Q. How do my child's early movements help her development?
Your baby starts moving in the womb and continues to wriggle and move after birth, from stretching movements to eventually crawling.
All these early movements, however slight, are helping to stimulate the brain and develop neural connections. These establish the foundations for important skills such as concentration, sitting still and ultimately fine motor skills - for example, holding a pencil and writing.
The first few months of a child's life are when the brain is best 'wired up'. If this opportunity is missed it can mean that there are gaps in the child's socio-emotional, cognitive and physical skills. They can develop the skills later, but it is not as easy.
Q. How can I encourage my child to move?
The floor is the best playground for babies - better than expensive toys. It is really important they have plenty of 'tummy time' during their first year. This helps to give them the opportunity to develop strength of body control. Through spending time on their tummy your child develops:
- Head control
- Control of upper body
- Back and arm strength
- Hand grip
- The ability to wriggle and roll over.
From being placed on their stomach they can also get in a position to crawl once they are strong enough.
Be careful not to keep your child strapped into a pram or seat for long periods of time, because this could have a knock-on effect on their development. It is also important to allow your child to go at their own pace. Do not force them to sit upright when they are not ready, and remember that they have to develop lower body strength before they will be able to walk. There is no need to rush.
Your child will show when they are strong enough to hold themselves up with arm and body strength by 'pulling up' on furniture and bouncing. In the meantime, enjoy the current stage, and have fun with activities such as crawling races.
Q. Why is crawling so important?
It is an essential developmental stage which should be encouraged because the crawling action encourages:
- Integration of the two halves of the brain - mind and body connection
- Improved creativity, understanding and learning occurs when the left and the right sides of the brain are used together
- Strengthens legs and arms
- Helps co-ordinate both sides of the body
- Helps with balance while moving
- Hand/eye co-ordination
- Hand grip
- Spatial awareness (if not developed this can cause clumsiness, problems with balancing and spinning and problems with writing, such as reversal of letters)
If your child misses the crawling stage, don't worry. Give them plenty of opportunity to play on the floor, such as pushing toy cars and rolling.
Q. How about when my child is walking?
You should continue to encourage your child to be active, rather than spend long periods watching television or playing computer games. Let them walk whenever possible, instead of putting them in a pram or car. Resist using reins, because they are not helping your child to learn how to make their body work. Above all, have fun doing physical activities such as kicking and catching balls, hopping, skipping and jumping, and 'old-fashioned' pursuits such as flying a kite or playing with hoola-hoops.
By developing large movements, your child will then be able to master fine motor skills and be more ready to sit still, read and write when it's time to start school.
