She Walks!

Every time we take our baby out and people find out that she’s not walking on her own yet, we get a sympathetic look from them and the added line, “You know, babies that crawl longer are smarter,” as if that makes everything all better. Well, no more! As of last week, Caitlyn has official begun walking on her own! They may be a few off-balanced steps, but they are steps in the right direction.

With so many people making the comment that babies who crawl longer turn out smarter, I wanted to see if there was any truth behind it. Unfortunately, while there hasn’t been any research that has sufficiently proven this, crawling does have its benefits, which may be how this old wive’s tale came to be.

• Crawling stimulates different areas of the brain and also coordinates the use of both eyes, feet, ears, and hands.
• Crawling is believed to increase the production of myelin, the substance that coats nerve cells. Myelin helps in the process of sending and receiving messages more quickly and efficiently.
• Crawling strengthens a baby’s neck, arms, joints, and muscles. This makes a baby’s gross and fine-motor skills more fluid.
• The repeated movements from crawling stimulate and help develop the brain’s neural connections in a baby, which in turn makes the brain more efficient in controlling cognitive processes such as understanding, concentration, and memory.

With all these positive benefits, maybe our baby can crawl her way to Harvard!

Taking a walk

You talkin' to me?

 

Right back atcha!

At Chiang Kai Shek Memorial