Teaching baby to crawl is a frequent wish of many parents all over the world. Although many still debate whether a baby should really crawl, many parents know that this activity is one of the major milestones infants should master. It's a key period when your baby becomes stronger, learn the surroundings, improve visual skills and improve physical abilities.
It is also a natural skill most babies automatically master. But many times it just doesn't happen - for a number of really good reasons.
Like babies with poor head control often don't like lying on their stomachs. And good head control is one of the key skills a child must have to learn to crawl. So, if head control is mastered later ask than normal, following development may also be a bit slower than the norm.
Many parents start by worrying about the age when their baby should start to crawl.
That's also when parents start enquiring about teaching baby to crawl. What they must do. How to do it. And what not to do.
There are a few activities, toys or tips parents can easily use for teaching baby to crawl. And to do it correctly. But generally, very little information is about babies not crawling.
There are a few proven techniques professionals use to encourage babies to crawl. In essence most of these techniques encourage your child to be more tolerable to lying on her tummy.
Colorful toys and playthings are great for encouraging baby to crawl
But there is one technique that I found to work very well, is safe to try and can be done by all parents.
Its called the..
The 5P Baby Crawling System
It's a logical 5 Step System to help baby crawl in no time. Let's look at the 5P steps individually…
Here i come Mama!! |
P - Put on the carpet(mat). The very first thing any baby must master before there's any hope of learning to crawl… is being comfortable in the tummy lying position. You'll get great results doing this if you talk to and play with your baby when she's on the carpet or mat.
P - Put together a roller. Roll an ordinary bathroom towel into a "sausage". Of course, you can also buy any other type of roller. They're soft cylindrical shaped toys... preferably solid. You do get inflatable ones, but solid ones normally last much longer and can also be used to get teach your child to sit and walk.
P - Position the elbows. This step requires you to do something. Gently hold your baby by the elbows and draw them towards him/her body. It will almost seem as if your child wants to lie on her elbows. Continue to provide support.
One of the very popular toys for encouraging crawling is this crawl mirror
P - Position on roller. Gently position the "sausage" under your baby's upper body… arms hanging over the front of the "sausage". The towel "sausage" supports the upper body - NOT her stomach - with her elbows just touching the carpet. It should slightly raise her upper body thereby allowing him/her to discover the surroundings. Make sure her elbows touch the carpet - they must not be hanging in the air.
P - Perform in front. This is the most important step. Get down on the floor directly in front of your child and face him/her. Now, let your baby look at your face while you talk to, amuse and encourage him/her. Many parents also found this crawl mirror a great help.
The idea is to encourage your child to endure longer sessions on her tummy. Your baby must focus on you and will then spontaneously develop a sense of using both elbows and legs for support. If it's done right, you'll soon see her supporting herself on both knees and straight arms... ready to crawl.
The power of this 5P System lies in raising your baby's upper body to look at her surroundings... all while lying down.
i can do it Dad |
It also only takes a few minutes daily to start seeing results. Obviously, if you can fit in more than one session per day, results come faster