Tummy time is very important for babies from day 1 as a newborn. It helps with their development of their brain and gross motor skills.
It describes the times when you place your baby on his or her stomach while your baby is awake and someone is watching/ supervising your baby. But this does not mean they have to be on the floor, it can be on your lap, chest, arm, rolled up towel, etc.
So what are the benefits of tummy time?
- Help reach developmental milestones
- Improves head control; strengthens neck and upper body
- Hand-eye coordination
- Strengthen tongue and jaw muscles
- Gives their skull time off the back of their head thus helping decrease the chance of plagiocephaly/ flat heads
- Strengthens lower back muscles and hips and legs in preparation for creeping and then crawling
- Assists in them learning to move from back to tummy and back (rolling)
- Assists visual tracking and depth perception.
- It also helps with babies’ environmental awareness and cognitive development.
- Provides different sensory experiences.
HOW TO ENCOURAGE TUMMY TIME:
0-3 months old
- Introduce tummy time from day 1 (yes that is correct, day 1 as a newborn)
- Carry a baby on their tummy.
- Lie them on your lap on their tummy.
- Lie them on your chest.
- Place on change table on tummy so you can get at their eye level (always supervised)
- Play with them on their tummy on the floor every time they awake –over a towel roll or up on a wedge. Come down to their eye level.
- Aim to build up to 2 hours a day: In the first few weeks, try tummy time for 1-2 minutes, 2-3 times a day. Your baby can build up to 10-15 minutes, several times a day.
3-6 months old
- Introduce your baby to rolling from tummy to back, back to tummy.
- Continue to carry on their tummy in superman position
- Help them onto elbows then progress to straight arms as they master the skill.
- Help them to play in this position using toys
- Model little arm planks together
If you find that your baby dislikes tummy time and you have used some of the techniques/ points above, then your baby may benefit from being assessed by an osteopath to see if there are any musculoskeletal strains that may be associated with the dislike of tummy time.
Book at: www.southcoastosteo.com.au
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the clinic on 02 4277 0330 or email me directly on amy@southcoastosteo.com.au
Dr. Amy Kivell (Osteopath)
