merrill@gigi.DEC (Rick GIGI::Merrill DECRITE) (07/26/84)
Some infants apparently learn to walk too soon and actually get bowed legs because their bones were too soft. It also seems likely that their mental development is abnormal (good/bad?) because they did not spend enough time crawling. Crawling is used to help restore control to individuals who have experienced brain trauma. This is called "patterning" and teaches opposed limb control (which a few babies never seem to master, but it does not appear to hurt them - test yourself andyor kids: how do u crawl?) Question is how early SHOULD one crawl, and for how long should a parent keep gently putting a baby back on all fours? We put ours back on all fours until they could stand without holding onto anything/body else. Rick
ksh@cbosgd.UUCP (Karen Summers-Horton) (07/29/84)
The statement that 'if a child walks too soon, they get bowed legs' is an old wives tale. Our son walked at 6 and 1/2 months (after having only crawled for 2 weeks). He immediatly walked without supporting himself on other things. This has not harmed his development at all - at twenty months, he counts to 21, and says the alphabet by himself. He also doesn't have bowed legs. Karen Summers-Horton
margaret@asgb.UUCP (08/10/84)
I am a living example of why a child should not be allowed to walk too soon. After crawling for a very short time, I learned to walk. All was well and good until I started school. For a couple of years, I was fortunate enough to be placed in a desk at the front of the classroom. In 3rd grade, this changed. After a few weeks, it became apparent that my school work was going down hill. After a trip to the eye doctor, I found out that I had a convergence problem. It seems that when crawling, a baby learns to slowly bring objects into focus. If they start walking too soon, the eyes will not be trained to focus properly. I now have to live with double vision for everything beyond the distance of 3 feet unless I am specifically concentrating on focusing on the object in front of me. Surgery could correct part of the problem, but would mess up my near vision. So, from personal experience, my advise is to encourage your babies to crawl for at least 2-3 months. (Note: I have tried eye exercises for about 14 years now. They help some, but cannot make up for the training lost in the early months of development. Margaret Brown Burroughs ASG Boulder ...!sdcsvax!bmcg!asgb!margaret