During tummy time, has your baby been making a significant effort to reach an interesting toy? Or while sitting on your lap, has he tried to grab an eye-catching necklace you’re wearing? If not, this is something to keep in mind, since at 6-9 months, he will be moving with more control and intention. He will have developed considerably stronger upper body strength, enabling him to carry out more advanced Body Movement and Controlled Movement. All of these developments mean he is working his way toward being able to crawl.

As his torso muscles have grown stronger, he will be able to sit unsupported during everyday activities.¹ So go ahead and start sitting him up in a safe place, such as a blanket on the floor, with fewer support pillows and props and with objects around him to explore. If his head and neck are strong enough, you can lay your baby on the floor, then hold his hands and pull him to a seated position.² This will continue to build those torso and limb muscles. As he begins to show competence and comfort sitting up on his own, start feeding him regularly in a high chair or playing with him seated on the floor.

This is also the time when you may see your baby developing the ability to change positions and begin to move from place to place. By 6 months, some babies start exercising their crawling muscles by learning to get up on their hands and knees and rock back and forth.³ As your baby becomes comfortable with these movements, it won’t be long before he starts taking off to explore the world!

Since the American Academy of Pediatrics began recommending that babies sleep on their backs to help prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), many babies now learn to crawl later or don’t end up crawling at all, going straight to cruising and walking.^4,5  This is due to the fact that they aren’t spending as much time on their tummies exercising and building up their core muscles and strength. This is less than ideal, though, as crawling is an important milestone that helps develop body coordination, hand and wrist strength later used for writing, and core stability and strength later used for walking.

Cognitive abilities are also enhanced by crawling. Crawling is a cross-the-midline activity which helps build connections in the corpus callosum, a bundle of nerve fibers which connect both halves of the brain. With all of this development at stake, do your best to support your child’s crawling skills by practicing tummy time every day.

If you are concerned that he might skip his crawling phase, be sure to speak to your pediatrician or physical therapy specialist for assistance and advice. In addition, encourage him to do exercises that support crawling and the development of other gross motor skills. Help him to explore cross-the-midline activities that help build his full body coordination skills and tummy time exercises that strengthen the large muscles in his neck and upper body.⁶

At 6-9 months, it is still a bit early for your baby to start walking, but that won’t stop him from trying to build his leg strength and explore the feel of related movements that will help him walk in the future. During this stage, he should be able to support his weight by pushing downward against a surface with his legs while you hold him up.³ As he develops his balance, you may even see him start bouncing on his legs as you hold him up or while playing in a bouncer or exercise station. Practicing these motions will strengthen the right muscles for later cruising and walking adventures!

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

Play Tips:

Do you want to know how you can support your baby’s development of these Body Movement and Controlled Movement skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

1. Encourage sitting play time on the floor.² Have your baby sit down unsupported on a soft padded floor or blanket for play time with his toys. Be sure to observe him for fatigue or discomfort during the activity. Give him support if he needs a rest or help him into a more comfortable position.
2. Reduce your baby’s time lying in bouncy chairs and car seats. Many parents rely on using bouncy chairs and car seats to keep their young babies safe and secure while they run errands or chores around the house. While the occasional use of these seats is fine, placing your baby in them for prolonged periods often limits his mobility, range of motion, and general gross motor development.⁷ As he develops his physical skills, consider using a playpen to keep him safe and free to move while you shower or cook!^{8, 9, 10}

Developmental Milestones:

Has your baby achieved the following Body Movement and Controlled Movement developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) he has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!

• Sits without support during daily activities (e.g. play and feeding times).
• Supports her full weight on his legs. May bounce while standing supported.

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

Sources:

¹Illinois State Board of Education. For Children Birth to Age Three: Illinois Early Learning Guidelines. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/pdf/el-guidelines-0-3.pdf.

²Mississippi Head Start Collaboration Office (2010). Mississippi Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers.  Retrieved January 27, 2014 https://earlyyearsnetwork.msucares.com/system/files/website/ms_it_elgs.pdf.

³Florida Partnership for School Readiness (2004). Florida Birth to Three Learning and Developmental Standards. Retrieved January 27, 2014 http://www.unf.edu/uploadedFiles/aa/fie/Birthto3%20Standards.pdf.

⁴Johnson, Dan (2004). Will Baby Crawl? National Science Foundation: Discovery. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=103153.

⁵Wong, Kate (2009). Crawling May Be Unnecessary for Normal Child Development. Scientific American. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/crawling-may-be-unnecessary/.

⁶Kolata, Gina, and Markel, Howard (2001). Baby Not Crawling? Reason Seems to Be Less Tummy Time. The New York Times: Archives. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/29/us/baby-not-crawling-reason-seems-to-be-less-tummy-time.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1.

⁷Ben-Joseph, Elana Pearl (2011). Car Seat Safety. Kids Health. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/outdoor/auto_baby_toddler.html#.

⁸Stamm, Jill, Ph.D., and Spencer, Paula (2007). Bright from the Start. New York, NY: Gotham Books.

⁹Zwieback, Meg. Is It O.K. to Use a Playpen? Will It Hurt My Baby’s Development? Bringing Up Kids. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://www.bringingupkids.com/0-6-mo/is-it-ok-to-use-a-playpen-will-it-hurt-my-babys-development.html.

¹⁰Vanderbilt, Tom (2009). What Ever Happened to the Playpen? Slate: Family. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2009/08/what_ever_happened_to_the_playpen.html.

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Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee

Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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