Do more, see more – your baby’s developing vision and crawling will change their world!

When it comes to crawling, lots of different whole-body skills are combined to make this movement happen. The connection between vision and crawling is one of the most interesting combinations as your baby uses their vision in a number of ways when moving this way. Let's explore how... 

Physical skills boost visual skills 

Psychologists Kari Kretch, John Franchak and Karen Adolph describe vision as: ‘A whole body process.’^[1] 

Vision involves movement of the eyes, head and body, and as your baby’s physical skills develop, this opens up new opportunities for visual development. 

Your baby can see things higher up and further away 

When your baby pushes themselves up onto all fours, they have a different view of the world around them. This developing strength allows your baby to position their body, head and eyes and look at people and objects close to them.  

You might notice that as your baby pushes up, and can hold themselves in this position, they seem more interested in things a little further away from them. Being able to see different things might boost your baby’s desire to try and crawl over to them. 

Planning movement through watching hands 

When your baby crawls, they might look at their hands as they move – this can help them to think about their movements and avoid obstacles.

Looking and moving develop together 

So, a new position supports your baby’s visual development, and their vision supports them as they begin to move. Enjoy watching them discover a whole new world! 

Reference: 

[1] Kari S. Kretch, John M. Franchak, and Karen E. Adolph. (2014). ‘Crawling and walking infants see the world differently’. Child development, 85(4), 1503-1518.