How important is crawling in you opinion?

Angela814 · February 2011

When DD1 was a baby I don't remember hearing or reading much about crawling. All I really remember was that it wasn't considered a true milestone anymore and it was just important that baby was learning to move around be that through scooting, rolling across the room, crawling, etc.

Since I've been on the 6-9 month board I keep seeing posts worried that baby isn't crawling and how important it is that they crawl before walking. Apparently not crawling can cause major issues...(?)

https://www.hoofbeatstohealing.org/cross-hemispheric-intergration/

https://jillurbane.typepad.com/thementormom/2006/08/the_importance_.html

What do you think? It seems alarmist to me to be so worried about crawling. But DD1 crawled for months before walking so I don't have any experience with a baby who doesn't crawl. DD2 is trying desperately to learn to crawl and walk all at once. I can't imagine her having developmental delays just because she doesn't crawl x number of times before she walks.

jettagurl · February 2011

I didn't read either of your links - I'm too lazy right now.

I remember while in college I worked at a physical therapy clinic.....we had this one older (mid-80s) lady that was a former teacher (for like 60+) years, and somehow crawling came up. She insisted it was very important that your child crawl (before or after starting to walk) because not crawling was linked to PTing issues - specifically long-term night time wetting. Crazy link, but she apparently had read several articles/research about the correlation.

Ben did crawl, and we had zero PTing issues. Same with Nat. And because of that lady's insistence that there was a link, I never forgot!

hikerbeth · February 2011

I had heard about a correlation in not crawling and other issues down the line.

My DD did not crawl before walking and she needed OT in order to crawl. It wasn't the crawling that I was concerned about per-se, but she could not transition at all. She couldn't get from belly to sit or pull herself to stand (but she could sit if you put her there and could walk if you put her on her feet).

It was determined to be a sensory issue, but with a few months of therapy, she could make the transitions (and crawl).

However, it's just now (almost age 5) that I'm seeing her on par with her peers in gross motor. She just learned to jump with both feet off the ground, etc.

ridesbuttons · February 2011

I have heard (but cannot recall the source) of some concerns over a child 'skipping' the crawling stage to go straight to walking.

My experience with my second child was that the minute (ok, the week) he figured out how to sit up, he started to move around: army crawling first, then conventional crawling. Motivated, I suppose by his big brother a bi-ped. Smile

I would not worry about it. I mean, you've got a lifetime of worry about all kinds of things with your kids, why add one more?

GinandTonic · February 2011

My mom is a teacher in a developmentally delayed preschool class. In fact,she has her masters on that topic. I had heard these theories before and she was a little worried about DS. He crawled weird - it's hard to explain - he had one knee down and used his other foot. Quasimodo crawl is what we called it. I thought it might be that our mostly hardwood hurt his knees.

Anyway, he's 5 1/2 and fine. He had a speech delay. Do I think that has to do with crawling? No - because I had one and so does DD.

He's actually not the best with gross motor skills - he's not going to be an athlete. But, I also attribute that to the fact that he's off the charts for height and weight and until recently was a little like a bull in a china shop (and confidence - he's not the most aggressive). Could that have to do with the weird crawl? Maybe.

BUT, he's still using a pullup at night (whereas 3-year-old DD is dry 95% of the time and not wearing one). The doctor isn't worried yet - I guess it's not really bed wetting until they're a bit older. Jettagirl's reply intrigues me now.

xbrooklyngrl · February 2011

B NEVER crawled. I have one video of her crawling and she pretty much went straight to cruising and walking from there. She hated being on her belly since birth so I pretty much knew she's never be fond of crawling. She walked before she was 11 mos.

tammyz25 · February 2011

I think that it's probably not something that you need to worry about as much as some people say. it probably does have some transitional benefits and maybe children who dont crawl will develop a bit differently, but i don't think it is a terrible thing not to crawl. everyone is different. my ds did, but my nephew never really "crawled" - he did a sort of scooty thing, and he is just fine.

EMT · February 2011

I also did not read the links. My BFF is a dance therapist (basically she helps people heal through movement...addicts, kids, whatever). It's another type of "therapy". But anyway, she has a lot of post-secondary education on movement, development etc. and she has told me that crawling is a very important milestone.

That said, what is someone going to do? Force their kid to crawl?

I do think it's important but there would be nothing I'd do differently if my kids didn't crawl you know?

rebs · February 2011

I didn't read the links- no time right now.

According to my pedi, crawling used to be considered an important milestone to meet, but not any longer. It is just a way for children to get around until they learn to walk. If they become efficient at another method then they may never try to crawl. He said he would only worry about it if there were other gross motor concerns involved.

DS#1 never crawled, he butt scooted his way around, and finally walked at 16 months- he was running a week later. He is almost 6 now and is just fine- walks, runs, hops, jumps, skates- and yes, he can crawl through the tunnels on the play structure. He actually throws a football better than most kids his age, so I have zero worries about his gross motor skills. He also potty trained easily in three days at 2 and a half.

I wouldn't worry if I were you.

veloelle · February 2011

I read it is not important. Of course I can't cite the article, but there was an article I think the NYT or NYT magazine that studied a tribe somewhere in South America that wear their babies all the time. The babies went from being held to walking (I assume cruising) w/out ever crawling. Like, none of the babies crawled. So if someone did masters work focusing on developed countries, they might find it is important in those societies, but including third world or tribal communities, the results could be different.

DS started also w/ the one leg/knee crawl and is fine, I was never worried. He's cruising and takes one step every now and then.

Angela814 · February 2011

I guess I should clarify that I'm not really worried. I was just surprised that the new info says it's so important when old info said it wasn't important at all. I guess it's similar to the changing recommendations with solid introduction and food allergies.

This is one paragraph from the first article. Not crawling doesn't seem to be related to gross motor delays as much as it is to general thinking and reasoning skills.

The cross-lateral movement of crawling strengthens and integrates both hemispheres of the brain.?This helps to simultaneously coordinate the use of both eyes, both ears, both hands and both feet.?This enhances learning by not only allowing the brain to share important sensory information, but by helping the brain store and retrieve information more rapidly.?Shayne Niehaus, a registered Specialized Kinesiologist in South Africa, feels that crawling is a crucial milestone for a developing child.?She found that crawling stimulated the ?receptive? and ?expressive? parts of the brain and formed such a vital phase in a child?s life that if the process was hindered or interrupted in any way, the child might, at worst, exhibit learning difficulties, or at best, ?create adaptive, compensatory and less efficient learning methods.??Niehaus estimates that babies need to make about 50,000 crawling movements to create enough neural pathways to integrate left and right hemispheres fully, and to enable optimal learning capabilities as they grow older.

As far as potty training goes, I don't buy that link. DD1 crawled for 5 months before walking. She was daytime potty trained at 2.5 years and is still no where close to being night time trained.

Andrewsgal · February 2011

I have a good friend who is an OT she says in general we underestimate the importance of basic movement as it relates to brain development. I tend to agree with her, I have just begun to do basic research on this topic as it really interests me and what I have found is very interesting. I think people overall don't understand that large physical movements are constantly developing the brain in our little ones. That being said I honestly don't know about crawling, but i do know that the lateral movement is essential for brain development. This will often show down the road when it comes to learning skills such as reading and writing. Does this mean if your child does not crawl they are screwed? nope each child is different. I do find movement and the role it plays in learning down the road and brain development fascinating stuff.

GinandTonic · February 2011

-auntie-:
FWIW, asymetrical crawling is often seen in kids who have issues crossing the midline. Some of the kids who do this will go onto have mixed hand/eye dominance and remain ambidextorous for longer than normal which can interfere with grapho and fine motor skills. It's associated with subtle LD issues in some kids. It's also one of the red flags for kids on the higher end of the autism spectrum who don't have the speech and adaptive delays seen in classic autism. In retrospect, this kind of crawling, was the only flag we noticed for Aspergers in DS before he started preschool.

Auntie - I don't want you to think that I'm not aware that this could be a concern. I know all this, just didn't post as much detail. It is not out of the question that DS could have some LDs going on - both DH and my brother do. Do I think they're all linked? The crawling, the speech, the picky eating, the gross motor, the pooping (I've posted about this before and I believe you've responded)? Quite possibly. He's been evaluated globally, both for EI when he got into the speech program, and by a behaviorist about the poop problem. He quite possibly has some sensory issues that no one (including me) felt the need to treat. Right now, he's fine except for those specific problems (and actually, he just "graduated" from speech). Academically and socially, for now (he's only in Kindy), he's right on track. But, I always have in the back of my mind that LDs could come up with either of my kids- I knew that when I decided to have children with my husband.

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