following on from the walking thread

[amytheearwaxbanisher]

was wondering my ds now 2.4 never ever crawled and walked at 14 months whos little one didnt crawl or bum shuffled?oh and what age did they crawl[by crawling i mean up on hands and knees not worming like my ds]

Crawling is a very important stage in neurological development, retrospectively, I would have never put my son in a baby walker if I had known then what I learnt since.. baby walkers should carry a health warning.

do walkers have an effect on crawling?

My dd has a baby walker and is crawling and pulling herself up to standing - what is wrong with them? She is only in one while I'm getting her tea or need to be out of the room for a minute.

i dont know!i thought i was a bad mum as....there is a fruitshoot in my fridge....ah well another thing to feel guilty about

Crawling is not essential for neurological development. Walkers do however impede development of normal walking as you use a different action to walk in a walker. On average they cause a delay of about 2 weeks in learning to walk.

Plus they take up an awful lot of room and don't look that pretty

There is a link between non crawling and dyslexia. My DS never got up on his knees and crawled. He did commando crawling (pulling himself along by his arms) then walked at 10 months.
He is being tested for dyslexia at the moment and one of the questions. I had to answer was when did he crawl? and when did he walk?

As for baby walkers they are dangerous as babies can move so much faster in them and get to things they would normally not get hold of.

I was talking to a mum one week at swimming who was telling me baby walkers were safe, then the next week her little one had a huge bruise on her head, because she had fallen down the step in her baby walker!
You should never ever leave a child alone in a baby walker.

there is also a link to dyspraxia and various coordination problems

The Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists have a leaflet wqarning about the dangers of babywalkers.

The companies that make them have subtly changed the designs over the years (made them wider, more stable, lower etc) to try to get round the proven safety issues.

Ive met few parents who buy them for themselves, its nearly always well mening gparents, leaving parents feeling the ought to use the walker just to keep the gparents happy.

How did a question about non-crawling turn into a discussion of babywalkers? I know of lots of kids who never crawled- none of them had ever been in a babywalker. Also, none of them suffered from dyslexia; I appreciate there may well be a link here, but it's not likely to be causal.
My niece bumshuffled and went on to walk at a normal age. Other kids commando crawled and then walked. My own daughter rolled- admittedly she has got a genetic disorder, but nothing to do with baby walkers, nor has she got dyslexia; her problem was low muscle tone.
I agree with not wanting baby walkers, but crawling can hardly be an essential stage in neurological development, as so many kids manage to bypass it- besides, what would you do as a mum, if your dc refuses to crawl? Not a lot you can do about it, is there?

I agree Cory. There may be occasions where how a child learns to move may indicate something but highly unlikely to have caused it. It's also perfectly normal for many children to bum shuffle instead of crawling. My husband isn't dyslexic and went from bum shuffling to late walking. I am dyslexic and had a few months of crawling early then walking at 9 months. Not crawling is considered a soft marker, I don't think there is any actual evidence. Don't want parents to read this thread and start to worry As long as they have plenty of time on the floor to learn how move about by themselves, in whatever style that may be.

I agree Cory. There may be occasions where how a child learns to move may indicate something but highly unlikely to have caused it. It's also perfectly normal for many children to bum shuffle instead of crawling. My husband isn't dyslexic and went from bum shuffling to late walking. I am dyslexic and had a few months of crawling early then walking at 9 months. Not crawling is considered a soft marker, I don't think there is any actual evidence. Don't want parents to read this thread and start to worry As long as they have plenty of time on the floor to learn how move about by themselves, in whatever style that may be.

My granddaughter is a bum shuffler and she speeds around the room at a great speed. She has just turned 15 months old and I must say I was getting a bit worried but hearing from Mumsets members, who also have noticed that bum shufflers seem to take longer to walk than crawlers, I don't feel so bad now. My granddaughter has been sitting up since 4 months quite well. However if she falls over she still can't manage to pick herself up. I think her strength in her arms would have been better if she would have been crawling. My daughter is about to start taking her to Mother and Baby Swimming Classes so that should help put strength in her legs and arms. I think it should all help with the walking. I think we should all not listen to other people when they voice concern, babies have a way of doing things in THEIR own time.

DD1 never crawled. She was a bum shuffler and walked late. She's not dyslexic or dysprasic. She is now 23 and has just started teaching.DD3 18 is dyspraxic and she was a speedy crawler.

DD2 was a bum shuffler and needed physio to build strength and learn how to crawl and walk. The physio said crawling is important for muscle development as it works muscles all over the body. Children who don't crawl also may have trouble when they fall forward when they start walking, they may not have the arm strength or reaction time to put up their hands to stop themselves.

This is all according to the physio (I'm not an expert!), she never said anything about dyslexia or similar, just that crawling was better for physical development.