Babies go through the developmental sequence each at their own pace. I don’t discourage any of the wonderful growth that a child does. I only discourage parents from trying to push past the initial and necessary activities of the first year in favor of cortical activities. No one can say that an infant who is initiating their developmental steps more quickly than average is ‘skipping’ critical stages. Some children legitimately pass through those stages quickly.
However, our culture is prejudiced towards ‘rushing’ the children through critical stages, and it is only when parents are pushing the children to walk before they are ready, that I have a concern. Similarly, we have a push towards ‘independence’, which is sometimes detrimental to the brain in a child who needs to be working at a more dependent and early level.
Some children walk and talk very early and are absolutely developmentally intact. Others may wait much later, even as much as 18 months, and be totally normal.It is so important to support every parent who is conscientiously working in their child’s best interest! AND in this culture that rushes so many of our children (leading to an epidemic of neurological issues — behavioral, physical, and academic challenges — rooted in incomplete development), it is also important to support mothers in letting their infants take all the time they need to be infants.
What is also important to note is that ALL research points to the fact that, within the normal developmental curve, children who walk and talk at 10 months of age are not cognitively superior to children who walk and talk later. This is what our culture does — it rushes, implying that sooner is better and that is absolutely NOT the case. So a child who is developmentally ready to walk at 10 months need not be applauded as intellectually superior, any more than a child who is not developmentally ready for those activities until several months later.
I have worked with children who are absolute geniuses, and highly skilled not only mentally, but also socially, emotionally, physically, and psychologically, and did not walk or talk until as late as 2 years. All this is to say that we are all different, growth trajectories are all different, and as long as a child has done all of their early developmental activities as designed by nature and God, then we’re well set for a competent, healthy future.
We need to support all mothers and it is not my intent to ever criticize those mothers who are doing so very much correctly, only to educate mothers who do not understand that sooner is in no way better. AND, infants who are encouraged to return to creeping by doing lots of floor games, even if they are competent walkers, are doing nothing but strengthening their foundations.