The child crawls back: causes, developmental norms, doctors' recommendations

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Every mother closely monitors the development of her baby. In the life of a child, more and more often happens in stages, but sometimes he skips one of them and moves on to the next. In this case, parents are proud of their child. And if the child crawls back, is it necessary to worry and retrain him? We will talk about this in the article.

When is it time to crawl?

According to scientific studies, a fully developing child at six to seven months, sometimes a little later, begins to crawl. However, some babies skip this stage of development. Parents believe that crawling is not necessary and accustom him to a walker. They suggest that this way he will develop intellectually and physically faster. As a result, the baby begins to walk, bypassing the stage of crawling. In addition, parents get used to the fact that the child should sleep on his back and forget to turn him over on his tummy while awake.

As a result, he gets used to this position, when he rolls over on his stomach, he begins to act up, and his mother returns him tohabitual position. The muscles of the limbs, which should be gradually strengthened, are left without training. And by the due date, at best, the child begins to crawl back or does not do it at all.

The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky and B. Spock

It's hard to tell exactly when your baby will start crawling. However, if he can roll over and he likes it, then he will soon try to move. B. Spock claims that babies begin to learn this process at five or six, and crawl quite well by seven months. However, they have different ways of crawling. In some families, already at four or five months, the child crawls back, in others - immediately on all fours, but this happens later, at seven or eight months. However, both are considered normal.

Pediatrician E. Komarovsky believes that the child himself knows and decides when to sit, crawl and walk. And parents should not interfere with this, their duty is to make these processes bring joy to the baby, and not be hard work.

The formation of the motor activity of the child is affected by:

• psychological atmosphere in the family;
• personal and physical features of the baby;
• his state of he alth.

In other words, crawling is a certain stage of development that some babies skip and go straight to walking. However, this is also a variant of the norm.

Do I need to learn to crawl?

You should not force the baby to lie on his stomach, but graduallyit is necessary to accustom, preparing him for crawling. After all, this is a very important period not only for physical development, but for the subcortical structures of the brain. In particular, brain dysfunction, which is a consequence of a difficult birth or birth trauma, is compensated to some extent during the crawling period. During this action, the baby strengthens the musculoskeletal system, trains the arms, shoulders, elbows and wrists. Therefore, crawling children are more physically developed than babies who skip this stage. Training the ligaments of the wrists and hands is useful for developing fine motor skills.

Such babies will quickly learn to hold a spoon and a pencil correctly. In addition, while crawling, the child learns to navigate in space and control the body. Thus, the crawling phase is useful and important and should be encouraged and supported. If your heir independently chose the manner of crawling, then it is better not to interfere with him, advises pediatrician E. Komarovsky. The child crawls backwards or with the help of one leg - it does not matter, he carries out his individual development program. During this process, the baby develops the first skills of spatial orientation.

Why doesn't the baby crawl?

Children often bypass this phase and immediately begin to walk, since the physiological development of each baby is individual. Here are some reasons why babies do not want or cannot crawl forward or backward:

• injuries;
• weak muscles;
• using a walker for a long period (more than sixty minutes);
• overweight;
• consequences of rickets;
• forced immobilization of limbs;
• baby temperament.

Why is the baby crawling backwards?

He can do it:

• Consciously. For example, I saw how my mother washes the floors and moves back, or spied on older children playing.
• Forced - tried to crawl forward, but the arms were weak, he fell and hit.
• Intuitively - the child's body understands that some muscles need to be preserved, while others can be relied upon. Crawling backwards uses less energy.

According to pediatricians, this is not dangerous and the baby has no pathology. However, if the baby does not attempt to crawl forward after two or three months, then it is recommended to assess its muscle strength. In some cases, the cause lies in hypertonicity or hypotonicity of the muscles.

So, if the baby crawls back for a long time, then corrective gymnastics is necessary, since moving in one direction does not allow all muscle groups to develop.

Baby began to crawl backwards: pluses

Let's look at the positive aspects of this skill:

• The increase in muscle load occurs gradually. Moving around thanks to repel is quite simple. The development of the joints and the development of the vertebral sections take place without sensations that are unpleasant for the baby.
• It turns out that it is more difficult to teach a baby to crawl backward than to crawl forward. In addition, during such a movement, groups workmuscles that are not involved in moving forward.
• According to scientists, with this method of movement, the vestibular apparatus is trained.

Learn to crawl correctly

The child crawls back, but how to teach forward and can it be done? First of all, you need to be patient. It takes time for a child to master a new skill. The following tips will help you cope on your own:

• It is necessary to evaluate the quality of the surface on which the child moves. The surface should be pleasant and not slippery.
• Place your favorite toy in front of him and let him reach for it. However, he should not be helped in this.
• Encourage and praise your baby when he crawls correctly.
• Show by example how to move.

The most important thing is to make it fun and interesting for the baby to learn to crawl forward, and this requires a lot of time to devote to such activities.

Russian medical standards

In accordance with these standards, the baby must master the crawling technique at six to seven months, i.e. during this period he tries to make the first movements. This stage is preceded by the ability to roll over on the tummy and hold the head. Initially, the baby tries to crawl on his tummy, as he still does not know how to move his legs. The entire load falls on the muscular apparatus of the upper limbs. Then he begins to understand that the legs can also be used - push off with them or pull them up.

During this period, some crumbs begin to crawl in different ways. After a short period of time, the little one already feels confident and moves freely. Sometimes he does it backwards, and worried mothers ask the doctors what to do if the child crawls backwards? Most babies begin to crawl in the right direction after a while and no further action is required. In case of hypo- or hypertonicity, special gymnastics will help, with the help of which the muscles are strengthened.

Importance and benefits of baby crawling

Crawling develops a sense of balance, balance as well as strength. In addition, this important stage forms and strengthens the emotional, visual understanding, motor skills of the baby. So thanks to crawling:

• Motor skills and the ability to make small and precise movements appear. When crawling, all muscle groups work, motor-visual coordination is developed, and the ability to control the small muscles of the body is established.
• The spine is fixed and aligned. When a baby begins to crawl, he not only learns to control his limbs, but also forms a muscular system that strengthens the spinal column.

Develops visual perception, brain, vestibular apparatus. Crawling, the little one uses binocular vision, as a result, he develops a reaction that will be useful in the future for reading and writing skills. During such movement, the vestibular apparatus also develops,helping to improve balance. When crawling, the impulses of the motor nerves change places between the two hemispheres with great speed. This promotes neurological skills

Conclusion

If a child crawls back, it means that he is so comfortable. He tries to master his body, to coordinate movements. Of course, not everything works out right away, but there is no need to panic. Such a phenomenon is not considered a deviation from the norm. All kids are different. Let your baby develop individually and delight you every day with new small achievements that bring him joy and delight.