What Are The Benefits Of Tummy Time And Why Is It So Important
Spending awake time belly-down offers lots of benefits for your little one. Tummy time:
- Helps prevent flat spots from forming on the back of babys head.
- Allows your baby to work different muscles than those hed use on his back. By practicing his push-ups, your baby will develop the muscles in his arms, shoulders, upper back and neck that will eventually enable him to lift his head.
- Sets the stage for motor skills like reaching, rolling over, sitting up and crawling.
What If My Baby Hates Tummy Time
Some babies hate doing pint-size push-ups and will protest when they’re placed facedown. “While on their belly, a baby has to work extra hard against gravity to keep their head upit’s strenuous,” explains Henry Shapiro, M.D., medical director of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at All Children’s Hospital, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Try to keep them on the floor for three minutes but if they refuse, just do it for a minute or two. Continue increasing and encouraging his tummy time slowly. Eventually your baby will get used to being on his stomach and start to enjoy this daily routine. “Make tummy time part of regular play, not a chore,” Dr. Shapiro suggests.
What To Do If Your Baby Hates Tummy Time
If your newborn resists being on their belly, Dr. Badgett suggests choosing a time of day when you know theyre not too fussy like after a diaper change or when they wake up from a nap. You have to figure out your babys personality and when in the cycle of their day theyre going to be most open to it, he says.
But sometimes, babies still just cant stand it. After all, the tiniest of people have big opinions.
To some degree, you want them to tough it out and challenge them to push through because its going to help them learn some skills earlier, Dr. Badgett says. But if your baby despises tummy time, you dont want to torture them.
Do what you can, and cut yourself a parenting break if youre not hitting tummy time guidelines. Every baby is different, and Dr. Badgett says yours will be fine regardless of whether they get exactly the recommended amount of tummy time.
Maybe your baby doesnt crawl until 10 months instead of eight, he says, but thats OK. Dont grade yourself on these report cards and check boxes, because although theyre helpful, sometimes they can shame parents a little bit too much.
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Why Play Is Important
Babies are born to learn and their brains develop through use, forming connections as they watch, listen, play, experiment, and explore their environment. Youre their first teacher, and they keep learning from you as they get older.
Give yourself and your ppi lots of playtime. These periods of play will probably be very short, because your newborn will get tired easily and cant focus on anything for too long.
Connections are made in the brain as you interact and play with your baby. Simple serve and return interactions – where your ppi connects with you by serving a movement, facial expression, or sound and you return by responding to them and then waiting for their reaction – help make strong connections in developing brains.
Center on the Developing Child – Harvard University
For babies, play isnt about toys and games, its all about connecting and interacting. Your face, voice, and body is all you need to entertain them.
Play:
- helps you and your baby get to know each other, teaching your ppi to trust and depend on you.
- helps your newborn feel loved and secure, and the bond between you and your baby gets stronger.
- gives babies different physical, sensory and cognitive experiences, and those experiences build connections in their wee brains.
- helps them learn to understand words, and soon, to talk
- helps them learn what their bodies can do as they experiment with movement.
Try These Different Ways To Do Tummy Time With Baby:
Tummy-to-Tummy or Tummy-to-Chest
- Lie down on the floor or a bed, flat or propped up on pillows. Place baby on your chest or tummy, so you and baby are face-to-face. Always hold firmly for safety.
Tummy Down Carry or Football Hold
- Position one hand under the tummy and between the legs and carry baby tummy down. Use other hand to support babys head and neck. Nestle baby close to your body to help get baby accustomed to the position.
Lap Soothe
- Place baby face down across your lap. A hand on babys bottom will help steady and calm them. This move can also be used to burp and soothe baby.
Eye-Level Smile
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Making Tummy Time More Enjoyable
Tip: Your goal is to gradually work up to about 15 to 30 minutes of total tummy time per day by the time your baby is 3 months old.
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What Is Tummy Time
Tummy time is placing your baby on his stomach to play. Practicing tummy time helps babies develop the muscles necessary to lift their heads and, eventually, to sit up, crawl and walk. Remember, “back to sleep, tummy to play”: Your baby should always be awake during tummy time and under your careful watch.
How Much Tummy Time Babies Need By Age
Newborns may tolerate tummy time for only 1 to 2 minutes at first. As your baby grows, you can increase tummy time.
You can still give them opportunities for tummy time after theyve reached these developmental stages. Tummy time can help them continue to develop muscles needed for:
- sitting for longer periods of time
Its important to make time for tummy time each day. You can try to fit it in after you give your little one a bath or after a diaper change.
You may want to avoid tummy time immediately after eating, though.
For some babies, laying on their tummy when its full may disrupt digestion and this could lead to gas or spit up. Other babies, however, seem to pass gas more easily on their tummies.
The younger baby is when you start tummy time, the better. This lets them get used to it. Even in the hospital, you can place baby on their tummy on your chest, supporting their neck the whole time.
When you get home from the hospital, find quiet moments throughout your day for some tummy time. You can also lie or sit on the floor next to them and make faces or read them a board book.
You can also try these other activities during tummy time:
- Place baby on an inflatable water mat. Its full of textures and colors for them to discover.
- Use an activity gym for baby to play with and explore.
- Hold one toy a few inches from your babys head and let them follow it with their eyes.
- Give your baby a nonbreakable mirror to let them see their reflection .
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Your Guide To Tummy Time
Since the American Academy of Pediatrics began recommending that babies be put back to sleep more than a decade ago, the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome has dropped drastically. But back-sleeping has led to more infants developing flat spots on the back of their skull, a condition called positional plagiocephaly. Whats more, always lying belly-up can delay motor development because a baby gets less of a chance to work the muscles in his upper body. Lack of tummy time can not only affect how long it takes for your little one to master such basic skills as lifting his head and turning over, it may also have an impact on physical milestones like sitting, crawling, and walking.
How Often Should Your Baby Do Tummy Time
Itâs a good idea to do tummy time two to three times a day. Newborns only need a few minutes at a time, but as your baby gets older , you can increase the frequency and length of sessions.
If you start giving tummy time from birth, by the time your little one is three months old he or she could be able to do around an hour of tummy time, spread over several sessions every day.
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What Are The Benefits Of Tummy Time
Offering tummy time to your baby every day offers a variety of benefits:
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Promotes physical development. Tummy time helps strengthen your babyâs neck, arms, back, and legs, and also helps her gain flexibility and muscle control. The motor skills and strength she develops will be needed for rolling over and sitting, and then crawling and walking.
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Provides a new perspective on the world. It gives your baby the chance to observe and explore her environment in a different way than she does when sheâs on her back. On her stomach, she has to lift her head to look around. This not only helps strengthen her back and neck muscles but also gives her a new perspective on the world.
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Helps ease torticollis and avoid flat head syndrome. Tummy time can be beneficial for babies with torticollis, a condition resulting in tight muscles in the neck. Tummy time, along with exercises prescribed by a healthcare provider, can help a babyâs tight neck muscles relax. Spending time on her stomach while awake can also help avoid flat spots developing on the back of your baby’s head, known as flat head syndrome.
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Introduces new textures. It exposes your baby to different textures as the skin on the different parts of her body come in contact with the surface she is on.
Establish Safe Sleeping Habits Before Starting Tummy Time
Routinely putting a baby to sleep on the stomach raises her risk of SIDS about four times. But SIDS risk jumps even higher when young babies are put to sleep on the backbut accidentally roll to the stomach.
Of course, sooner or later, your baby will roll onto her stomach during sleep. So what should you do to protect her?
For at least the first 4 months, always put your baby to sleep on the back snugly swaddled with white noise playing nearby. The sound will keep her calmer , and the swaddling will make it harder for her to flip over.
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When To Start Tummy Time And How To Do It
Tummy time is an important and exciting time during babys early development but between the fun times and big milestones, tummy time brings a lot of questions. Were here to help breakdown tummy time for all the moms and dads out there with our guide on when to start tummy time, what to do, and other tummy time tips.
Looking for information on a specific tummy time topic? Click the links to navigate to each section.
When To Start Tummy Time For Newborns
If you and your partner are expectant parents, youve probably heard about tummy time. Its an important activity for any baby since it helps your little one reach some of their first few milestones.
However, theres one thing that no one seems to discuss. You know that tummy time is critical for your babys development during their first few months, but when can you start? After all, newborns are very small, and they arent very mobile. How soon after they are born can they start doing tummy time?
Were here to help. Becoming a parent is a big step, and there are a lot of things that you need to know and keep track of. We want to help the start of your parenting journey to go smoothly, from pregnancy to the toddler years.
Tummy time helps strengthen your babys muscles, so its important to start when your baby is ready but when is that?
Lets find out.
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How Long And How Often
Your baby may not enjoy tummy time at first. This is normal and expected, so ease into this practice with short sessions. Aim to start with having your baby practice tummy time for three minutes about twice per day. As your baby tolerates tummy time better, you can increase the time to five minutes and start practicing more frequently throughout the day.
How Long Should Tummy Time Last
Now that you know when to start tummy time , you may be wondering how long each practice session should last. A little bit of tummy time actually goes a long way. When it comes to newborn tummy time, aim for two to three sessions a day for three to five minutes at a time, ideally after a nap or diaper change and as part of playtime. You can stop or take breaks in there if your baby is having a tough time, says Ashanti Woods, MD, a pediatrician at Mercy Family Care Physicians in Baltimore, Maryland.
As baby gets older and begins to enjoy this workout, gradually ramp up the number and duration of tummy time sessions. Aim for around 20 to 30 minutes a day of baby tummy time by the time theyre 3 or 4 months old. Remember, it doesnt have to happen in one long session. Keep the practice up until baby can roll over on their own, a feat many babies accomplish around 6 or 7 months of age. Even then, you may consider keeping tummy time practice a part of your regular routine itll help them as they start learning to crawl.
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Where Is The Best Place For Tummy Time
In the newborn stage , you can start doing tummy time with your baby placed on your own chest or belly, or in your lap.
Later, the best place to do tummy time is on a low, safe surface. A play mat, rug or blanket spread on the floor is ideal.
To avoid the risk of falling or suffocation, avoid giving your baby tummy time on a high surface such as a bed or changing table, or on a soft pillow or duvet.
Ways To Turn Tummy Time Into Play Time
Tummy time is a great opportunity to play with your baby. Here are four ideas:
Put a favorite toy just out of your babyâs reach and encourage him to reach for the toy. Or, instead of a toy, you could also sit down low and just out of reach of your baby, so he can lift his head up and try to reach toward your face.
Place toys in different spots around your baby. This will encourage him to reach toward the different points, and as a result help develop the muscles that he will need to roll over, scoot, and eventually crawl.
Instead of placing your baby on a surface for tummy time, you could place your baby on your lap or chest. This is especially recommended for newborns up to 3 months old. When on your lap, lift and lower your legs at the same time then, for a variation, move your baby side to side. On your chest, your baby will try to lift his head and his arms to look at you. During these tummy time sessions, keep talking to your baby to comfort and encourage him.
If you have a toddler or young child in the house, have her play with your baby during tummy time. This can be a good bonding moment for siblings.
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