Something that babies love to do is rub their feet together. This is one of the many things that mom and dad are not supposed to get upset about, because it’s just a baby thing. It’s a reflex action that helps infants develop motor skills, so it’s completely normal for them to do this. But why do babies rub their feet together? Here, we will discuss why babies rub their feet together.
Why Do Babies Rub Their Feet Together?
Rubbing their feet together helps babies develop and strengthen the muscles in their feet. If a baby’s foot is not strong enough, he will not be able to walk properly and may fall down easily. Rubbing their feet also helps babies develop coordination in movement, and it is important for them to keep this coordination while they are still growing.
What Are The Benefits Of Baby Foot Rubbing?
As a parent, you care about your child and want to do everything possible to make him grow up healthy. One such thing that you can do is rub the feet of your child. These foot rubs can have a lot of benefits to the baby in question. Here are some of those benefits that you should know about:
10 Benefits of Baby Foot Rubbing
1. It helps in developing motor skills
Rubbing the feet helps babies develop their motor skills. The more they use their hands, the more they will develop their motor skills and also strengthen their muscles which will help them walk better when they grow up as well as help them develop coordination in movement.
2. It helps in developing sensory skills
Foot rubs help babies build on their sensory skills and also teach them how to feel things properly by rubbing their hands across different objects so that they learn how different surfaces feel and how soft or hard objects are through this activity. This will help them develop these skills when they are older.
3. It helps in developing cognitive skills
Rubbing the feet helps babies develop their cognitive skills as well. This will help them understand that they should not touch things that are dirty or dangerous and also help them remember things by rubbing their hands over objects so that they learn to associate certain objects with certain feelings.
4. It is a bonding activity
Rubbing the feet is a bonding activity between parents and babies as it brings them closer together and makes them feel good about themselves which also helps make the bond stronger between the two of you. Babies who have been rubbed by their parents will be more willing to be rubbed by others as well which will bring you closer with your child too and help him to trust you more too.
5. It can reduce crying in babies
Rubbing the feet can reduce crying in babies if done properly because it gives them a sense of pleasure when they are being rubbed and this gives them a feeling of security as they can imagine that they are being loved and cared for.
6. It helps in developing speech skills
Rubbing the feet helps babies develop their speech skills because it makes them talk more as well as makes them giggle if they are rubbed on certain parts of their feet or legs. This will help them to learn how to speak early and also improve their language skills too.
7. It helps in improving memory
Rubbing the feet can improve children’s memory because it makes them remember what has been done by rubbing their hands over objects so that they learn how things feel and associate certain feelings with objects which will help them remember things better when they grow up as adults.
8. It helps in improving social skills
Rubbing the feet helps babies develop their social skills by making them want to be rubbed by others too, this will make them want to interact with others more and learn how to communicate better too, this is something that will help them when they grow up to be more confident and better able to communicate with others better too.
9. It is a great way to bond with babies
Rubbing the feet is a great way of bonding with babies because it gives them a feeling of being loved and cared for which will help them to trust you more too which will make the bond between you stronger and help you to be closer with your child as well as help him when he grows up.
10. It is a good way to have fun with babies
Rubbing the feet is a good way of having fun with babies because it can make them laugh when you rub their feet, this will help them to learn how to be happy and enjoy themselves as well as build their confidence too.
What Are The Causes Of Babies To Stop Rubbing Their Feet?
They get cold
This is a common cause that occurs when babies are cold. When it gets cold, babies tend to move their feet away from their bodies to keep warm.
They get tired
When babies are tired, they sometimes stop rubbing their feet together because they have no energy left in them. This happens when babies don’t eat enough during the day and they get overtired at night.
They don’t understand what they’re doing
Babies who don’t understand what they are doing might stop rubbing their feet together because they don’t know why they are doing it. This is not a very common occurrence though, but it does happen sometimes from time to time. Babies usually learn this by watching mom and dad do it so one day, if you’re not around, the baby will just do it on his own without knowing why he’s doing it.
They want mom and dad’s attention
Sometimes, babies might stop rubbing their feet together because they want mom and dad’s attention. This is a very common occurrence, but it does happen from time to time.
They feel pain
When babies feel pain on their feet, they might stop rubbing their feet together because they don’t know what the pain is. It could be caused by things like chapped skin or blisters, etc., but it’s not always caused by these things.
They’re bored
Babies who are bored will sometimes stop rubbing their feet together because they have nothing else to do so they’ll just do it. This is a very common occurrence and happens quite often among babies whose parents are always busy with other things so it doesn’t happen as often when there’s more time for them to play with each other and learn new things from each other.
They have a temperature
When babies get too hot or too cold, they might stop rubbing their feet together because of the discomfort that comes along with it.
This is a very common occurrence among babies who are just starting to walk and move around.
They’re tired of it
Sometimes, babies who are tired of rubbing their feet together might stop doing it because they’re too tired to do it anymore. This is a very rare occurrence though and only happens from time to time in babies.
They’ve been doing it so long that they don’t know why they’re doing it
Babies who have been rubbing their feet together for a very long time might start to get bored of doing it so they tend to stop doing it. This is not a common occurrence and only happens from time to time in babies.
It’s disgusting or too embarrassing for them
This is a very uncommon reason that causes babies to stop rubbing their feet together because sometimes, babies might be embarrassed about what they’re doing so they won’t do the same thing again after that.
Conclusion
The more often you rub your baby’s feet, the more they want to rub their feet together.
It sounds like something out of an episode of “The Twilight Zone,” but this is actually an important fact when it comes to your infant’s development.
Babies are programmed to seek out human touch and it is a natural reflex for them to rub their feet together when they are near you.