3 Best Baby Exercises to Help them Crawl
Babies are a blessing, but they also come with responsibilities. Your baby will achieve many milestones gradually like sitting by themselves, speaking about their first work, crawling and walking. Crawling is an important aspect of your child’s growth as it keeps them active and encourages them to try to walk. While they learn some of it on their own, you may facilitate them with different exercises and baby toys.
When Do Babies Start Crawling?
Often parents think that their babies are behind others when they do not start early. However, every child picks their pace and starts crawling sooner or later. Some children may start crawling as early as 7 months while others achieve this milestone by their first birthday. The average age for a child to start crawling is around 9 months. Do not worry if your child does not begin crawling at the same time as others.
Here are 3 best baby exercises to help your baby crawl.
1. Assist Baby In Crawling
Assisting a baby with hands on initial stages of crawling adds worth to their strength. For this, the helper needs a towel twisted many times lengthwise and lies a baby on it while having it back on top. Lift towel as that chest of the baby lies on it while lifting a little from the ground. The distance between the baby and the floor gives a space for the baby to move and hands freely just to practice the movement of crawling. As soon as the baby gets better on it, stop giving support of a towel and allow them to crawl on their own. However, if you have pets like a cat, make sure there is no cat hair on the carpet or floor.
2. Place A Toy To Catch Their Attention
For motivating a child to move from their place, engaging them with different baby toys by placing them in different places can be a great way to exercise, crawl and keep their legs in motion. When a baby sees an eye-catching item on a distant object they follow their vision and reach there to grab that toy, this is also helpful in polishing eye coordination skills. Crawling exercises one way or the other help majorly in balancing the body weight of the kids.
3. Move Baby’s Legs In A Cycling Manner
As it is understood that legs, knees, and lower abdomen bear all of the weight of the child while crawling, bicycling on the baby’s legs is the best way to remove all pressure and stress on the muscles. Moreover, it enhances flexibility and adds coordination to all these parts. Keeping this exercise for more than two times with intervals is best, also babies enjoy this exercise more than any other.
All these above-mentioned exercises are beneficial and healthy to add to every kid’s daily routine for giving them strong development during their initial growth stages.
What If The Baby Does Not Crawl?
If you are concerned about your baby not crawling even after their first birthday, there could be a few reasons for it.
- Premature babies start crawling late
- Some children may just take a little extra time than their peers
- Some neurological issues may also delay crawling in children
The Bottom Line
Babies start crawling between 7 to 12 months with 9 months being the average age for crawling. You may wait for a few months more or help your baby crawl with exercises. Some of the common exercises to help babies crawl include moving the baby’s legs in a cycling manner or placing a toy as an attraction to encourage them to crawl. Try some fun activities for newborn to build their interest in crawling and movement. Some babies take more time than others. Premature babies may start crawling late. Neurological issues also delay crawling in babies.