Your Baby in Motion: Controlled Movement Skills for Crawling, Walking, and Running!
If you haven’t done it yet, now is really the time to finish baby-proofing your house, because your baby is getting ready to move! At 9-12 months, her Controlled Movement skills are becoming increasingly advanced. There are three types of controlled movements that she is developing at this time: stability, locomotion, and manipulation. Stability has to do with balance and is the ability to hold up one’s head steadily and keep a straight, steady posture. Locomotion is the ability to move forward or backward, which includes crawling, scooting, and walking. Manipulation refers to manual dexterity, which covers the fine motor skills of grasping, releasing, and reaching for objects. The more practice your child gets in each of these controlled movement actions, the more quickly she will gain control over her body.1,2,3
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One of the new Controlled Movement skills you may see is your baby’s ability to more easily change her body positions, moving from lying down to sitting up or from crawling to sitting and back again.4 If she is crawling, you may find her traveling more quickly and efficiently from place to place, as well as starting to move forward or backward. Be careful she’s not underfoot!
Don’t be alarmed if your little one seems slow or quick to crawl. The rate at which children gain different Controlled Movement skills varies widely, so just follow her lead and support her one day at a time. However, crawling is an important milestone – it helps your child make brain connections and develop coordination. If he seems determined to skip over the crawling phase, talk to your child’s doctor for advice on how to encourage crawling and other gross motor skills (see “On the Road to Crawling”).
At this age, many babies will build up enough gross muscle strength and coordination to be able to pull up themselves up into a standing position with the support of a low lying table, chair, or other support.5,6 So don’t be surprised if you see your baby begin standing on her own without your help. Although at first she will only be able to stand unsupported for a few seconds, her strength and balance will gradually build and she will stay standing for longer and longer.4
Play Tips:
Do you want to know how you can support your baby’s development of these Controlled Movement skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.
- Create safe and interesting environments for your baby to discover new objects.4 Create a play space on the floor for her to freely explore. Make the space inviting with a soft blanket and colorful, child-safe toys and objects. Your baby is becoming quite mobile at this age, so she will love taking advantage of her newfound motor skills in this inviting play land. Consider letting her play in new spaces, such as the backyard with soft grass, foam pads on the kitchen floor, or an empty bathtub with a non-slip liner to give her plenty of opportunities to pull herself up to standing! Be sure to clear all play areas of any potential safety hazards and to supervise her play time to provide assistance when necessary and to prevent injury.
- Try offering naked play time. Thick diapers and clothes often do not allow the full range of motion for your baby. Consider letting your baby play naked on a rug or towel to maximize her ability to move and discover new positions. Be sure to keep the room temperature warm and use a pee pad if you are concerned about “bathroom breaks” during playtime.
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Developmental Milestones:
Has your baby achieved the following Controlled Movement developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) she has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!
- Gets into sitting position from lying down.
- Pushes up to hands and knees and rocks back and forth.
- Moves from crawling to sitting or lying positions easily.
- Pulls self to standing position.
- Stands unsupported briefly.
Sources:
1Kids Sports Activities. Motor Development Phases. Kids Sports Activities. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from http://www.kids-sports-activities.com/child-development-milestones.html#anchor1.
2Swim, Terri J., and Watson, Linda (2010). Infants and Toddlers: Curriculum and Teaching (7th ed.). Belmont: Cengage Learning.
3Winnick, Joseph P. (2011). Adapted Physical Education and Sport (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
4Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://cte.jhu.edu/onlinecourses/HealthyBeginnings/HBFINAL.pdf.
5Illinois State Board of Education. For Children Birth to Age Three: Illinois Early Learning Guidelines. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/pdf/el-guidelines-0-3.pdf.
6Florida Partnership for School Readiness (2004). Florida Birth to Three Learning and Developmental Standards. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.unf.edu/uploadedFiles/aa/fie/Birthto3%20Standards.pdf
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