London: Babies who are unable to crawl and
sit upright by the time they are nine months old are more
likely to suffer from learning and behavioural problems, a new
study has found.
Researchers from the University of London, Institute of
Education, tracked 15,000 children over the first five years
of their lives, and found that those kids who could not crawl
at nine months face falling behind at school and struggle to
get on with their classmates.
The Millennium Cohort Study, which looked at babies born
between 2000 and 2001, said, a simple screening test before
children reach their first birthday could prove crucial in
preventing youngsters falling behind.
Professor Ingrid School, who led the study, said, "All
children develop at different rates and some who struggle to
sit or crawl may simply catch up.
However, in other cases, the problems can point to a
developmental delay that may need specialized help, she added.
For their study, the team checked the gross and fine
motor skills of the babies, the Daily Mail reported.
In tests of gross motor skills, 96 per cent babies were
able to sit up without support, 92 per cent were able to crawl
and 69 per cent could stand up if they were holding on to
something. Only 4 per cent could take a few steps.
In the assessment of fine motor skills, 99 per cent of
children were able to grab an object, 95 per cent could pass a
toy from one hand to the other, and 89 per cent could pick up
an object using their forefinger and thumb.
The researchers concluded developmental `delays` affected
about 10 per cent of children.
Youngsters who struggled with the tasks had a
significantly increased risk of falling behind at school when
they were five, they said.
Such kids are also more likely to demonstrate anti-social
behaviour like refusing to share.
A motor skill is an action that involves muscles in your
body. Gross motor skills are larger movements including
crawling and running, while fine motor skills are smaller
actions such as picking up an object between the thumb and
finger.
PTI
