Cruising – A Baby Milestone

All babies need to achieve milestones to develop into properly functioning adults. Crawling, walking and talking are all milestones that parents look forward to. When it comes to these milestones, a lot of people often do not realise that cruising is an important one for their babies to reach.

What is Cruising?

Not all babies go through this stage, but cruising is one of the most important milestones in a baby’s life. It is when a baby begins to hold onto other objects or even your hands and uses them to pull herself up into a standing position. In this way, a baby will hold onto objects, like the edge of the table, and use it as support to walk. This walking while holding onto something for support is called cruising, and it is quite common to see baby cruising furniture.

At What Age Do Infants Start Cruising?

The age at when babies start to cruise is different for each individual. This is because cruising depends on how much your baby’s muscles have developed as she will need that muscle strength to pull them up and try to walk. Most babies start cruising at 7 months while others may start cruising at eight months or on or around their first birthdays.

How to Encourage Your Baby to Start Cruising?

You will need to help your baby at first by gently pulling her up and helping her into a standing position. Once he is in the right position, being on his feet, you need to praise her, even if she manged to stand up for only a few seconds. You can place the toy along the edge of the sofa to encourage your little one to pull herself up. All these things have an impact on teaching your baby to balance and eventually walk.

How to Ensure Your Child’s Safety While Cruising?

Every parent knows that they need to baby proof the house once their baby shows signs of cruising. The essential thing is to make sure that all your main furniture is sturdy as your baby will be using it for support to walk. You must also make sure that you keep all sharp and poisonous things out of your baby’s reach. If your home has stairways, ensure that you place guards at both the top and the bottom. You may think it is not that important to place guards on the bottom, but if by some chance your baby gets up a few stairs, she may take a tumble down them as she will not know how to get back down, so make sure that you do not forget to baby proof the stairs as well. Anything that may fold back into itself should be put away as you don’t want your baby to have her fingers caught in them.

Will Your Baby Need Shoes While Cruising?

Although it might be tempting to get your baby a pair of cute little shoes to protect her precious feet, it is actually much better to let your baby start cruising without anything on her feet. This way, she will build strength in the muscles of her legs, feet and the arches of the feet as well. Only when your baby takes at least a step without support should you consider buying a pair of shoes for her to walk in.

Do You Need to Buy a Baby Walker While Cruising?

Baby walkers are quite popular on the market, but before you run out to buy one for your cruising little angel, remember that walkers, contrary to their name, do not really teach your child how to walk. This is because your baby is still in a sitting position when using a walker which takes away from cruising baby development. Your baby will not learn how to cruise, which is a fundamental step for most babies so that they will learn how to walk. If you want your little one to go from baby cruising to walking, you can get her a pushchair. This will encourage her to be in a standing position and will support her cruising around the house to a certain extent. She will learn balance and support but will still be in control of her own movements with a pushchair.

When it comes to your little one, as a parent, you will obviously be very excited every time she reaches a certain milestone. So, it is imperative for you to know what they are and what to expect out of them. Cruising is an essential part of development for your baby and is the milestone she will reach just before hitting the walking milestone.

Also Read:

Baby Clapping Milestone
Baby Speaking Milestone
Baby Eating Milestone