From birth to a year, a child masters this world at a tremendous pace. Never again in his whole life will he grow and develop so quickly. From a defenseless little screaming lump in a year, he turns into an upright man who is capable of elementary communication.
This year is divided into special milestones in development, which open up new horizons and opportunities for the baby. To begin with, a revitalization complex appears, in which the baby is able to recognize a person close to him. The baby begins to smile and aguk. By this age, he is already quite confidently holding his head.
Then the baby learns to grab objects with his hands, roll on his stomach and back, and finally crawl.
Crawling, or why and how to teach a child to crawl
Crawling reveals the baby the whole world of his apartment. From now on, he does not need to wait any longer when mom and dad come up, take him in his arms and will conduct an excursion.
The benefits of crawling have an undeniable fact. Children strengthen all their muscle groups, coordination of movements develops. In connection with the latter, he develops his own intelligence. In addition, fine motor skills, sensory sensations, and spatial orientation develop.
So how to teach a child to crawl? After all, in fact, not all children quickly learn this new ability for them. You, as a parent, are quite capable of helping him in this difficult task.
Simple tips: how to teach your child to crawl
1. Transfer the child to the floor. After the baby is 4.5 months old and has already quite confidently mastered the skills of coups, lay on the floor a large carpet with a short but soft pile. To begin with, you can lay a diaper on it, and only then the baby. From now on, let the child spend most of his time on the floor, not in the crib or elsewhere. The large flat surface on which he suddenly found himself will undoubtedly interest the baby, and he will try to master it as quickly as possible.
2. Choose comfortable crawling clothes for your baby. The baby’s skin is very delicate, and if you immediately put the baby on the carpet naked, then he will quickly rub his knees and tummy. To prevent this from happening, you should wear light pants and a blouse on it, made of sliding material. Socks should not be worn on the baby. After all, they will slip and interfere with him pushing off the floor.
3. It will be great if the baby sees other crawling babies on the floor. For this, it is not necessary to go to some public places. It is enough to invite a friend with an older, active child. Children learn skills from each other very well.
4. If you do not have such friends, then you yourself can lie on the floor and try to start crawling. This seems ridiculous, but in fact, it is through a living example that a child is able to learn the crawling skill. In addition, this interesting lesson will be useful for a young mother. First, it strengthens the muscle corset. But it’s difficult for a girl after childbirth to get out for special training to get her body. Secondly, it allows mom to see the world through the eyes of the baby. Adults often neglect the desires and aspirations of the child. Try to crawl on the floor, and you will realize how hard this work is and how much it needs for the child.
5. Lay out interesting and colorful toys on the floor. The child will catch his eye and will make great efforts to reach them at all costs. You, at the same time, can help him with your hands. Give the palm of the baby's legs to the back. Let him push away from you with his legs. In this case, he will feel progress, and will understand that he is capable of such actions himself.
6. After the baby begins to crawl a little, it will be possible to remove the carpet to make it easier for the child. After all, the pile of the carpet interferes with the active movements of the baby. However, you should carefully monitor the safety of the baby. At this age, they can still easily sharply tilt the head back and hit the hard floor.
7. After the child has mastered crawling in a plastusksky, proceed to the training of crawling on all fours. Some children skip this stage, immediately rushing up, holding on to the support. But from the point of view of physiology, upright should not be rushed too much. After all, the baby's legs are not yet strong enough for this. Crawling on all fours will help the child complete the preparation of the leg muscles.
8. If you see that, despite all your efforts, the baby does not tend to crawl, consult a specialist. Perhaps the baby has hypertonicity or muscle hypotension. In this case, you are most likely to be prescribed a professional massage. Such a massage gives a magical effect, and you will see that after several classes the baby makes his first successes.
How to teach a child to crawl: special exercises
If you don’t have money for a paid professional massage yet, and the free massage line is busy a couple of months in advance, then you can use simple exercises to help your baby.
1. Start and end the day with light strokes of the baby's arms and legs. This will help you warm up his muscles, as well as relieve the fatigue he has accumulated over the day. In addition, a large amount of tactile contact between the child and the mother always benefits both of them.
2. Twist the bent legs of the baby in turn, first in one direction, then in the other, developing hip joints.
3. Bend and unbend the arms of the baby, training the elbow joints.
4. If you have a fitball at home, lay the baby on the surface of the ball with his tummy. Holding the child by the legs, roll the ball forward - backward. This will strengthen the muscles of the neck, as well as the muscles of the chest and back.
5. Roll the stiff roller out of the small blanket. Place it under the baby’s thoracic region and roll the baby on it back and forth, holding the baby by the legs. The kid should lean on the floor with his own hands. This exercise trains not only the chest and back, but also the muscles of the hands of the child. After all, they play one of the main roles when crawling.
When performing exercises, always focus on the mood and physical condition of the baby. In this case, you will never again have a question about how to teach a child to crawl, because progress will go at an incredible speed.
