Is crawling a milestone???

cubbie

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 3:19 am

My dd is a little over 8 months. She was in a harness from 3-7 months, and since she no longer has the harness, she's progressing really well, she started rolling straightaway, her leg muscles are really strengthening, she goes backwards, in circles and rocks, but her legs are not yet strong enough to push her forward. The thing is that she now spends a lot of time rather than trying to crawl, pulling up to a monkey walk position on hands and toes, we weren't worried about any of this, both tipat chalav and her ped are pleased with her progress. But what if she skips crawling and goes straight to monkey walking - my friend said that new studies show that to be problematic and babies have to crawl or they have developmental problems later on - I had never heard such a thing, and always understood that crawling wasn't a milestone because some babies skip it.

lech lecha08

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 5:43 am

There is some research that says that motions of crawling help the brain develop. Even if a kid skips crawling, you should try to get them to do the motions even if it's a later age.
That being said, one of mine never crawled. She did a scooting thing and only "figured out" crawling when she started daycare, already furniture walking, and saw the younger kids doing it.

c.c.cookie

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 7:16 am

lech lecha08 wrote:

I was also told it's okay if a kid skips crawling, but when they get a bit older you should play "animal" games with them on all four.

ora_43

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 7:58 am

I've heard that crawling is not a developmental milestone. Many kids I know never crawled. And of those who did, many had their own unique styles of crawling and didn't do the traditional hands-and-knees crawl (they did like, hands and toes, elbows and knees, army-style crawl, etc).

If your baby doesn't crawl there will always be at least one person around who tells you it's a crucial life skill and they'll be affected forever if they don't learn how. Ignore that person (unless they are your pediatrician or a physical therapist, but even then, get a second opinion).

YALT

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 8:02 am

I know of a PT who's daughter skipped the crawling stage, and so after, at the age of 3/4 she made her crawl around the house every day for a few minutes. almost like her homework. Don't know if this whole study is true or not. DS skipped crawling and is quite smart bli ayin hara.
But, btw, DD skipped crawling stage, but then after standing & furniture walking, she went to crawling.
sometimes they just do it in a dif order.

bnm

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 9:27 am

YALT wrote:

my mother works with an OT who makes the kids crawl on all fours, says that it helps. Something about getting the right and left side of the brain working together

MaBelleVie

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 10:15 am

Crawling IS important, but it sounds like your daughter is doing just fine for now! 8 months is certainly not late to start crawling, so I wouldn't worry. My own ds just started crawling, and before that he was doing a lot of pushing up on hands and toes, like you describe. More concerning would be if she refused to spend time on her stomach (some kids will only tolerate sitting, no tummy play) or wasn't putting weight on her arms. Since she's progressing normally, I'm guessing crawling will come soon.

But yes, to answer your question, crawling is a developmental milestone both physically and cognitively.

Laughing Bag!

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 11:09 am

bnm wrote:

YALT wrote:

my mother works with an OT who makes the kids crawl on all fours, says that it helps. Something about getting the right and left side of the brain working together

The crawling stage is supposedly a milestone in the sence of using the right and left side of the brain simultaniously or like OTs call it "Crossing the Midline". However many kids do skip this stage and use other ways to get around and are fine later on; however when there are problems croping up later on Therapist look back if child crawled, and would make child crawl then to work the brain around or something and they say it really helps.
you dont really need to worry but if you could try "making her crawl" then it can prevent things later on, with a big IF 'cuz you cant know if it will affect her.

mindyme

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 12:08 pm

my dd learned to get around by scooting on her bottom. Never crawled. at 19 months, she was still not walking, or even pulling up much. All other milestones ok.
Specialist said that she had somehow "missed" the window of opportunity of crawling. He said that babies move on to pulling up/walking since crawling is so inconvenient (can't really see where you're going, can't hold anything, etc.), babies move on to cruising and walking. Her scooting solved those problems, so she had no impetus to do anything else. Also, she was SOOOO cute, and the youngest of several, so she was constantly being picked up and carried around.
He said we should stop picking her up, and let her be, and she'd walk within 1 month. And she did!!!
She was scootering at 3, riding a 2 wheeler(no training wheels!) at 5, and is now 7 and doing amazingly, B'H. top of her class, active, everything.
One thing I've learned about kids is that they tend to do things on their own schedule, in their own way. Obviously, some issues need intervention, but mostly kids do great on their own.
If you can convince her to crawl, that's prob a good thing, but I wouldn't worry, esp if your Dr. says not to.
Enjoy her!!!

cubbie

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 12:51 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

cubbie

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 12:54 pm

smh wrote:

cubbie wrote:

My dd is a little over 8 months. She was in a harness from 3-7 months, and since she no longer has the harness, she's progressing really well...

What does "in the harness" mean?

She had hip dysplasia on one side (ie one of her hip bones wasn't in place) and she had to have her legs in a harness/brace for 4 months, this basically hold her legs open like a frog and slowly manipulates her hipbone into place.

MaBelleVie

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 1:33 pm

[quote="cubbie"]

MaBelleVie wrote:

I'm not concerned whether or not she's on target or not, I'm more concerned with the implications if she skips the crawling stage altogether.
She's great on her stomach, spends all day going from tummy to sitting back to tummy, rolling, moving, up on her fingers and toes. Her leg muscles are definitely strengthing whereas a month ago she could bear no weight on her legs, now she's able to "stand" on my lap for short amounts of time.[/quote

I understand- I was pointing out that I think it's too early to worry about her skipping the crawling stage, given her young age and the fact that she's following the developmental sequence of children who do move on to crawling.

chanchy123

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 3:39 pm

Ok so I never crawled, ever I just got up one day and started walking at 13 months. I'd say I'm perfectly fine, but that's not entirely true. I do have some gross and fine motor skills as well as coordination problems. I was led to believe that these do not stem from me not crawling, rather not crawling was a symptom of these problems that I have (or had, many I did overcome with time).
My DD is also eight months old (now I remember that your baby was born around the same time as mine). She doesn't really crawl either. She'll sort of stretch herself forward to get where she wants, or the coolest thing I've ever seen, she sits down and jumps to where she wants to get in a sitting position, honestly, it's so cool. I'm not conecerned yet, but I do have my eye on things to make sure she does achieve traditional crawling (she is proping herself up to stand when climbing on things now). Just to make sure everything is ok and now I know what my parents didn't seem to know for various reasons that PT at this young age could help her down the line.
Anyhow, I wouldn't be worried now, but keep your eye out and maybe consult a PT, I think you have at least a month or so before you should become conerned and if she's not walking or cruising
by then you have even more time before you should worry.

goldapoe

Sun, Jul 04 2010, 4:27 pm

"The crawling stage is supposedly a milestone in the sence of using the right and left side of the brain simultaniously or like OTs call it "Crossing the Midline". However many kids do skip this stage and use other ways to get around and are fine later on; however when there are problems croping up later on Therapist look back if child crawled, and would make child crawl then to work the brain around or something and they say it really helps. " (quote rivkyf)

I am an OT and I want to clarify that crawling is NOT considered "crossing the midline". It is a bilateral, reciprocal movement but you actually don't cross midline to do this. I re-iterate that it is a developmental milestone. Can kids do fine without ever crawling? Sure. Do you want to find out down the road that something could have been done earlier to help your child? Of course not. As mothers we should do our best to help our children at the youngest age possible when their nervous systems are soft and pliable.

I also want to repeat that in addition to a motor component to crawling, there is a sensory one (the feel of the floor/carpet on your hands and knees when crawling, the proprioceptive input to the hands and knees, the vestibular input of the movement and rocking back and forth on hands and knees, the visual input a child gets from that position). All of these are things we would expect a child to have experienced by his first birthday. If he hasn't he could be missing out.

BTW, for all the mothers that commented on their child's intelligence even though they never crawled correctly-that is not related in any way. We are looking at motor and sensory learning. Not cognitive. Please don't advise a mother in ways that will give her incorrect/non relevant information. It's still best to have the child assessed by an expert in that area and that expert is not a tipat chalav nurse or even a pediatrician. (A developmental pediatrician would be a different situation).