The day a baby starts crawling is an important milestone for the baby and parents both. While parents praise and provide kisses, they may not realize the importance of letting their child crawl often and at length. Time spent on the floor crawling provides essential neurological development as well as coordination and muscular development. For that reason, don’t underestimate the value of crawling!

The Hidden Value of Crawling

When a baby crawls across the room, there’s actually a lot going on. Both sides of the body work together in an alternating pattern—first the left arm moves forward with the right leg and then the action switches to the other side. The cross-lateral movement improves communication between the two sides of the brain. This communication will be essential as the child develops in these other ways:

  • Hand-eye coordination
  • Balance
  • Visually following a moving object
  • Development of fine motor skills like handwriting

At the same time, crawling builds strength in the arms, shoulders, back, hips and the core. That strength will be essential as the baby learns to stand, walk and climb. 

Why Some Babies Skip the Crawling Stage

Some babies just seem impatient to get up and go! They may eagerly bypass crawling in favor of pulling themselves up with the help of furniture. Other babies don’t like spending time on their tummies—an essential step to introduce babies to crawling. They may protest tummy time and so miss the benefits of crawling. 

In some other situations, babies may spend more time in baby seats, swings and walkers than on the floor. They get accustomed to being upright and can lose interest in crawling, so they also miss the benefits of crawling. It’s important to encourage babies to spend time on their tummies and invite them to crawl toward toys or other desirable objects. 

Signs a Baby Missed the Benefits of Crawling

When babies don’t naturally progress from sitting to crawling to cruising, parents may notice these signs during their later development: 

  • Weak shoulder, trunk or hand muscles
  • Difficulty climbing stairs
  • Poor ability to catch a ball
  • Poor balance when riding a bike
  • Difficulty with fine motor tasks like buttoning clothes, writing or drawing
  • Trouble standing up for long periods
  • Struggles when tracking moving objects or reading

If these signs show up later, pediatric physical therapists are skilled in evaluating causes, such as a lack of enough tummy time or crawling. The good news is that any shortage of crawling can be filled in with skilled physical therapy! 

Pediatric Physical Therapists Excel at Improving Physical Development

Wherever there is a gap in a child’s physical strength or coordination development, pediatric PTs are ready to help. In every PT session, the exercises to provide strength and coordination are carefully designed as the best play the kids have ever enjoyed! 

Here are some of the carefully designed features that may be incorporated into a child’s PT:

  • Giant obstacle courses with big foam pits to jump into
  • Soft platforms that swing through the air
  • Tunnels to climb through
  • Colorful mats to jump on
  • Trapezes to swing on
  • Big balls to balance on
  • Low beams to walk across
  • Climbing walls
  • Throwing and catching games

For each day’s session, a pediatric therapist chooses the best activities that will fully engage a child’s interest, give them a sense of accomplishment and help them achieve their goals. 

Let’s Communicate PTs Are Available to Help Your Child!

Are you seeing any signs that your child needs guidance and encouragement to develop the right strengths and skills? Let’s Communicate physical therapists can help you with a skilled evaluation that can set them on a course for optimum development. Call Let’s Communicate at (678) 963-0694 to schedule an evaluation today.