Hmmmm. . . the Things Some People Tell You!

Ok... she's actually not wrong, but she's way off in her explanation.

There is a strong correlation between children who struggle with reading and children who had difficulty learning to crawl. Not all children who skip crawling have reading difficulties and vice versa. However, the two co-occur often enough that there is believed to be a link between the developmental skills associated with both.

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sounds like an old wives tale to me

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When you walk and crawl, and in what order, has nothing to do with dyslexia. My husband is dyslexic, and he hit all his baby milestones on time and in order.

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She must be part duck. You know, quack, quack, quack. Just saying. :)

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I, too, have heard that crawling is necessary for brain development. I didn't crawl. My mother said I scooted around on my bottom. She put a pie tin under me to make it easier. I don't think I have any brain issues. I'm smart, did well in school and in my job. I am somewhat uncoordinated. Might be related.

Later: I was an early excellent reader but I do have serious depth perception problems. Related? maybe

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She's not right, and she's not wrong. As other people have said you can skip crawling and be perfectly fine, but there is a stong correlation with being unable to crawl and having certian learning disabilities. It's not an ALWAYS case, as nothing with kids and parenting seems to be. :)

A friend adopted a couple of girls from China and each time they were instructed to work on crawling with the girls. They spend all their times in cribs so are usually able to pull up and walk and not able to crawl, so that was one of the first things she had to work with her infants on when she brought them home.

Doing any activity that causes a child to cross the midline of their body is a good way to help lessen the chance to dyslexia (not 100%, if a child is dyslexic they are dyslexic) but crossing the midline stimulates different areas of the brain that are not always used. Example. clapping one hand to the opposite foot to a beat.

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It sounds silly, but some studies show crawling is necessary for development -however, I do NOT believe not crawling could cause dyslexia! I would think babies who don't crawl are probably different on a case by case basis. I'm sure there are non-crawlers out there with no problems!

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A family friend of ours was a therapist who specialized in teaching older children to crawl if they had skipped that step. For some, not all, children, failing to go through a crawling stage does cause some seemingly-unrelated developmental issues later, including reading.

This therapist was able to help many of her patients pretty dramatically with this therapy. This was back in the 80's, and this older friend has since died.

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There are many doctors (ped's) and therapists who believed there was a causation (ie, not crawling caused certain things), but it has been disproved. While it's true that some people with certain learning problems skipped crawling, there is absolutely no evidence to prove that had they learned to crawl they would not have had those learning difficulties. Rather, it's more likely that their particular struggle is related to the task of crawling. They really have trouble with both. Teaching them how to crawl isn't going to change the way their brain is wired and suddenly erase the learning challenges they will face later in life.

Crawling is not a milestone. No one needs to learn how to crawl.

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That was, up until recently, a very common idea. There was a study done in the 70s that found a correlation between learning to read (specifically left to right) and crawling before walking. I believe the conclusions the researchers drew have fallen out of favor. A more recent study (5 years or so) showed no such correlation. If it's still a worry, ask your pediatrician. I wouldn't be too upset with the co-worker. Pediatricians probably advised her to do exactly what she did. Think of how much things have changed regarding tummy- sleeping or back-sleeping!

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there are some scientific research going on regarding the link between not crawling and being delayed...

HOWEVER, there is NO LINK to dyslexia and not crawling...

The thought process is - that crawling stimulates both sides of the brain since you need to use ALL FOUR appendages concurrently and not being able to do so limits the brains development...

GOOGLE developmental delay and not crawling...you'll get a ton of links..

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Yep, the lack of crawling does cause issues according to my looking into things and my therepists ... depth perception is an issue with non crawlers and many optomotrists use this as a tool to correct that issue along with glasses and whatever else they do. So, she is not totally off her rocker.
http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/885/The-Importance-...#
Here is one article that touches on the importance of the milstone ... some agree some disagree, however I have enough missed milestones in my son's life that I have learned the importance of each one. Lucky for us crawling and walking was not one, but I also learned that we are lucky for it to have not been one.

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I am a hairstylist. The things men and women tell us is shocking. From suicide attempts, affairs, herpes scares, illegal activity and fraud... it would scare you!!

As for the forcing children to crawl who went straight to walking, it is typical and actually has medical studies done on it, (many still believe crawling is essential for development and others believe it harmless to skip). As for the dyslexia, I don't know, if that is an effect, but the skipping crawling can be important to remedy in some situations. I have even heard of physical therapists teaching teens/adults how to crawl. Learning to crawl helps with fine mote skills development, hand eye coordination, the opposition dexterity helps organize the brain coordination. It also helps Dr's be able to diagnose if there was/is any bone/muscle weakness which caused the child to not crawl. It helps with true right or left sided dominance... so while not directly related to dyslexia, it can attribute to sloppy handwriting.

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Yup very true. While taking my son to his physical therapist there was an occupational therapist across the way doing this exact thing to some of her patients. I find it very interesting and was surprised as well. I'm glad you were able to learn something new, always an added bonus to this site!

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This is a theory that some OT's prescibe to. I have heard of some other kiddos who have never crawled that had some delays later but then they made them crawl and then they were fine. dont know if its true, may be with some kids but who knows. Just a theory.

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Yeah it is some stupid wives tail or something of the sort. My ex's mom used to tell me that. She would complain that my kids didn't crawl long enough.

Things like dyslexia are genetic, crawling doesn't alter the genes, ya know?

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Neither of my kids crawled.....they are just fine....better than fine in fact.

Not crawling, going strait to walking is just a personal preference. Sometimes it means the baby is ahead in the milestones if they skip crawling and go strait to walking along things its usually a sign they will walk independently early.

.......i call b.s. and coincidences on that one

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No it is NOT true. However having babies sleep on back does cause them to be scared of the dark. And eating ham gives you worms...if you rub your hands together really fast in the dark they will glow.

DON"T BELIEVE everything you HEAR or READ on the internet.

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That is the silliest thing I have ever heard. I crawled, apparently, once and only walked thereafter. I have no learning disabilities (was actually accelerated), though my core muscles weren't much to speak of as a kid, so I hear. There are plenty of kids who skip crawling altogether or do a little army crawl thing or scoot on their butts. . . I have no idea why it seems strange and taboo to so many people. Just laugh it off!

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I am sure there are kids who have walked without crawling that are just fine, but I have heard from several people that crawling stimulates parts of the brain and it's good for them to do it in the usual order. You could google it to see if it's a scientific fact or just an old wives' tale!

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That's silly. If anything, I refer to a sentence my husband loves to say while watching the news: "Coincidence does not equal causality". If I were to think anything of this coincidence, I would actually think that he was dyslexic, which is a reason he may have skipped, missed, or "stuck" on certain steps...not that skipping the act of crawling gave him dyslexia. (Nor would I think that not crawling is a sure sign he has a learning disability, or a reason to panic if one of my boys didn't crawl...but perhaps something to watch out for).
My son didn't crawl but maybe 2 months. But he's ahead on his reading for his age. My brother in law never crawled at all. He rolled instead. He would look at his cup and lay down, roll to it. Strange, kinda funny, but he's totally normal, went to a good private school, graduated and has 2 degrees from a good university. He's a bit of a jerk though. Maybe rolling causes insensitivity and narcissism? :P
I agree with Jennifer about the duck thing. There's a lot of this out there though. But it wasn't too long ago when the nuns at my husband's school were yanking pencils out of his classmates' left hands to "make" them be right handed, like something was "wrong" with being a lefty.

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That's silly, and completely untrue! Plenty of babies skip crawling and go straight to walking and there is nothing developmentally wrong with that! Her husband may have had issues, but they were not caused by walking first. That may have been the weird explanation that his parents or even his doctor came up with because they had no idea WHAT really caused his problems. Oh, and technically, if your son scoots around, that is considered crawling by child development experts. He is not doing the "classic crawl," but it is technically considered crawling.

Oh, and I just remembered reading this article that talked about how children grow up in different societies, like hunter-gatherer type societies, and if there is no soft, safe ground to crawl on, they go directly to walking. Crawling is really not a necessary developmental skill, that is just something that people came up with in recent decades in the modern, western world.

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I have heard of this and it is a theory to look at in cases of developmental delays. Some babies with autism have been highly successful in a retraining process which parents do along side their children. However, I want you to know that my oldest child scooted backwards always.Then she just got up and walked one night (after a day of scooting backwards all day) and walked a couple of steps.. She is today, incredibly academically and socially successful in college! I hope you will ease your mind and enjoy your son!

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My son scooted backwards from 8-10months. One day he just started moving foward and never went backwards again. My ped said that it was perfectly normal. I have never heard that there is any link between dyslexia and not crawling....

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Three years ago, my cousin (who was going to school to be some sort of massage therapist specialist at the time) was telling me about her classes. My 3 yo daughter was with me. We got to talking about crawling & development. I told her that my daughter never crawled. She just rolled to where she wanted to go. My cousin was VERY upset & adamant that I teach her how to crawl that very day. She said that if she never crawled, she would have some horrible mental developmental delays. I pretty much laughed in her face! My daughter's first word was puppy @ 7 mos old. By 12 mos, she was speaking in 4-5 word sentences. Fast forward 3 years. By the time she reached the end of kindergarten, she was reading on a high 2nd grade level (with her comprehension at a high 2nd grade too), writing 8-10 page stories, & doing math on a high 1st grade level! Developmentally delayed, you be the judge!

Being a first time mom, people will give you advice up the wazoo. I adopted the habit of saying to people who gave me advice, whether good, bad, or crazy, "Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for the advice." Sometimes people gave me some great advice, and other times, it was hard not to roll my eyes at them and say, "Seriously!?" A lot of times the grandmas gave some of the best advice! And other times, you just have to tell them "thanks." For example, this sweet older lady in my neighborhood told me to always put my baby to sleep on her tummy, because it was the best way to make sure her tummy bubbles would come out & she wouldn't be colicky. Some things have definitely changed in the 45 years since her kids were babies. But on the other hand, she also gave me some fabulous advice. You need to trust your mommy instincts. Talk with your son's Dr. Decide together what you need to do.

You can find anything you want on the internet. Crazy, wacked-out info; cold, hard facts; and everything in between. Take it all with a grain of salt.

Good luck!
Shellie

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Ignore her. This is an old wives tale. My husband and one of my children walked before crawling and they are both perfectly fine.

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There is some research to suggest that crawling is important (it's a coordination issue), but there are lots of kids that either do it for a super short time or not at all that turn out just fine. My kids (all 3 of them) didn't crawl till about 9 months and none walked before 15 months.

Thing is that every single kid is different. I would guess that lady's husband walked before crawling because of the dyslexia, not the other way around. Don't compare - it's completely unnecessary. Mother's intuition counts for so much more than a comparison.

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I have heard of this before. My older brother had the same thing happen. My mom said that they had to put on these special shoes with a bar attached to them to force him to crawl first. But, every baby is different. Don't let what one person says to you upset you. You know your baby best.

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My mom was told that I needed to crawl before I walked. And she did force me down on all fours per their instructions. This was nearly 40 years ago (YIKES!) though, so things have changed!
My boy barely crawled at all. Seriously. He did it (very poorly) for maybe a week. Then he wanted to be UP and walking. When I asked his doctor she said that they didn't make kids crawl anymore - that it would just frustrate both of us.
So, yes... and no! :D
Just tell her that things have changed a lot in the last 20 years or so. :)

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Your child will develop crawling when and how he wants to. All kids crawl at different ages, and they all have their own way of doing it. Some never even crawl at all (my oldest didn't, she scooted on her back...) and they end up totally normal. I knew a 9 month old that was walking already, and shes developing normal too!!

Sure you can show him how to do it, but don't force him or you will take the fun out of it!!

There are a lot of people out there with their own "advice" , listen to your sons doctor, and your mommy-sense and you will do just fine!!

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My brother also walked before crawling and his pediatrician said the same thing. Fast forward 22 years ... he is a competitive swimmer with a full-ride academic scholarship to one of the best universities in the state. So, even if there is some merit to this, it isn't always the case.

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Im sorry I had to laugh! Ummm no. I've never heard that and it sounds ridiculous to me. Im no doc though! My son crawled literally for about 2 weeks then stood up and has been running ever since. Just depends on the kid :)

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My former husband had similar beliefs. We are 50 something - not hippies, though. Due to his similar beliefs, he gave our son crawling lessons. It was hysterically funny. And useless. Our son didn't crawl because of the lessons. He crawled when he was developmentally ready. Entertaining but useless concept.

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I have never heard that one. Nor have I ever heard of a child being potty trained at 9 months old (a girl at work claimed her child was). Maybe your co worker was just repeating something that her MIL said. Who knows!!!!

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Huge response, but felt I could chime in. I have heard that crawling is an important stage, but every kid is different. My 8 year old never crawled. In fact she would refuse to do tummy time and would either scream or when she could would role on to her back and sit up. Other than that she hit all her milestone before or on time and she could not be made to do anything she didn't want to. That being said, she was cruising furniture at 9 1/2 months and walked a month latter. She is now healthy and happy, incredibly smart and active. Ok she can't throw a ball ( oh no I don't have an athlete what ever am I going to do <insert sarcasm> ) Also about being dyslexic, my sisters son crawled and is dyslexic. My daughter is an advanced reader. So while maybe there is some merit, all of our brains develop differently. Our bodies are amazing and can adapt as we go, there is no one formula. If your son is hitting the other milestones I wouldn't sweat it too much. all views of raising kids seem to change every few years. Best of wishes.