Cruising Exercises for Baby

Before a baby walks, she will first develop the ability to cruise along furniture or household objects. Kellyn's physical therapist believes that once Kellyn starts walking, her head tilt will decrease. Therefore, I have been working with Kellyn on cruising exercises to develop the precursor skills to walking.  Below is a video tutorial and instructions for three different cruising exercises to promote future walking.

Video Tutorial:

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Cruising Exercise 1 (Beginner)

1. Find a safe, sturdy piece furniture (that sits low to the ground) that your baby can cruise along.  Have baby stand on one end of the furniture and position yourself a few feet away from baby.
2. Have an interesting toy in your hand that your child will be motivated to reach.  Use the toy to encourage her to cruise along the furniture towards you.

Once we removed the top part, this padded ottoman was perfect for cruising.
It provided a nice edge to hang onto.

Cruising Exercise 2 (Intermediate)

1. Set up safe and sturdy pieces of furniture or objects (that sit low to the ground) on a carpeted surface.  Arrange the furniture/objects just far enough apart that your baby could reach out and safely cruise from one to another.
2. Use an interesting toy as motivation for your baby to cruise from one object to the next.

This light up car that plays music is a great motivation for Kellyn to complete this exercise.

Cruising Exercise 3 (Advanced)

Note: This exercise is for babies who can already successfully cruise along furniture/objects.  Also, baby needs to successfully be able to support her body weight against the wall by using her hands.

1. Find a flat area of wall that sits adjacent to a soft, carpeted surface.  Take an interesting toy just beyond the reach of your baby and place on a nearby piece of furniture (that sits low to the ground).
2. Help baby support her body weight against the wall by placing her hands on the wall for support.
3. If baby can independently cruise along the wall to reach the toy, then encourage her to do so.  If not, stand behind baby and help her to cruise along the wall. 

Not having a surface for your baby to grip fingers around makes this cruising exercise trickier.

 

Disclaimer & Disclosure: I am not a physical therapist or medical professional.  This post and/or video does not serve as a substitution for medical treatment.  If you wish to do any of these physical therapy exercises on your own child, you should first seek approval from your child's physical therapist.  Click here for full disclaimer.  If you purchase any items through my Amazon affiliate link(s), I will receive a percentage of the purchase price.  This can help me to continue providing you with quality content and resources on this site.  Click here for more info.