My daughter and my nephew were born two weeks apart.
Thankfully both of them are developing normally.
They both held their heads up, smiled and rolled over within days of each other.
However, my daughter crawled on her hands and knees for several months, while my nephew only crawled for about two weeks and then started walking.
Should my sister have worried that her son skipped this milestone? Many health care professionals believe that if a baby skips crawling, it's no big deal and that at some point in the future he will end up crawling and reap the benefits.
On the other hand, there are other health care professionals who believe in the theory that if an infant skips crawling, there is a possibility that the Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR) will not fully mature and integrate like it is supposed to.
This can cause long term problems such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
According to the book, "Stopping ADHD" by Dr.
Miriam Bender who studied infants and toddlers as part of her research.
Dr Miriam found that at least 75% of the kids with a learning disability had an immature STNR.
When an infant with an immature STNR moves their chin down towards their chest, the reflex causes their legs to extend or straighten.
At the same time, their arms flex or curl upwards.
As a typically developing baby matures and grows, the STNR should integrate and mature so that neck movement would no longer have any influence over the movement of the arms and legs.
In other words, as a baby matures, the movement of their necks should be completely independent from the movement of their limbs.
The argument that crawling is crucial and should not be skipped at all costs goes something like this: Crawling stimulates brain development by fostering communication between the right and left sides of the brain as baby moves around on the floor with her arms and legs moving in a reciprocal pattern.
In addition, when a baby is on the floor on hands and knees, she is able to lift her head and look across the room at toys or other objects of interest.
This type of activity helps to develop early binocular vision.
As she begins to crawl to reach the toys she will also develop early hand-eye coordination.
These skills are needed later on in a child's life during sporting activities, reading and writing.
Crawling also strengthens the arms, chest, trunk, shoulders and upper thigh muscles.
With all of the confounding variables involved in studying infant development and gross motor skill acquisition, it's difficult if not impossible to say with absolute certainty, that if your baby skips crawling they will have a developmental delay or a learning disability.
But with all of the benefits that crawling provides if I were you, I would definitely help my baby crawl around on the floor daily.
Just remember that your baby will crawl when she is ready, so be patient and don't rush her.
But when you feel that she is ready to begin crawling, jump in, encourage her and make it as much fun as possible.
Place your baby on her hands and knees and gently rock her front to back.
When she is able to maintain her balance on her hands and knees, kneel in front of her and you rock front to back and show her how much fun this type of rocking on hands and knees can be.
Encourage her to play on the floor on her stomach and help her reach for toys just out of reach.
Buy a play tunnel or tent, and crank up the crawling fun! My sister is still not convinced that crawling is that important, nor is she in the least bit concerned that my nephew skipped it.
So whenever I play with him, I chase him through the tunnel I bought for him, and yes we are both on our hands and knees crawling.