Is there an evolutionary reason why babies crawl?

[jtvang125]

I can see walking being crucial to survival back then but what about crawling? The only reason I could think of is for muscle development to help prepare the child for walking.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Well, when you are that small and new to the world your balance isnt quite where it needs to be. So for a way to get around you crawl

 

[waggy]

i would guess because walking is really fucking hard? not to mention a lot of babies have big heads (far larger then rest of the body)

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
Well, when you are that small and new to the world your balance isnt quite where it needs to be. So for a way to get around you crawl

Almost all other animals that I can think of can walk shortly after being born.

 

[imported_Imp]

I wouldn't really call walking on 4 legs/arms real 'walking' (bi-pedal). Lot easier to 'walk' on a pretty stable 4 leg platform than bi-pedal movement that humans have to do. Not to mention our legs aren't exactly shaped for animal-walking.

So in answer to your question: what waggy said.

 

[crownjules]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
Well, when you are that small and new to the world your balance isnt quite where it needs to be. So for a way to get around you crawl

Almost all other animals that I can think of can walk shortly after being born.

Almost every other animal is below us on the food chain. Man does not have the inherent fear of predators that are crucial aspects of many other animals' instincts. That's what causes newborn animals to walk from birth, lest they be left behind and eaten.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: jtvang125
I can see walking being crucial to survival back then but what about crawling? The only reason I could think of is for muscle development to help prepare the child for walking.

It helps wire the connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain (the left and right arms and legs need to coordinate). This is why it's better to encourage babies to crawl first.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
Well, when you are that small and new to the world your balance isnt quite where it needs to be. So for a way to get around you crawl

Almost all other animals that I can think of can walk shortly after being born.

Hardly. Look at rodents and birds.

Also, what other animal is a biped? If the baby stayed in the womb for 2 years then maybe it's brain would be developed enough to walk upright. Otherwise it takes a good amount of mental power just to do it.

Also if you look at primates the mom carries the baby around during infancy until it learns things. Why do you think babies want to grab anything you put near them? Because they're hardwired to hold on to momma's back and fur.

 

[antillean]

Because there's no need for them to walk immediately. They have parents to protect them and carry them around, unlike most other animals.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
Well, when you are that small and new to the world your balance isnt quite where it needs to be. So for a way to get around you crawl

Almost all other animals that I can think of can walk shortly after being born.

Most animals are dynamically stable too...

 

[RapidSnail]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
Well, when you are that small and new to the world your balance isnt quite where it needs to be. So for a way to get around you crawl

Almost all other animals that I can think of can walk shortly after being born.

They have four legs....

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
Well, when you are that small and new to the world your balance isnt quite where it needs to be. So for a way to get around you crawl

Almost all other animals that I can think of can walk shortly after being born.

they are not walking. they are doing the same thing a baby does. use 4 limbs to move.

 

[GasX]

When discussing evolutionary reasons for being, not everything has a reason unto itself... you have to learn to look at things from a distance. There is no selection pressure that I can divine that makes crawling babies succesful.

Humans are the most intellectually advanced adult beings on the planet. In order to make that possible, our babies are not very advanced at all. Exposure to the world around us while our brain develops helps make us so advanced intellectually - eventually.

Think of a horse. 5 minutes after popping out of mom's uterus, it is running around. It take over a year for a human to gain that mobility. Since humans take great care of their young, they can be born helpless. In the long run, it makes for more advanced adults.

Another consideration is that we have evolved to walk upright. nearly all other 4 limbed animals walk on all fours. It seems logical that an undeveloped uncoordinated baby is going to first move around on all fours as it is much easier than walking.

That's the best I can do to explain in 5 minutes. I may have degree in evolutionary biology, but I graduated in 1991 and smoked a lot of dope in school...

 

[Oceandevi]

Puppies, kittens, and rat young all crawl for a short time. They also gestate for a short time. You cant compare our species as equals. There are many differences.

 

[yowolabi]

Even if they could walk, it wouldn't be very fast and not very useful. It's a given that they have to be carried to be protected, so there's no reason for them to learn how to walk immediately. I'm not sure what crawling does as an intermediate step, though.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
When discussing evolutionary reasons for being, not everything has a reason unto itself... you have to learn to look at things from a distance. There is no selection pressure that I can divine that makes crawling babies succesful.

Humans are the most intellectually advanced adult beings on the planet. In order to make that possible, our babies are not very advanced at all. Exposure to the world around us while our brain develops helps make us so advanced intellectually - eventually.

Think of a horse. 5 minutes after popping out of mom's uterus, it is running around. It take over a year for a human to gain that mobility. Since humans take great care of their young, they can be born helpless. In the long run, it makes for more advanced adults.

Another consideration is that we have evolved to walk upright. nearly all other 4 limbed animals walk on all fours. It seems logical that an undeveloped uncoordinated baby is going to first move around on all fours as it is much easier than walking.

That's the best I can do to explain in 5 minutes. I may have degree in evolutionary biology, but I graduated in 1991 and smoked a lot of dope in school...

:thumbsup:

Babies have a need/desire to move around and explore their surroundings. It takes time to develop the muscle strength and motor skills needed to walk upright, so in the meantime they crawl.

 

[FoBoT]

i think their options are limited

roll?
sit still?
wiggle like a worm?

if you got arms/legs, why not use them?

 

[Sphexi]

Our daughter never really crawled, she tried to for about a month, then gave up and turned to scooting around on her behind. She'd literally sit up, then lift with her legs and pull herself forward, over and over, to move around. Then at around 11 months she got sick of that and just started walking, she's 13 months old now and runs all over the place. A lot of people we're talking to who have had kids in the past year or two have said the same thing, no crawling but they do the scooting thing, which is really interesting because we tried to help her learn to crawl, she just didn't want to.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

developing muscles necessary for balance and eventually upright walking......seems obvious.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Our daughter never really crawled, she tried to for about a month, then gave up and turned to scooting around on her behind. She'd literally sit up, then lift with her legs and pull herself forward, over and over, to move around. Then at around 11 months she got sick of that and just started walking, she's 13 months old now and runs all over the place. A lot of people we're talking to who have had kids in the past year or two have said the same thing, no crawling but they do the scooting thing, which is really interesting because we tried to help her learn to crawl, she just didn't want to.

hahah my daughter would roll around. very little crawling at all. then she started walking. she was walking by 9 months

my son on the other hand crawls all over the place. he is 10 months and will only stand on occasion.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Some babies learn to walk faster than others.
If we were to weed out those who developed slower, and only let those who learned to walk faster breed, after 20 thousand years or so, our children might learn to walk days after being born. Although it would probably take longer. We might be able to cut out crawling almost completely.
Animals in the wild have to learn to get up and get moving quickly, or they will die. Too many predators about. If they don't, they die.