The natural progression of a baby is moving from sitting to crawling. Crawling is your baby’s first method of getting around efficiently on his own. In the traditional crawl, he’ll start by learning to balance on his hands and knees. Then he’ll figure out how to move forward and backward by pushing off with his knees. At the same time, he’ll be strengthening the muscles that will soon enable him to walk. Lesego Mashishi-Matlala, Huggies® expert in occupational therapy sheds some light on babies and crawling.
Crawling is a tough job. It requires a baby to use both mind and body. First, the muscles in his back, neck, shoulders, arms, and core must be strong enough to support his weight and help him maintain balance. His vision also plays an important role. When babies crawl, they use what’s known as binocular vision, using both eyes together to focus on one target. They go back and forth between looking off into the distance and looking at their hands, which helps build depth perception.
Crawling also requires information processing and integration. Visual auditory, touch and smell sensory information and processing is facilitated through crawling. These senses lead baby’s movements. This occurs when your baby crawls to their favourite toy that emits sound or light, or when your baby crawls in the direction of your voice. Once your baby has processed the sensory stimulation, they judge the distance, speed or pace in which to crawl to reach the source of the sensory stimulation. Now this is a lot of brain stimulation for your little one.
Crawling also stimulates the development of spatial awareness. This is when your little one learns to go through, over or under things. Their little brains process and work out where they are in space in relation to objects around them. Baby soon learns how to negotiate a more efficient path to their desired destination.
It is common that babies start crawling with a bum shuffle, gliding in reverse or propelling themselves bilaterally first with their hands, followed by their feet. To make sure that your baby is comfortable whilst crawling, a comfortable nappy such as Huggies® Pants and Huggies® Gold is ideal. Huggies® Pants has an all-round soft and stretchy waistband. This nappy also has the double leg elastics which gently surround and hug baby’s legs for a secure fit to prevent any leaks. Huggies® Gold nappies with its stretchy waistband and fasteners to provide a snug and comfy fit. This nappy also has a DryTouch TM liner that can absorb wetness in seconds for ultimate skin protection. These qualities in a nappy not only ensures comfort for baby but freedom of movement as well.
As your little one makes his way through the house, expect him to go through a range of emotions: excitement when he discovers something, disappointment if you remove it or take it away, and confusion or frustration when an obstacle blocks his path. You can look forward to engaging in a near-constant game of “follow the leader”. Anywhere you go, he’ll be right on your heels!
About Huggies®
Huggies® is known for providing a range of nappies for every stage of a baby’s life. From the very first moment up until the last time they wear a nappy. The range consists of Huggies® Preemies, Huggies® My First Nappy, Huggies® New Baby, Huggies® Gold for Boys and Girls, Huggies® Dry Comfort®, Huggies® Pants for Boys and Girls and Huggies® Little Swimmers®. They also offer a range of wipes – Huggies® Pure, Huggies® Natural Care, and now Disney Huggies® wipes. Huggies® is part of Kimberly-Clark South Africa, a subsidiary of the US-based Kimberly-Clark Corporation which market innovative health and hygiene products that people come into contact with every day. Find us: Website – www.huggies.co.za ; Facebook – HuggiesSA and Twitter @huggies_sa.
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