I know. Baby clothes? Can be so cute.
But even clothes-picking needs our awareness! Here are some tips as you purchase or receive baby outfits. Overall, be on the lookout for clothes that allow freedom of movement.
The following can be restrictive. Choose wisely when Baby wears them.
- Hoods: can get caught or be in the way when Baby is learning to roll. They also create a bump when Baby is lying on the hood (can affect comfort and alignment). When on, hoods generally don’t turn with the head–the head turns inside them (can restrict vision and accurate perception of environment).
- Long dresses: For the belly-crawlers and hands-and-knees-crawlers, watch for Baby’s knees! Crawling knees can get caught inside a long dress, so Baby ends up trying to crawl inside the dress—one can’t get very far this way!
- Jeans, thick corduroys, or other “hard” fabrics: can make bending more difficult (at waist, hips, and knees) for crawling, sitting, and kneeling (“sitting on heels” is super important!).
- One-piece long pants outfits and footie pajamas: can be fine, and super cute, just watch for attempts to crawl inside the outfit.
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The big toe is a key to belly crawling and ankle integration!
Footed bottoms: Having feet covered can be like wearing gloves. Go for bare feet as much as possible during playtime, for the sake of nerve-ending development and traction. Also, feet are another way babies touch, measure, and explore their world.
- Big diapers can hinder healthy development as well. See my previous post for more info.
For playtime, go with clothes Baby can get (a little, or a lot) dirty in! Explore all kinds of surfaces together, for each offers a slightly different and informative experience: carpet, hardwood, linoleum, and out of doors.
And while you’re at it—are your clothes restricting your freedom of movement?
Eliza Parker is a certified Infant Developmental Movement Educator®, Body-Mind Centering® Practitioner, Feldenkrais® Practitioner, and Spiritual Counselor. She also uses Aletha Solter’s Aware Parenting.
© Eliza Parker 2012, All Rights Reserved (Links are welcome. If you’d like to share my post in your blog or materials, please ask permission.)
Footless clothes should be a must for a crawler as if you put on anything that has the feet covered be prepared to do a lot of washing especially socks. They can get so dirty no matter how many times you clean your floors.
There’s far more at stake here than dirty laundry!
Good article – thanks.
So simple yet some of these things don’t even come to mind! Thanks for your post! Being a 1st time mum, it’s great to come across blogs like this 🙂
You’re welcome! Thanks for reading!
What a great resource for helping parents think about what their children wear! It is so easy to get wrapped up on the cuteness that we forget that the importance of maintaining freedom for movement. Thank you for this valuable and simple resource!
Thanks for your comment! I’m guessing that either baby-clothes designers either aren’t trained in movement development or it’s been a while since they crawled on the floor…!