GM.A.31 ON TUMMY, ATTEMPTS TO REACH WHILE ON STRAIGHT ARMS

Here the child, in her effort to get to her toys, pushes up so far that she pushes herself backwards, or appears to ‘swim’ with her arms, or just collapses.

If it results in pushing backwards this appears to a parent to be ‘all wrong’. ‘She’s pushing herself backwards!’ is the complaint or manya parent who feels she’s been doing all the right things! But this is actually the forerunner to creeping forward.

The baby pushes back or ‘swims’ because she is using her back or extensor muscles so strongly when she pushes up on her arms that she can’t manage to take on arm forward. Her efforts cause so much extra extension that she pushes herself back or both arms go up and back and she ‘swims’.

This is a milestone in development, rather than a skill to be taught. It will happen in your attempts to teach your child to creep forward. Once you have observed it, avoid putting her on slippery surfaces, so that she doesn’t become frustrated in her attempts to reach for a toy.

How to Assess

Method: Observe your child when she is playing on her tummy on a flat, slippery surface with her toys about 30 cm in front of her. Score plus if your child, in an effort to get to the toys, pushes up on her hands to such an extent that she slips backwards or ‘swims’.