How to Encourage Your Baby’s Movement Development Journey

As you’ve held and watched over your little one growing day by day, most times faster than you’d like, the thought of your baby running amuck seems so far away. But it comes much sooner than you can ever prepare for.

From progressive crawling to standing up, climbing, and eventually taking their first steps, it’s crucial to encourage your little one in their development in moving and exploring.

It’s another whole new world of excitement and nerves for the both of you, so here are some tips to help you and your little one through their movement development. Let the fun begin!

Crawling

1) First things first, as your baby starts mastering rolling over, sitting up, and little by little crawling, it is best to make sure that the area they are about to explore is safe to do so.

Get down to their level, literally, on your hands and knees and travel around your home.
You’ll be amazed at what is easy to access and what needs to be changed or moved.

From electrical wires to outlets that need to be covered, breakable or valuable items in general that need to be placed somewhere safer, to cleaning supplies, medicine, and other items that could be harmful to your little one, there are endless things that may be at the disposal of your little one’s reach that you’ll be amazed at as you get down to their level.

2) A great way to encourage your baby to crawl is by exercising and stretching their legs. As they lay on their back, carefully stretch and bend their legs towards their torso and back down again. Also doing bicycle movements is another great one to do.

This can help their muscle memory in starting to understand the motion to crawl. 

3) Another great way is to be sure to give your baby plenty of tummy time. If at first your little one protests to participating, do it in small spurts of time, and gradually increase it as they get accustomed to it.

4) Another great way to encourage your baby to crawl is to show them yourself.

Going down on your hands and knees to show your little one how it’s done may feel silly, and they may think it’s silly too, will actually set an example that’ll encourage them to want to give it a try too. It’s the “monkey see, monkey do” concept.

Through all of these tips, consistency is vital!

Standing Up

1) At this point, your home, for the most part, should be a safe space for your little one to explore, play, and learn as they develop and progress.

A crucial place that needs to be safe for not just sleeping but also for when they start standing is your baby’s crib. Be sure that your baby’s crib is safe as it is can be one of the first places that they give standing a try by pulling themselves up.

Make sure that the crib’s mattress is at the lowest setting and remove any blankets, toys, or anything that your baby could stand up on or cause any additional harm to your baby should they fall back.

2) Use stairs as a way to balance and also promote climbing abilities. Stairs are a great way to strengthen your baby’s legs and promote them to enhance their movement development by pulling themselves up using the edge of the stairs.

Be sure that when they are using the stairs that you are always there to supervise.

3) Place favorite toys in a safe, high space for your baby to reach for. Just like when you may have used their favorite toys to encourage them to crawl, using their favorite toys by placing them up on higher furniture like chairs, couches, or a coffee table can help in encouraging them to pull themselves up and stand.

4) Make sure that any furniture that your little one may use to pull themselves up on is safe, sturdy, and secure.

You want to make sure that your furniture will help support your little one as they balance, use it to assist them in pulling themselves up, and eventually using it to give them support while learning to walk.

5) Giving your baby a push toy is a great way to help them transition to walking. They’ll mostly use it for balance at the beginning but over time it’ll give them aid in taking those first few steps like a champ.

6) Dancing, bopping, bouncing, call it what you will, babies love it – as will you!

Putting on some music and bobbing up and down with your baby is a great exercise for their leg muscles, encourages them to stand, move and groove, and will also turn into a fun family activity for all. 

Walking

Everything in this article has led to this moment: those first steps forward. Or waddling and wobbling from side to side.

Climbing those stairs, dancing with your baby, and utilizing those push toys all help in strengthening your baby’s leg muscles, as well as helping their balance and encouraging them to widen their horizon beyond just crawling around.

One tip is to make sure they have a safe space to practice and plenty of room. The safer they feel and the more confidence you provide them, clapping and cheering over every little victory, will encourage them to try, try again.

Step By Step

At the end of the day, practice makes progress.

Every baby progresses differently than others, so if your friend’s baby is up and moving faster than your little one, don’t compare and have no fear. They will be climbing up and down the stairs, dancing about the room, and running amuck in their own time before you know it.

Continue to cheer them on, be patient, and not overbearing.

If you have any concerns along the way, don’t hesitate to reach out to your baby’s pediatrician about your baby’s movement development.

As you encourage and celebrate each milestone in your baby’s movement development, it’ll give them added self-confidence, strengthen your bond with them, and encourage them to want to learn, explore, and embrace their journey of growth. 


Now I’d like to hear from you, how old was your baby(ies) when they started to walk?
Please comment below and share this post if it has been of value to you or could be of value to someone else.


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🎉https://stephanietracywrites.com/why-giving-your-baby-the-freedom-to-explore-will-benefit-them-in-the-long-run/

🎉https://stephanietracywrites.com/fun-important-games-to-help-in-your-babys-development/



About the Author 

Hi there! I’m Stephanie Tracy, a freelance writer, and blogger for hire. I specialize in physical and mental health, parenting, and self-development. I create engaging, inspiring, and useful content to help businesses progress in making their viewers into customers. When I’m not writing, you can find me on the floor happily playing with my baby boy, walking in the park with my family, or indulging in a movie marathon with my husband.