Calling parents whose children who did not crawl

[AtWitsEnd21]

Looking for some experiences of similar

DS 15m never crawled. Bum shuffled briefly and went straight to walking at just over 12m. DS is the most accident prone child I’ve ever met. He falls as typical for his age but does not put his hands to save himself. He has a few really bad falls in the last few weeks. Last week he was taken by ambulance to A&E because of a particularly bad fall on to his head. Yesterday he has cracked a front tooth falling. I have an appointment with a physio in two weeks. No other concerns, gross and fine motor all as expected. Speech typical for age.

Just wondering if anyone else’s non crawling child had similar issues with falling?

Thanks!

Interesting. My DS (ASD and SLD) crawled briefly then walked at 12 months. His older brother (NT) bum shuffled until 21 months and then walked.

I didn't crawl apparently. Shuffle bottom FTW! Walked and ran very early and was quite an active child. I wasn't notably clumsy or accident prone but I would definitely say I'm on the clumsy side as an adult although can be quite agile when I concentrate and it's necessary.

There is a medical link between not crawling and dyspraxia. There is also a link with dyslexia too.

I did ballet to royal ballet level but can trip over fresh air as my mum said so interesting to see that lots of people have DC or themselves have had issue but can go o. Stage and put on a show. I do think the more being clumsy was focused on the worse it got.

I had a bum shuffler and the physical therapist told me not to let them walk until they’d done the exercises she prescribed and mastered crawling properly, as they’d compensate for the core weakness be off kilter.

Wow this is interesting.

I have a cousin and a niece who both bum shuffled.

My DD bum shuffled... for a long time, as she was a very late walker. She was quite the expert!
She is autistic, has hypermobility and OCD.

I wish I'd known about not crawling being problematic, only reading about it now!
Anyway, she's not particularly clumsy, is a skilled artist and doesn't have dyslexia.

I didn’t either. Had calipers up to my hips until I was 9 and was a massive klutz all my life. Was diagnosed with Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome when I was 49. (Massive orthopaedic history.)

One of my DC had to go to physio for a different issue and they definitely mentioned the importance of crawling in making neural pathways. I rarely went to soft play but we had a collapsible tunnel that I would get them to crawl through. My kids loved doing obstacle courses in the garden or crawling under chairs or tables indoors.

If there is any relationship between not-crawling and clumsiness (in our society), then it's likely to be a case of "whatever causes the non-crawling is connected to the clumsiness" rather than "crawling would somehow have taught them some vital skills which they currently lack." Because honestly, crawling is culturally specific - in many societies it is normal for babies to go straight to walking.

My daughter didn’t. Her brother is diagnosed with dyspraxia and did crawl. I do think she has tendencies, but isn’t falling a lot.

That's interesting, and the frequent mentions of hypermobility are interesting too.

I didn't crawl. I rolled for a couple of weeks then pulled myself up and started walking from 8 months. I am very co-ordinated, definitely not dyslexic. I was actually hyperlexic, so quite the opposite. I believe I do have dyscalculia though.

All of my children did crawl and all are hypermobile. I never had a bum shuffler.

I think that babies learning to walk just do go through a stage where they bang themselves around a bit. My mother had to justify my bruises when I was 8 months old. They didn't believe I was walking until she put me down to show them. Mine used to bang their head on furniture at times and get minor bruises around the forehead at times.

Thanks to everyone again for all the responses. I think from reading this there is no hard and fast rule that if a child skips crawling they will automatically have other motor issues. Just to reiterate DS does not fall anymore frequently then what is typical for his age. It is the way he is falling. Someone has suggested getting his eyes tested as he may have an issue with depth perception. So i will look into this too.

DC bum shuffled and never crawled. Very clumsy as a toddler, the master of falling over and notorious for spilling drinks!
20 years later they passed auditions for prestigious dance schools, so apparently fine now.
But as with anything if you're worried I would still get them checked out.

Hi,

It sounds as though he may be missing a reflex possibly? Could you take him to see someone who knows about the development of reflexes and see if one could be missing? I think my friend who works for the college of optometrists in vision development knows how to assess that.

I only mention because I once had a bad fall when a reflex failed to catch me and that was to do with B12 deficiency. That's not what's going on with your DS, but reflexes failing can really cause chaos during a fall.

Neither I nor my son crawled. I am.dyslexic/dyspraxic and my son is on the pathway for some combo of the above and adhd/autism. Verbally very advanced, struggles with handwriting, letter shapes, etc. He's 5.

We heard about this with right/left issues and divergent eyes - linked to not integrating the primitive reflexes. Mine rolled, then cruised, then walked at 9 months, is now a gymnast but claims to be uncoordinated!