As a child develops, there are numerous developmental milestones you may notice (and snap a few videos of). As your child grows they will start to hold their heads up, roll, sit, crawl, stand, and walk. As these milestones progress, you may notice that your child is having difficulty getting “into” and “out” of these movements. It’s important to not only develop these milestones but also focus on the transitions between them.
One major transition that is often overlooked is the progression from sitting to crawling. This transition can sometimes be difficult for novice crawlers to get in and out of easily. From sitting, your little one should start to lean to one side or the other with that same-sided leg bent underneath. This naturally places the pelvis in an anterior tilt which facilitates a forward shift of their body weight. As they are in this position, they can move into crawling by increasing the amount of weight through their arms and eventually rock onto hands and knees. As your crawler begins to demonstrate a more traditional reciprocal style crawl, you can encourage this continued transition every time they move from sitting to crawling.
Once your kiddo has mastered crawling and demonstrates stable sitting balance, you may see them trying to pull to stand along the couch or other tall objects. This developmental milestone is the precursor to walking and, you guessed it, just like crawling it requires a transition. As your child continues to pull to stand, keep an eye out for movements from kneeling on both knees to transitioning to one knee and finally to pulling to stand. This transition from tall kneeling to half-kneeling to standing is a natural progression that eventually will develop our typical sit-to-stand movements.
These milestones can be impacted if the kiddo gets “stuck” in their transitions back and forth from these movements. If you notice that your little is not meeting their milestones or seems to be delayed in achieving these progressions, they may benefit from an evaluation for physical therapy. Team 4 Kids can offer a complimentary screening if you think your kiddo may need an extra set of eyes! Give us a call!
Alyssa Rosdahl, PTA