Why Crawling Was Removed From the CDC Checklist—And Why It Still Matters

About a month ago, a father brought to my attention that the CDC (and AAP) removed crawling from the Child Developmental Checklist. When I heard this I was shocked and immediately wanted to learn more. With my undergraduate and graduate degrees in Early Childhood Education, and a passion for advocating yoga and movement for babies and children, I thought crawling was an essential skill... Why was this milestone removed and what are they saying about it? 

While researching, I found some really great articles. The first was, "Baby Not Crawling Yet? Here's What Every Parent Needs to Know," by Movevery Infant and Pediatric PT. They know their target audience and if you only have time to read two sentences, they summarize it beautifully in the intro: 

"THE SHORT ANSWER: YES, CRAWLING MATTERS. THE CDC REMOVED CRAWLING FROM ITS PUBLIC HEALTH SCREENING CHECKLIST IN 2022 BECAUSE IT WAS INCONSISTENTLY DEFINED AND HIGHLY VARIABLE ACROSS POPULATIONS, NOT BECAUSE THE SKILL IS DEVELOPMENTALLY UNIMPORTANT. HANDS-AND-KNEES CRAWLING BUILDS BILATERAL COORDINATION, UPPER EXTREMITY WEIGHT-BEARING, HAND ARCH DEVELOPMENT, PROPRIOCEPTION, AND INTERHEMISPHERIC BRAIN CONNECTIVITY ALL AT THE SAME TIME. NO OTHER SINGLE MOVEMENT DOES ALL OF THAT."

The second article I wanted to share is "Why is Proper Crawling an Important Milestone for Babies?" from Play On Pediatric Therapy. This article breaks down how gross motor development from crawling, leads to mark-making and fine motor development. It also explains how crawling helps develop our sensory system (i.e. visual tracking, touch, and proprioception—awareness of the body's position in relation to others and their surroundings.) 

So what did I find?

Crawling is still super important! Even if your baby is army crawling, bum scooting, or other means of crawling, this is still great and we can encourage them to crawl on hands and knees using the three techniques we have been practicing in class:

1. Lifting the hips while scooting the knees (like cow pose) (video to come)

2. Lifting the hips and legs off the ground encouraging weight bearing on the hands (photo to come)

3. Creating obstacles such as pillows, rolled up blankets and ramps to crawl and move over (photo to come)

   
   

   The benefits of bilateral coordination—strengthening both sides of the brain, improving hand, arm, and core strength, and fostering independence—are just too significant to skip crawling all together.

But my baby hates tummy time. They fuss and cry every time I put them on their belly.

That's totally normal! Some frustration during tummy time or learning any new skill is very normal. Especially in the first few months, babies start to recognize patterns, including the time it takes for them to fuss or cry before being picked up. I am not saying leave your child to cry but this is where we can support them through it! Confidence, resiliency, and trust in their own abilities begin developing even in these early moments. Babies thrive and learn when they feel loved and supported.

Here are some examples of different phrases you can use when your baby starts to cry or fuss and you want to exercise that discomfort muscle in a supportive and encouraging way. Dont forget, hugs, kisses and snuggles say more than words sometimes!

"Let's take 3 breaths before I pick you up."

"Let's try hands and knees once more before we take a break." 

"Your body is in a safe place, so let's count to 5 and I will come get you."

"Yay! You did it! You were so brave and strong for trying again!"

"Sometimes we will face discomfort and challenges but we can always take breaks, reset and try again." 

I've read somewhere that the way we speak to our children (as well as indirectly through our actions) becomes our children's inner voice. I think about this a lot when I parent my children. It helps guide me as I choose when to step in and what words to choose. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. I lose my sh!t more than I'd like to admit and I do a lot of repair work— Circling back, revisiting challenging moments, apologizing and expressing what I will do differently.

Lastly, how long is too long to let them struggle and cry? Or am I letting them struggle enough?

This is where you listen to your inner voice and wisdom. How long feels too long for you? Are you facing anxiety and PPD (Postpartum Depression) that is interfering with your decision-making? Anxiety and PPD are very common. 1 in 8 mothers experience PPD and 20% of mothers experience heightened anxiety in the first year.

Sometimes our own fears, overwhelm, or anxiety can make it hard to know when to step in and when to give our babies space to work through challenge. This is incredibly normal. Parenting asks so much of our nervous systems too. Supporting a baby through small moments of frustration does not mean ignoring their needs. It means staying connected, responsive, and present while allowing room for growth. At 5-6 months, babies are quite sturdy, they have gained full control of their heads and necks and are also beginning to start solids. Being ready for these skills shows their capability and can hopefully bring peace of mind regarding what they can handle and are ready for. You are a capable parent. You have a strong intuition you can lean into. No one knows your child like you.

*If you feel like you might be experiencing anxiety or PPD, please contact your healthcare provider. Support is available and we want to make sure you get the support you need.

Babies' development and milestones can definitely be overwhelming and stressful but I hope that True Rotos Family Yoga Developmental Playgroups can make learning and growing fun, enjoyable and approachable! After all, it is a baby's job to play! I truly believe that through play and joy, babies, toddlers and children learn best. To be honest I think most teens and adults wished they played more too! (The correlation between play and learning is a whole other topic I could discuss for hours and hours.) I hope you enjoy these moments. They are sweet. They are bitter. They are big and small. And one doesn't come without the other in this beautiful adventure we call life<3