One of the most special moments that the family looks forward to since the birth of the baby is undoubtedly the crawling period. Parents who know that crawling periods are an important step for physical development can contact us with developmental concerns about babies who walk without crawling. At this point, as therapists, we need to prioritize the baby's sensory development and express in an appropriate language what is happening/what should be thought about in the baby's brain where crawling does not occur, and that crawling is a part of every development, and that it is an important step especially for praxis development.
As experts, we emphasize that the crawling period is an opportunity for babies to explore the environment. As a process in which the foundations of independence are laid in infancy, the crawling period is one of the important activities that occupational therapists love and often includes in meaningful/purposeful therapy programs and gives us valuable information about development.
Transition to crawling. We know that some physical skills must be acquired for this purpose. For example, the baby needs to be able to hold its head upright, and the abdominal, back, leg and arm muscles need to be strengthened...
What if I told you that physical skills are a part of sensory development and that crawling activity plays a big role in sensory stimulation?
Not only in baby development; I mentioned that one of the games we prefer for children in the clinical environment is crawling games. When we consider this situation through the sensory system:
Tactile Sense (Touch):The baby, who touches the ground with his hands, feet and body, feels that the ground is hard, soft, rough, smooth, hot or cold. Touching and grasping will be important in the development of motor skills (fine/coarse) while continuing to explore during the crawling activity.
Proprioceptive Sense (Body Awareness): During crawling, the baby shows safety against gravity and uses its arms and legs during movement. It allows your legs to adapt. The baby's body positioning and motor planning to maintain the skill will be extremely important in brain development. The development of this sensory system It will also develop the bular (balance) system.
Vestibular Sense (Balance) : During crawling, the baby maintains balance against gravity and acquires the ability to direct movement according to the physical environment. The vestibular system is known as the precursor of other sensory systems and is very important in nervous system development. The baby's ability to put himself in a sitting position while crawling, his ability to pull himself into a crawling position by taking power from his hands and legs while crawling, or his ability to get up by holding on to something will give us information about the movement and balance system (vestibular system).
Just taking the crawling position can do this. This causes us to talk about the existence of three sensory systems. In clinical and structured environments, it is possible to meet the baby's/child's wishes and needs with sensory and symbolic games by including visual, auditory, smell and taste senses, with games that attract the baby's attention and are suitable for his development. In this way, it is aimed to increase brain activation.
Yes, crawling is an important step, but at this point it is necessary to look at the sensory story and developmental stages. Not every baby may want to receive the sensory stimuli we mentioned in the same activity. Being aware of the sensory system and observing with this awareness will be a savior for parents/caregivers. It is really important for parents to know that crawling is not mandatory.
This is not a phase that babies have to go through before they start walking. If your baby decides to crawl, that's great, and if your baby finds a different way to get around (like a butt walk) that's great too, and if your baby chooses to wait a bit and gets up and walks, that's absolutely wonderful too. Babies develop in their own way.
So I want you to relax and enjoy watching your baby's wonderful development.
Additionally, When you look at it, your baby;
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Has difficulty holding its head
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He has difficulty sucking
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He does not follow the object
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Cannot turn over -
If he cannot sit without support
The child neurologist should be consulted as soon as possible. I recommend that you consult your doctor.
However, you should get health care from a pediatric occupational therapist and a pediatric physiotherapist to discuss the treatment plan and get information about the neurodevelopmental process.
Two things in this process. It will be very important for your baby's health and development:
Awareness and acceptance!
Please listen to your inner voice, not the comments of your environment. Don't put it off to avoid saying "I wish".
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