How to teach a child to crawl on all fours

The growth and development of the baby is a huge number of small and large victories, especially in the first year of life of the crumbs. First, the baby learns to hold the head on his own, lies on his stomach, lifts the body in his arms. By four months, children learn to roll over, by six months they sit without help. All these terms are rather arbitrary and approximate, because the children are completely different. Someone was born large, such chubby children, as a rule, learn skills later than their peers. Thin babies move quickly and by the age of 6-7 months they are actively crawling around the house and exploring everything new. How to help your baby learn this skill faster? How to teach a child to crawl on all fours?

A child often does not crawl for two main reasons. The first is the lack of muscle development. That is, if the muscles of the back, legs, neck are not strengthened, the child simply will not be able to crawl. In this case, we need to strengthen the physical condition of the crumbs, we will talk about this a little later. The second reason the baby refuses to crawl is because the child simply does not know how to do this and, most likely, he has already learned to move in his own way. Such kids can crawl in a plastubsky way, move on the pope or even move about in walkers. In this case, the child must necessarily be retrained. But how is it that many mothers are surprised, because there are children who never crawled, but immediately started walking. Indeed, there is, but it is not very useful for the body of the child himself.

Orthopedic surgeons claim that crawling skill perfectly strengthens the cervical and lumbar spine, this is an excellent prevention of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Another benefit of crawling is the control of the right and left sides of the body, both hemispheres work in the process, which affects the development of neurological skills. When the baby crawls, a soft massage of the fingertips occurs - fine motor skills develop, this stimulates the development of baby's speech in the future. Therefore, if the baby is not yet crawling, you just need to teach him this.

When to teach a baby to crawl

All children are individual, and their physical abilities appear at different ages. However, there are certain norms and their boundaries when a baby learns a particular skill. You should not rush the child - the baby will begin to move itself only when the muscles of the back and neck are strengthened. The most active babies begin to crawl on all fours already from 5-6 months and do it pretty quickly. But on average, children learn to crawl in 7-9 months. Closer to a year, if the child has not learned to crawl, his craving for independent movement leads to the fact that the baby begins to walk before peers. But do not neglect this important period of the physical development of the baby. If your child is 6-10 months old, you can very well strengthen his muscles with massage, exercise, water procedures. At the end of any physical exertion, it is important to show the baby how it should crawl, guide the legs and arms in the necessary movement, because the children's muscle memory works fine. Repeat the necessary movements with the arms and legs of the child 10-20 times, after a while he will be able to perform them on his own.

How to strengthen your baby’s muscles with massage

Muscle development occurs daily and every minute, when the baby reaches for the toy, tries to hold the spoon correctly, plays with cubes or builds a pyramid.However, the process of muscle strengthening can be accelerated, for this we will use three important ways - massage, exercise and water procedures. The main thing is to do everything consistently, without coercion, affectionately and patiently. Let's start with a massage.

1. First of all, you need to choose the time of "training". It is best to perform the procedures one hour before bedtime, a couple of hours after eating. The baby should not be full or hungry, he should not want to sleep - choose a time when the crumbs do not have their teeth cut, the tummy does not hurt and he is in a good mood.
2. For massage, you need to prepare a flat horizontal surface, for example, a table. Lay a thin blanket and a clean diaper on top. Of course, a greater effect can be achieved from professional massage, however, maternal manipulations will also help the child. Also, for massage you will need massage oil or a fat cream so that there is no strong friction with the skin. Before and during the massage, try to keep in touch with the baby, calm him with his voice and smile. If mom is nearby, she is calm and joyful, the baby will not be scared.
3. Undress the crumbs naked; the room should be warm enough. Put the child on his back and gently stroke the baby on the skin, so you warm up the body and prepare it for massage. If you are using new massage oil, start with a small application to check if the child is allergic to this product.
4. Massage begins with the feet, or rather, with the foot. Take the child’s leg, gently massage the foot, heel, each finger, the back with circular and rubbing movements.
5. Next are the legs - first the calf to the knee, then the hips. Movement should be directed outside, this prevention of curvature of the legs.
6. After the legs are carefully massaged sequentially one after another, you can go to the handles. We also start with the palms, gently massage each finger, the inner and the back of the palm. Then the zone to the elbow, then the forearm.
7. Then it goes to the breast, which should be massaged very carefully, avoiding the heart area. The massage here should be soft - stroking, nipping, rubbing. Be sure to massage the tummy - intensively stroke it clockwise - this is an excellent bowel training, stimulation of perilstatics.
8. After that, turn the crumbs on the tummy, massage the back. As well as the chest, the back should be massaged very carefully, avoiding the spine. Using soft, point-wise movements, you can massage your back muscles - on both sides of the spine. Be sure to rub your lower back and neck - this is very useful if you want the baby to start crawling faster.

As a rule, some children may have a strong or weak tone of the extremities, the massage technique for such diagnoses is slightly different. If the baby has hypertonicity, movements during massage should be more stroking, relaxing. If the crumbs have hypotonus, movements should stimulate, that is, the massage of each area should end with light strokes with the edge of the palm of the hand, so the muscles are toned.

How to teach a child to crawl on all fours

The exercises that we will talk about now are best done just after the massage, when the muscles are warmed up, supple and ready to develop.

1. Put the child on the tummy, bend the legs behind, exposing your hands as a support. Make sure that the baby does not hit his head and does not bite his nose. When from behind you will give support and slightly push the baby, he will be forced to touch his hands.
2. When rearranging the child’s legs and arms, make sure that the movements are opposite, that is, the right leg and left arm are simultaneously moving forward, then the left leg and right arm, respectively.
3. If it’s still difficult for the baby to tear the body off the ground and keep himself on his hands and feet, you can help him. Take a long towel or sheet.Fold the fabric so that you get a strip with a width of 20-30 cm. Pass the fabric under the baby’s chest and tummy so that you can safely lift its body. When the baby comes off the floor, he will be able to easily touch legs and handles on the surface. Each time, as the child’s muscles become stronger, you need to support the baby with less strength. So you gradually transfer traction from the towel to the muscles of the child.
4. When teaching a child to crawl, be sure to leave your favorite toy or interesting object in front of the baby (children like to play with pans or pots - dishes cause incredible interest and motivation for movement).
5. Sometimes it happens that the baby confidently stands on all fours, but still can not budge. To do this, hold the toy near the handle of the child. When the baby raises the handle for the toy, you move it away, the baby will put his hand closer to the cherished goal. This is the first step to crawling and moving your arms correctly.
6. If the baby crosses well with his hands, but drags his legs, you can do so. Roll the towel into a small roller, place it under your hands in the armpit area, so that the crumb rests on this roller. Lie down in front of the child, gently, carefully and slowly pull the roller towards you, the baby will be forced to sort out the legs.
7. In some cases, the kids master the skill perfectly if they see a good example in front of them. Try to crawl in front of the child on all fours more often, he will certainly want to repeat after you.
8. Buy a crumbs bright ball that rolls in, which is interesting to watch and move.

As soon as the baby learns to crawl a little, pay attention to safety measures. There should be no outlets and wires in the access area - all electrical parts must be hidden. On the corners of the furniture you need to attach special silicone pads that protect the baby from injury. The floor should be clean - because the child often licks his hands after movement. The floor should not be how much or cold. Try to remove the carpets and rugs that the baby might stumble about. Clothing for training should be comfortable and comfortable.

Water treatments to strengthen your back muscles

Massage, exercise, and swimming all contribute to the health of the crumbs. After such manipulations and a hearty dinner, the baby will sleep for at least 5 hours in a row with a strong and deep sleep. If you follow the entire sequence of actions described by the course - every day for 10-15 days, the child’s muscles will grow stronger, the baby will begin to crawl so that you can’t keep up with it!

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