Tag Archives: strength

Baby learns to do a push up on the stairs. This strengthens her arms for hands and knees crawling.

BABY STRENGTH AND MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Babies gain strength in their muscles through learning motor skills.  This means that they do not need to do repetitive exercises as we do them in a gym.  The actions of learning each motor skill develops much strength.  Kicking, for example, is one of the first motor skills that baby learns and it develops quite a bit of strength in the muscles of the legs.  The action of lifting the legs and moving them (kicking) on her own requires strength.  As baby grows and gains weight her limbs become bigger and heavier.  This in turn builds even more strength.  No need to put more weights on the machine at the gym, baby’s changes in her body size increase the challenge for her muscles.

In tummy-time, the action of lifting the head strengthens her head and neck muscles.  Baby’s head is one of the heaviest parts of her body, so through practice of this motor skill her back and neck muscles become very strong and prepare her for sitting with excellent baby posture.  As baby learns to move her own body weight around she gains a tremendous amount of strength.

BABY CRAWLING AND BABY ARM STRENGTH

Baby’s shoulders, hands, and arms needs to develop strength for the motor skill of crawling in the hands and knees position.  This strength develops from the mini-milestone of pushing.  Adults build arm, hand, and shoulder strength from push-ups.  Babies do a version of a push up when they push their hands into the floor in tummy time or when they learn to push the hand down on a stair.  The seven month old baby in the above photo is strengthening her arms as she pushes down into the stairs while learning the skill of climbing.

When a baby learns to lift her pelvis and pull her knees under her, yet remains with her forearms on the floor, her back will “cave in” or have a large arch to it.  Once she strengthens the muscles of her arms and shoulders she can push down into the floor and get into the hands and knees crawling position.  Now her back is arched less.  This crawling position will build even more strength for baby as she supports all of her weight on only her hands and knees.  She may need to pull up to this position and not move for a while.  She has to develop strength in this position before she can move.  Over the next several weeks, hands and knees crawling develops much strength in  her arm and legs muscles which prepare her for the motor skill of standing up.

Dear Donna:  I’m from South Africa, and enjoying your site so much. Wondering if you can help.  My 8 month old baby boy started to belly crawl from 6 months and it seems like he is stuck there.  He makes about 4 regular crawling movements but then returns to his belly.  What can I do to help him?  Thanks so much for your site!

3 COMPONENTS OF THE MOTOR SKILL OF CRAWLING

When do babies stop belly crawling and begin the hands and knees crawling?  There are a few developments of a baby that need to occur before he masters the motor skill of crawling on his hands and knees.  First, he must be stable in the hands and knees position.  Some babies get onto their hands and knees and their knees are wider than their hips.  It takes time for the to find the placement of their knees underneath their hip joints.  Second, his hands must be able to support some of his weight and allow him to shift his weight forward on them.  This is difficult if the fingers are still curled under.  A baby who has learned to press his open hands down on the floor in tummy time in well-prepared for this part of the skill development of crawling.

Third, this hands and knees position marks a significant achievement for baby.  This is the first time he has been supported only on his hands and knees.  Prior to this achievement, baby has had much of his body in contact with the floor through the motor skills of kicking, rolling, lifting the head, tummy time, and belly crawling.  It takes time for baby to develop the strength in this hands and knees position before he can move forward for long periods of time.  This is why babies often hands and knees crawl for only and few paces and then drop back down onto their belly for the familiar pattern of belly crawling.  They can get where they want to go much faster and they need more time to build in the hands and knees position.

Photos or video footage of your baby crawling will help me give you specific exercises for your baby.  Please send some in if you can, and thanks for writing! We  also need to remember that babies born early may need more time to strengthen their muscles since preemies usually have lower muscle tone.  And some babies just want to take their time.  I like to remind the mothers I work with that if I could be a baby again, I would spend a lot of time belly crawling.  It develops a lot of strength, opens up the front of the hip joints, and powerfully teaches the coordination used for crawling, walking, and running.  As a dance student for many years, these skills are an advantage as they are for athletes in many sports.

A week after receiving this email, the mother contacted me to tell me that the baby just began perfectly hands and knees crawling on a regular basis!  He just need a bit of time!  Congratulations to our Stellar Caterpillar in South Africa who has just mastered the important baby milestone of crawling!