You have a newborn baby and want more than anything that he/she grows up to be a healthy and happy child and then adult. In this blog I am going to explain the important phases of gross physical development that are the essential to developing a strong and capable body. Missing or skipping these developmental stages can mean less efficient movement patterns, being more injury prone, and being more likely to develop physical pain throughout life.
 |  |
To fully develop their physical strength and function needed for life, your baby should go through and master each of theses phases: wiggle & kick; superman & swimming; rock & roll; army crawl; crawling; sitting up; squatting & standing; cruising; walking; running; and jumping.
Some important things to remember are:
- All babies should go through these phases but many phases will overlap with each other.
- Babies will reach each stage at different ages and it's best to not compare to other babies. Let your baby learn at their own pace, but make sure to spend lots of time on the floor with them every day encouraging their development.
- If your baby is not doing (or enjoying) one of these phases or skips one altogether it's best to talk to an expert in infant/baby physical development because they will be able to help you and your baby.
- Getting down on the floor and talking, touching, and playing with your baby as much as possible is essential - each of these phases develops skills that are new and challenging for your baby and you being there with them will make it much more fun and enjoyable for your baby.
- The more your baby masters each phase of development they stronger and healthier they will be. Instead of encouraging your baby to move to the next phase quickly, encourage them to master the earlier phase fully. Your baby will naturally move to the next phase when they are physically ready.
- If someone (even your pediatrician) tells you that it's ok if your baby doesn't go through all these phases, or skips crawling and goes right to standing, or instead of crawling scoots on their butt, don't believe them. It is not normal to skip a phase of development. Seek help from an expert that understands these phases and how to help you and your baby.
- Skipping phases can mean your baby is not developing the muscle strength and function needed for a healthy life and can lead to injuries and pain later in life.
- If you have an older child (2+ years old) whom does not enjoy physical activity or exercise it is often because he/she never developed the strength and coordination necessary for play and physical activity as a baby. If this is the case, seek out a qualified professional that can help your child catch-up physically. It will allow them to have a happier childhood, avoid pain and injuries, and will be a healthier adult because of it.
1. Wiggle and kick
The first important phase of physical gross motor development that all infants do need to go through is lying on their backs and moving their arms and legs - I call it the "wiggle and kick" phase. In the supine position, the baby's back is supported by the floor and allows free movement of the arms and legs while developing some core strength. This phase is important because it starts building up strength in the hips and shoulders and the beginnings of control and coordination that is needed for all following phases of movement development. Phase 1 and 2 should be happening at the same time starting at birth and continuing for the first several months of life until they naturally are rolling over in both directions.
Getting down not the ground with your baby and talking, playing, and interacting with your baby is essential during this and all following phases of development.
Getting down not the ground with your baby and talking, playing, and interacting with your baby is essential during this and all following phases of development.
| | |
2. Superman and swimming
This phase of physical development only happens with the all important "tummy time." Tummy time is something parents can start giving their babies from birth and continue until the baby can roll over from back to front and front to back successfully on their own. As newborns, babies will struggle to lift or turn their heads and might have trouble lifting and moving their arms and legs in this position. But this will quickly change as your baby develops strength each day. Soon your baby will be able to keep their head lifted for extended periods of time and be able to lift all four limbs off the floor or "superman or superwoman" and wiggle and kick them or "swim".
This phase is essential to developing the s-curved spine needed to stand upright. All babies are born with the "primary curves" which are the thoracic and sacral curves (flexion). The primary curves mean the spine is in a c-shape which allowed the baby to fit in their mother's womb. The superman/woman and swimming phase starts the development of the "secondary curves" which are the lumbar and cervical curves (extension). Without proper development of the secondary curves (s-curved spine) during this phase of childhood development, normal upright posture cannot happen and the person would be at increased risk of spinal injury and pain throughout life.
This phase is essential to developing the s-curved spine needed to stand upright. All babies are born with the "primary curves" which are the thoracic and sacral curves (flexion). The primary curves mean the spine is in a c-shape which allowed the baby to fit in their mother's womb. The superman/woman and swimming phase starts the development of the "secondary curves" which are the lumbar and cervical curves (extension). Without proper development of the secondary curves (s-curved spine) during this phase of childhood development, normal upright posture cannot happen and the person would be at increased risk of spinal injury and pain throughout life.
| |  |
Getting good at holding the superman for several minutes means your baby is ready to move onto the next phase, the rock and roll!
3. Rock and roll
Once your baby has mastered the superman/woman and has developed some back strength you are going to see your baby starting the motions that will allow her to roll over. Rolling over from both front to back and back to front are essential skills that develop strong core muscles and continue the development of the secondary spinal curves. This phase of physical development also builds the strong hip and shoulder muscles needed for crawling and eventually walking. When babies become masters at rolling, they will be able to roll repeatedly over and over to get from one side of the room to the other chasing toys, you, a pet, or an older brother or sister. When they get to this level of rolling strength they are ready to start the next phase of development.
| | |
4. Army crawl
Once your baby has learned how to roll effectively from front to back and back to front they will naturally start moving onto the next phase: army crawling. Your baby, with their strong back and stomach muscles from all that rolling over, will start to push and pull themselves across the floor while still lying on their stomach. The best way to encourage this movement is to get down on the floor in front of them while holding their favorite just out of reach. Encourage them to come get their toy and watch as they start reaching, pushing, and pulling themselves until they get it. As they start to get the hang of it (after several weeks) start spreading toys around the perimeters of the room and encourage them to go find them.
| | |
Army crawling starts the important movement pattern of "cross-crawling" or moving the opposite arm and leg together. This important movement pattern not only trains the body to be able to crawl, walk, and run, but helps connect the two sides of the brain and is essential for normal brain development.
5. Crawling
After army crawling around the house for a few weeks, babies will usually have the strength to start lifting themselves up onto the hands and knees. They will start with rocking on their hands and knees and then start to learn to crawl on their hands and knees. There will be tumbles and face-plants but it will be worth it because soon your baby will be speed crawling everywhere! This freedom of movement will bring your baby great joy! I highly encourage you to continue to get down on the floor with your baby and crawl with them, chase them, have them chase you, spread toys around the room, etc. The more interaction you have with your child on the floor the stronger and healthier they will be.
| |  |
Crawling on all fours is one of the more important stages of development and the more time your baby spends crawling the better. Crawling develops the hip, leg, and torso strength needed to stand upright and walk. Without building this strength crawling, your baby will not be stable when they stand and you'll notice their feet and knees point outward when standing. If they stand and start walking before they develop the necessary strength while crawling, they will learn poor biomechanics of walking which can lead to injuries and pain throughout life. Crawling also helps babies master cross-patterning which is essential for brain development and motor control needed for walking and running. You want your baby to be a very good and fast crawler before you start encouraging them to stand and walk.
6. Sitting up
Babies will naturally sit upright after the army crawl and regular crawling phases of development. The crawling stages develop the hip and torso strength needed to sit upright while maintaining good spinal curves. If a baby sits up before they have spent much time crawling, they will not have the strength and function to maintain an upright posture and will sit with a c-curved spine as seen below on the left. A baby sitting upright with good posture is seen sitting on below on the right.
 |  |
Spending time sitting before developing the strength from crawling can lead to your baby learning poor posture habits and movement patterns that can cause lifelong problems. Sitting is important in developing the hip and torso strength needed to squat and stand. While sitting your baby is learning to support 2 load joints (hip and shoulder) vertically and balance their head on top.
7. Squat baby squat
After mastering all the previous phases of development your baby will naturally move onto the squatting phase. During this phase your baby will start to balance in a squatting position and then move back and forth between squatting and standing. This is building great hip strength as your baby learns how to support their 8 load joints vertically and is important to develop this function before standing and walking.
 | |
8. Standing
The squatting and standing phases will of course happen at the same time (and while your baby is still crawling everywhere!) and build on each other. The more your baby crawls and squats the better balance your baby will have to just stand. If you notice your baby's feet and knees are turned out when they stand this means they need to spend more time crawling and squatting before you encourage them to walk. This can be a challenging phase for parents because they can't wait to see their baby walk and will have the urge to constantly help them try to walk. Don't push your baby to walk before they are ready - it will hurt them in the long run. Let nature takes its course and your baby will be a super walker when they are ready.
 |  |
During this period of development you should notice your baby doing lots of crawling, squatting, sitting, and standing all mixed together until they get very smooth and comfortable moving between each of these positions like a pro.
9. Cruising
Once your baby has developed good strength from the earlier phases, your baby will start standing up and cruising along furniture. You should notice that your baby's feet point close to straight ahead and that she has good balance and isn't constantly falling. If your baby's feet point out a lot or your baby is falling a lot, it means they need to spend more time in the earlier phases of development.
| | |
10. Walking
Walking will quickly follow cruising, usually around 12 months of age. Baby's who develop at their our natural pace through the earlier phases will have great strength and balance when they start walking. If your baby spent adequate time in each of the earlier phases, he will have feet that point straight or almost straight ahead when he starts walking. You will also notice that your baby will move themselves from squatting to standing to walking several steps and back to squatting without falling (or catch themselves in a controlled manner on their hands and knees).
If your baby is unsteady and face-plants, this means they need to spend more time in the earlier phases of development before you encourage walking - they just aren't ready yet. You should also notice that your baby is very upright from the front and side - ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, and head are aligned vertically. If they have a lot of forward lean from the side or from the front you notice their feet are wider than their hips they probably aren't ready to be upright yet.
If your baby is unsteady and face-plants, this means they need to spend more time in the earlier phases of development before you encourage walking - they just aren't ready yet. You should also notice that your baby is very upright from the front and side - ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, and head are aligned vertically. If they have a lot of forward lean from the side or from the front you notice their feet are wider than their hips they probably aren't ready to be upright yet.
 | |
Now that your baby is walking unassisted, they are considered a toddler! You can then move onto reading the important phases of toddler physical development in a future blog post. Also make sure to read the 10 things that highjack your baby's physical development.
RSS Feed