Is crawling a milestone???

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 3:19 am Post subject: Is crawling a milestone???

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.

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 3:23 am Post subject: re: Is crawling a milestone???

Don't worry....I have a friend whose dd rolled to get from place to place and never crawled! The kid is brilliant!

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 3:26 am Post subject:

it is a milestone because its the brain learning how to use hands and feet at the same time or something to that effect but a lot of babies dont do it and still manage to get on in life. if she is monkey crawling on her hands and feet instead of her knees surely she is doing the same sort of action anyway.

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 3:29 am Post subject:

She's not yet monkey walking, but she's spending more and more time on her toes and hands. Also when she's on her hands and knees, she's so used to having her legs wide apart that that's how she has them, so we suspect that she might not crawl, but only time will tell.

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 5:43 am Post subject: re: Is crawling a milestone???

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.
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Senior Member Joined: Apr 08 2010 Posts: 164

It's not great for a child to skip any developmental milestones. They they have what's known as "splinter skills". There are motor and sensory benefits to all milestones. Can you get a PT eval to have things checked out? I would not depend on Tipat Chalav or the pediatrician.

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 7:58 am Post subject: re: Is crawling a milestone???

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).

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 8:02 am Post subject: re: Is crawling a milestone???

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.

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Silver Member Joined: Feb 20 2009 Posts: 793

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.

Silver Member Joined: Nov 03 2009 Posts: 584

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!!!

Silver Member Joined: Nov 03 2009 Posts: 584

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 12:54 pm Post subject: Re: Is crawling a milestone???

Silver Member Joined: Feb 20 2009 Posts: 793

[quote="cubbie"]

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 3:39 pm Post subject: re: Is crawling a milestone???

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.
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Senior Member Joined: Apr 08 2010 Posts: 164

"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).

Posted: Sun, Jul 04 2010, 4:42 pm Post subject: re: Is crawling a milestone???

I have one sister who didn't crawl, and she was always behind both in gross and fine motor skills. She couldn't jump rope like her friends (a big deal in Israel), couldn't cut, color and draw nicely etc. Is she smart? Very. But she still had trouble in that area.