The big crawl
This will not be an excursion into the realm of insects, crawling is at least as big an issue for parents of small children. Two questions always take centre stage: When should a child crawl? And does a child have to crawl at all?
On the first point: Most children start crawling at six months at the earliest and at ten to 12 months at the latest. On the second point: crawling is not actually a developmental milestone, i.e. not something that every child goes through automatically. The Swiss paediatrician Remo Largo conducted a major study in which he was able to show that around ten percent of all children in a given year do not crawl, but that this has absolutely no negative impact on the child's further mental development.
This is important because you can still read from time to time that it is bad for a child not to crawl because this would have a negative effect on brain networking. But there is definitely no evidence of this! It therefore makes no sense for parents to kneel on the floor next to their child and try to pretend to crawl.
Normally, this urge to move arises all by itself. And around 90 per cent will do the classic crawling, while others may slide around on their bottom or push themselves around.
Overall, it is simply important that a child starts to become mobile and move around more between nine and 12 months. At this point, I would also like to point out that it is particularly important to make the home really childproof. There should be no things lying around that a child could swallow, any stairs must be secured, etc.
Important for you: If your child does not show this urge to move at around ten to 12 months, this would be a reason to go to the paediatrician. But just because your child isn't crawling doesn't mean you should be worried.
Further interesting tips
Fever
Many parents have one thing in common: the fear of a high temperature. Especially when the body temperature exceeds the 40-degree mark. The following lines should help you to correctly assess a fever.
Counselling centre
Did you know? Doc is not only a big fan of VfB Stuttgart, but also of the counselling centre for families and young people. Our practice has been working very well with this centre in Schorndorf for 16 years, which is why Doc would like to introduce it today and tell you, dear parents, about the valuable work it does.
Writing baby?!
Babies who cry and scream a lot have always existed. In the past, they were often referred to as crying babies or people were quick to talk about three-month colic, which plagued children and caused them to cry. Today, people are increasingly talking about regulatory disorders when a baby cries and screams a lot. This often occurs mainly in the evening. But there is a remedy.