How to teach a child to crawl: tips for parents

Each mother with trepidation and impatience monitors the successes of her baby. All significant events are carefully recorded in the diary - when the child began to roll over, when he said the first “Agu”, when the first tooth appeared. One of the main events and achievements of the first year of a child’s life is the ability to crawl independently. When the child begins to crawl, his worldview is completely changed. He no longer needs to ask someone to pull himself together. Now he can move himself wherever he wants.

It seems to many that crawling is very easy, and most parents complain about the child’s continued inability to crawl. In fact, in order for the child to stand on all fours, lift the body and begin to move at four points of support, you need to spend a lot of energy. For this, the muscles of the legs and arms should be sufficiently developed in the baby. Therefore, do not worry that the baby is still not crawling, perhaps he has not yet matured.

When a baby should start crawling

The baby begins to crawl for about five months. At this time, he still kneels weakly, staggers and often falls. By seven months, the baby usually has perfect mastery of the acquired skill and crawls very quickly. The latest start date for crawling is 9 months. It happens that the child does not crawl at all, but immediately begins to walk, already closer to the year. But such a development is extremely undesirable. After all, when the baby crawls, his muscles in the legs, arms and spine strengthen, he learns to coordinate his movements and even think.

The ability to crawl depends not only on the physical fitness of the crumbs. Everyone knows that full children begin to crawl, walk and move a little later. Also, creeping is influenced by psychological behavior in the family. If the baby is provided with any toy on demand, why should he try to move somewhere?

How to strengthen your baby’s muscles with massage

Today, massage is one of the powerful stimulants for the development of the child's physical skills. Numerous reviews of young mothers agree that after the massage the child moves better and more confidently. In general, every child, even an absolutely healthy one, needs a massage, even a general strengthening one.

Usually, up to a year, the baby takes three massage courses of 10 sessions each. The first course is done in 3 months, after which the baby begins to turn more actively and confidently from back to stomach. The second course is done about 6-7 months. The second course is aimed at strengthening the muscles of the back, legs and arms. After such a massage, the baby often begins to crawl actively, tries to sit on its own. The third course of massage is done closer to the year in order to prepare the child’s muscles for an upright position.

Of course, massage is not an obligatory event, the child will be able to crawl and walk successfully without him. However, massage can accelerate this process, strengthen and improve the baby's body. It is best to consult a professional for a massage. At least a few sessions should be done by a master of his craft. Then, looking at the movements of the massage therapist, mom will be able to repeat the massage at home.

Massage should be done in a warm room so that the child does not freeze. First, the baby is stripped naked, placed on a warm, clean diaper.For massage, it is best to use baby oil. After this, each part of the body is kneaded - first the feet, legs, palms, hands, because the back, tummy and neck. It is very important to monitor the strength and movements of the massage therapist. Because with hypertonicity stroking movements are performed, and with hypotonicity - patting the muscles of the palm of the hand.

Massage should be daily, preferably not to miss days. Each massage should last at least 10-15 minutes to get the proper effect. The fact that after a good quality massage, babies sleep a long and sound sleep also speaks about the benefits of massage.

Muscle training exercises

That the child began to crawl as soon as possible, he needs to be trained. These simple exercises will help you strengthen your crumb muscles and teach them how to crawl.

1. This is one of the simplest exercises that trains the baby’s arms. To do this, put a six-month-old child on the changing table and let him hold on to a thin wand. After that, carefully raise the stick. This exercise helps the baby to support the weight of his own body with his hands. But be careful that the child does not hit his head if he suddenly releases his wand. If the baby does not want to hold on to a stick, you can offer him a toy.
2. For the next exercise, you will need a towel or a small blanket. From a piece of fabric, you need to twist the roller and put it under the baby’s chest. Hands should hang from the roller, the back should be slightly curved, and the stomach should lie on the floor. In this position, the baby trains the vestibular apparatus, learns to coordinate his movements. By playing this way, it is very easy for a child to grab toys with both hands.
3. The following exercise will teach your child to stand on all fours. Carefully place the baby on her knees, but hold the baby yourself at the level of the chest and abdomen. You kind of put the child on four points of support, but keep the weight yourself. You can also put your baby breast and belly on an oblong pillow. The kid will instinctively want to find points of support and stand on the palms and knees.
4. Sometimes a child simply does not understand what you want from him. Show your baby how to crawl on all fours using your own example. Put the child on all fours and carefully move his arms and legs. Just alternately rearrange his right hand, left leg, etc. from place to place. At the same time, you can attract a child with a new toy or a shiny thing, so that the baby strives to move forward.
5. It happens that a child stands firmly on all fours, but still does not know how to crawl. In this case, you need to make support for the baby's legs. When the child rearranges his leg and pushes off, place your hand behind the child’s foot so that he can push off and move. Gradually, the need for additional support will disappear.
6. Strengthen the back muscles with the help of a fitball. The kid is placed directly on the ball and carefully rolls back and forth, from side to side. All this must be done carefully, if the baby is afraid, the exercise should be stopped.
7. If your child does not want to crawl, despite all your efforts, you can use the following technique. The baby is put on all fours on the floor, and a wide strip of fabric is passed under the chest and tummy. For these purposes, you can use a sheet folded several times in length. After that, you need to raise the baby and carefully move it forward. The child will involuntarily move his legs and arms and will soon begin to crawl on his own.

If you do these exercises regularly, at least once a day, after a month you will not be able to catch up with your child - he will crawl so quickly.

Swimming

Exercise in water is very useful for any organism, especially a child. It is easier to move in water, and muscles work just as intensively.To teach a child to crawl, you need to let him swim in the water for at least 20-30 minutes every day. It is best to use a special swimming circle that is worn around the neck. With it, mom will be able to free her hands, and the baby will receive maximum movement with absolute safety.

Teaching a child any skills is a long, patient work that is invaluable. Even if your baby does not crawl, all your exercises, massage and swimming lessons will not be in vain. Muscle training is aimed at preparing the body of a small person for upright posture. Thanks to them, the baby will be stronger and stronger. Love and appreciate your child as he is, even if he does not yet know how to crawl.

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