Many parents can hardly wait for their child to walk. Ideally, they would like to practice walking with him before he has even crawled. Yet their “hands are actually tied.” After all, motor development is a maturation process that proceeds according to internal laws.
To each baby its own pace
One characteristic of early motor development is its wide dispersion over time. This means that each child has its own individual pace and that this development cannot be influenced by practice. However, it can be influenced by ensuring that the child has enough freedom of movement to pursue its natural urge to move unhindered. The baby should therefore not spend too much time in baby bouncers or car seats, because they restrict natural movement too much. It is best to spend a lot of time on the floor and in the prone position when awake. This is not only safe, but also gives them all the freedom they need to move around turning, rolling, crawling or whatever.
Better not to help them move
Movements or postures that are not developmentally appropriate should be avoided at all costs. Sitting a baby down (in a bike seat or high chair) before the crawling stage, for example, is too much strain on the back. Only when the baby is safely in the so-called long seat (straight back, bent legs, weight is evenly distributed on both buttocks), this posture can no longer harm him. A baby should also not stand upright for too long until it can do so on its own. In the second quarter of the year, babies are already able to pull themselves up to a standing position by their mother’s hand. Usually, they only stand on their toes. In principle, there is nothing wrong with this exercise. However, babies should spend only a few seconds in this position and then lie down again.
87% adhere to a specific routine
Basic motor development usually follows a very specific sequence, does not need to be learned and develops from the child’s own impulse. For example, the baby is the first to lift its head, at three to seven months it turns from its back to its stomach, and finally from its stomach to its back. At seven to ten months, it begins to seal, that is, it uses its arms and legs to move forward but cannot yet lift its belly. Eventually, it supports itself on its hands and knees and gets into quadrupedal stance; an important prerequisite for crawling. But at first, some time passes with rocking back and forth until the baby has found a secure posture. Crawling then requires a fair amount of coordination. The baby has to move one leg and one arm forward at the same time and crosswise. 90 percent of children can do this with confidence by the time they are 10 months old. Once the children have made the transition from the prone position to the kneeling position, they are soon able to sit up, initially supported by one hand, then in a long sitting position. A short time later, the babies begin to pull themselves up on low furniture, perhaps already taking a few sideways steps. And soon only one hand is needed to hold on. If there is enough balance, the path soon leads to free-handed standing and the first steps. This is achieved by 50% of children by their first year of life.
No rule without exception
In addition, there are also babies who use rather extravagant forms of locomotion or do not dream of following the typical sequence. For example, they move rolling through the apartment, crawl backwards or have special fun with the so-called circle slide. In doing so, the infant turns on the spot, with the center of rotation being the belly. Rowing or pushing off with arms and legs adds momentum. Typical examples of skipping entire developmental stages are children who do not seal or crawl, but immediately start walking from the prone position. Or babies who, instead of starting from the quadrupedal position, begin walking from the so-called bear walk (on hands and feet with the buttocks stretched up). Without the intermediate crawling stage, however, children miss out on an important coordination exercise. This is because in crawling, the reciprocal or diagonal movements of the arm and leg have a decisive influence on the coordination of the two halves of the brain and body. Some scientists believe that the lack of crawling is responsible for later deficits in body coordination, including reading and spelling difficulties.That is, in actions that require particularly good cooperation between the two hemispheres of the brain.
