the light all fours pose? (by search)
On the ball - do you get the boy to stand on his feet?
Where does the boy spend his waking hours?
ZY Massage can promote passive behavior in a child. These are my personal observations, I have no evidence, but experience shows that when there is an active influence on a child, and not interaction with him, the child learns a passive model of behavior. It’s not customary on this forum to refer to experience:eek:, but I’ll take the risk anyway.
09.03.2009, 20:35
Good evening, Polina.
Thank you very much for responding to my message.
We do exercises on the ball for about a month, for 10 minutes, 2-3 times a day. Maybe you need to do it more often?
Before this, we did two courses of massage and, to be honest, I didn’t really notice the result. Then, all the doctors, the pediatrician, and the neurologist insisted on a third course. We found another massage therapist who promises to provide a stimulating massage. Again I hope for this massage: bn: Everyone says that the jumps after massages are colossal. And I'm still waiting for when we will have this leap:bn:.
I hope I wrote everything clearly.
Thank you for your participation!
10.03.2009, 00:37
We do exercises on the ball for about a month, for 10 minutes, 2-3 times a day. Maybe you need to do it more often?
No, that's enough.
Polina, if I understand correctly, an exercise on a ball until the legs stop is when the child lies with his stomach on the ball, I first tilt it forward and then back until the legs stop? Should he stand there a little or just touch the floor?
The child stands as long as he can, as soon as he stops leaning on his legs, swing forward again.
We tried the position in the saddle, but Timur doesn’t really like it, he’ll sit for a little while, maybe push away from me for a while, and then arch over, no matter how I entice him.
Even if it’s a little bit, he’s getting used to sitting like this.
When I take him by the arms to sit him down, his head is level with his body.
use this as an exercise. Bring the baby to 45-50 degrees, rock back and forth several times and lower the baby to the surface.
We tried lightweight all-fours, Timur can literally sit on his knees for 5-10 seconds, and then his legs spread out.
Put your hand around the boy's butt and legs so that he gets used to standing like this. From time to time, let him go so that he can stand on his own. The baby may want to climb over your leg. This is also good, because when climbing over, your legs bend at the knees.
Timurka spends almost all his waking hours on the floor.
Try and write - we will add and clarify.
19.03.2009, 12:50
Hello, Polina! We have been practicing for a week and a half, but there are no results yet.
For clarity, I will write what we can do and what we are bad at.
Back position:
1. Does he raise his legs, if so, does the sacrum rise at the same time? Previously he raised his legs, grabbed his toes with his hands, but now he just lies down: or he just lies down with his legs stretched out or his legs are bent, his feet are on the floor.
2. Does the hand reach for the toy, does it straighten the arm completely, or just the forearm - stretches and straightens.
3. When sitting up, the head lags behind the body, at the same level, leads - at the same level, sometimes leads, but does not always grab my fingers with its hands.
On the stomach:
Does he lie down with support on his elbows? How long. - Lies with support on his elbows for 10-15 minutes, then rolls over onto his back. Or he just spins around the room from his stomach to his back and vice versa.
Can he pick up toys in this position? He reaches for the toy easily, can raise his hand and take the toy.
Can he straighten his arms at the elbows - NO, he DOES NOT STRAIGHTEN his ARMS:bn:.
Coups:
Rolls over easily from stomach to back and vice versa.
Fine motor skills:
reaches out and takes the toy - reaches out, grabs it, pulls it into his mouth, lifts it above his face and looks at it for a long time.
does it transfer from hand to hand - yes. He also loves to hold a toy in both hands and bang each other.
It seems to me that the whole problem is that he has weak support on his arms, he doesn’t like the “wheelbarrow”, he stands on the arms for a little while, and then starts crying and presses them to his body. Maybe do some more exercises to support your arms?
His legs also have little support, but now he can at least stand for 2-3 seconds leaning on some kind of support, for example, on a sofa, standing on the floor.
Absolutely does not want to sit on his own.
When I sit him on my knees with his back straight, he constantly pushes away from me, as if rocking back and forth. But if I sit him down, he immediately falls back and starts whining.
He does not sit on the “saddle” for a long time, he bends over.
You can't stand on all fours either. “Lightweight all fours” doesn’t last long, about five minutes at most.
Polina, please tell me. I read in one book that if a child does not want to stand on all fours, you can take a diaper, wrap it around the child’s body and lift the child by it. We tried this yesterday, Timur liked it. Of course, mostly he stood on all fours with the help of a stretched diaper, which I was holding, but when I weakened a little, I felt that he was slightly leaning on his arms and legs. Is it possible to do this?
Timur's head works well, he loves to play fetch, he loves to play with a ball (when he lies on his stomach, I give him a ball, and he gives me a ball). Speaks different syllables: ma-ma, pa-pa, ba-ba, dyah-dya, na-na, ta-ta, yes-da, nya-nya...
Maybe we still need to add some exercises?
And one more thing... Polina, please tell me. I recently read on the Internet about children with cerebral palsy and panic gripped me... I am very afraid that because Timur starts doing everything so late and is not sitting, we may be given such a diagnosis. Of course, I understand that without seeing the child, it will be difficult for you to answer my question, but still... Do we have signs of this terrible disease??? How can I notice these signs myself, and who should I show it to? The doctors who are observing my child (a pediatrician, two neurologists) did not tell me anything like this, but I am afraid that they are waiting until we are 1 year old, because I heard that they try not to make this diagnosis until a year. I'm afraid to lose time...
Our diagnoses: muscle hypotonia, rickets.
Thank you in advance!
19.03.2009, 17:22
Good afternoon.
Let's add hand-support exercises:
*Rolling on a roller. The more the child moves forward, the more he relies on his arms, the more difficult it is to hold his head. As soon as you drop your head, we move it back; when you raise it, you move it forward again.
*On your feet. You sit on the floor, feet forward. The baby is across your legs, resting his hands on the surface. Find a position where he doesn't drop his head. We help you feel the support in your hands. We take the elbow with one hand and do not let it bend. With the other hand, press the shoulder towards the floor. The pressure is not constant, but in jerks. Pressed and released. Do it alternately on both hands.
*An adult sits on the floor, legs extended forward. The child lies across his legs and toys are placed in front of him. As the child gets used to this position, he needs to be gradually moved forward so that the weight falls more and more on his hands.
Encourage movement on the floor: any.
You can do all fours with a scarf/diaper, but try not to hold the baby up, just support the body a little.
Use the sitting position for now only in exercises, let it swing on your knees, you rock it from side to side (very slowly).
Place him on the sofa from your knees, that is, teach him to stand up to the sofa.
Regarding cerebral palsy. Do you want to be afraid? There's a lot on the Internet:eek: Why did you choose cerebral palsy? Why are you not satisfied with the explanation that your face-to-face doctors give you and which you can see even through the screen: decreased muscle tone?
(I'm not joking, I'm swearing:bb:)
Yes, at this age children stop being interested in their legs, so don’t be alarmed.
19.03.2009, 19:39
Good evening, Polina!
We will definitely start doing the added exercises today.
You swore at me, but I still felt better:ax: Thank you very much!
24.05.2009, 21:45
Hello, Polina!
I want to tell you about our results, about what we have learned and about what we cannot yet do.
I didn’t write to you for a long time, because at first there weren’t any special results, and then we went to Egypt for a whole month to get vitamin D (an orthopedist advised us, she said that all our problems were due to rickets, that we needed sunshine). I want to say that the sun helped us a lot; after a week of being in the sun, Timur began to sit confidently, and after another week he began to crawl on his belly. While on vacation, Timur grew stronger before our eyes, we took a gymnastic ball with us, so we did not stop our activities.
Polina, we can’t crawl on all fours. On the floor (laminate) his legs spread out, and on the sofa he more and more often gets on all fours, sways a little back and forth and spreads out.
There is also support for the legs if he is holding on to something. He doesn’t get up on his own in the crib, but if you put him in, he can stand for 5-10 minutes, he can dance, he can hold on with one hand, but he doesn’t move his legs.
Timur is also not good at walking, (we hold him by the armpits) he tries, but somehow hesitantly, sometimes he forgets to step with his left leg.
Also, Timur does not kneel at all. Yesterday we specially bought him a developmental table so that he could get down on his knees and play. He doesn’t get up on his own, but if I put him on his knees, he’ll stand for a little while, and then his legs will spread out and he’ll sit on his butt.
To sum it up:
Timur can: crawl on his belly, sit (if placed), stand holding onto something (if placed).
Doesn't know how to: walk, crawl on all fours, stand on his knees, doesn't walk well.
Polina, please tell me what other exercises we can add?
Thank you in advance!
25.05.2009, 09:26
Now the boy needs all fours. If your legs are spreading, then buy a carpet and lay it on the floor, securing it with furniture. This is the main thing that needs to be done now.
Think less about walking, because the main difficulty is the child’s inability to change positions. Well, think for yourself: the boy doesn’t know how to sit down or stand up, and you drive him. For what? To walk, you need to transfer your body weight in an upright position, and you learn this by changing positions. So, first, all fours. From all fours, Timur will kneel, stand up to the support and sit down.
Encourage independent walking with support.
25.05.2009, 12:33
Thank you, we will learn to stand and crawl on all fours. I will definitely write about the results.
21.06.2009, 11:57
Hello, Polina!
A week and a half ago, Timur learned to crawl on all fours and sit up on his own, and yesterday he learned to stand up on his own, now he can’t sit him down: bo: Now we just have to learn to walk. Would you like to know the best way to do this? Maybe lead by the armpits more often (he likes it) Is it possible to lead by the arms holding them at the level of the child’s chest? Do I need to continue exercising on the ball? (now Timur is no longer so interested)
Thank you in advance!
21.06.2009, 18:42
I congratulate you on your achievements. :ay:
The boy will learn to walk on his own if he has reliable support. If you drive, you will learn later + the child’s feet may be positioned incorrectly (internal rotation, “toes”). Among other things, a passive model of behavior is formed. Instead: I see something interesting ---- I get to it ---- I get what I want, you get: I see something interesting ---- I start whining ---- they will take me there.
On the street, of course, you can’t do it for long, but at home, not at all. Let him crawl, stand up, take a toy, sit down to play, etc.
