How Does a Baby Benefit From Crawling?

Anatomy of Crawling

• Babies start crawling by using the arms to drag the tummy over the floor, and eventually learn to pull the legs up to help in the propulsion process. Hands-and-knees crawling uses balance, hand-and-eye coordination and a rhythm to keep the body centered over the moving arms and legs. Behavioral scientists Karen E. Adolph, Sarah E. Berger and Andrew J. Leo found that children develop crawling skills by meeting a series of benchmarks, including sitting up at 6 months and crawling about 8.5 months, although babies have individual development patterns. Babies typically do both crawling and creeping interchangeably, but once kids master walking, they rarely do much crawling.

Physical Development

• Babies need basic strength in the arms, shoulders, legs and upper body to support the body weight during crawling, and children without this development sometimes use creative ways to move, including rolling from one place to another. Premature infants, larger babies and heavier kids sometimes crawl longer before developing the muscles to hold the body weight for walking. Help by placing your hands behind your child's feet to give your baby a point to push off to start crawling in one direction. Talk to your pediatrician if your baby crawls using only one side or has frequent trouble coordinating body movements.

Coordination Skills

• The National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families reminds parents that babies may start crawling by moving backward before developing the coordination to move forward. The center puts tiny crawlers into categories, including the classic style that alternates the hand on one side with the knee on the other and the crab crawling style that has one knee bent while the other leg stretches out to move forward. Your baby develops coordination by exploring depth perception using three-dimensional sight that usually develops by baby's fifth month. The American Optometric Association reports that babies who skip crawling may coordinate their eye movements less successfully than babies who love crawling.

Independence and Self-Confidence

• Crawling babies may give parents worries about safety, but your child develops a feeling of independence and builds self-confidence by crawling to pick up a toy or to move to another room in the house. Most children develop the self-assurance to crawl in any open space with available flooring. Removing furniture with sharp corners or glass tops allows your baby to combine crawling with standing and creeping, a complex movement that develops the basic skills necessary for walking.