One of the most common questions I get as a pediatric physical therapist is how to improve tummy time for infants. So often, I get frustrated parents who tell me how their infant hates tummy time, and it is very difficult for both baby and parents. The reality is that, unfortunately, most infants do hate tummy time. However, there are easy strategies to help make tummy time a more tolerable experience for parents and babies. So, why is tummy time important anyways?
Tummy time provides infants the opportunity to engage in critical muscle development that help set the stage for not only motor development but cognitive skills as well. Spending time on the floor on their bellies helps facilitate chest, arm, neck, and core muscle development. Babies work to lift their heads against gravity, push through their arms, and squirm around activating those all important core muscles.
Why does this muscle development matter now?
You may wonder why it matters now for your child to build up their core and arm muscles? Muscle development in the core and upper extremities in infants and toddlers sets the stage for fine motor progression and learning throughout their life. If your child doesn’t have the dexterity to hold a pencil with ease, how can they learn to write their name? If a child struggles with stamina and balance sitting in a chair, how can we expect them to devote focus on learning to read or solve math problems? I liken this to adults training for a physical task. If I am physically stressing my body, such as trying to hold a plank or sprinting, there is no way I would be able to do calculus at the same time. My brain is going to be preoccupied with preventing myself from falling on my face! Setting children up with good core and upper body strength and fine motor dexterity can allow them to devote more attention to the learning task.
That’s great, but my baby HATES tummy time…
A good number of babies do not enjoy tummy time. Think about it. A baby is placed in a position where they cannot really see what is going on, they cannot move around much, and cannot do anything to change their position. Who would enjoy that? However, with consistent work, your infant should begin to be able to lift its head, push through its arms, begin crawling and rolling, making tummy time a much more enjoyable experience.
How can we help make it more tolerable?
There are a few tricks that can be used to help make tummy time a more enjoyable experience.
- The most important is consistent, short periods of time. Having your baby lay on their belly for 30 minutes at a time while they scream and fuss is going to make tummy time a miserable experience for you and your baby. Performing tummy time in several short increments can provide your baby with needed time spent on its belly without the crying meltdowns. Try placing your baby on its belly for three to five minute increments several times throughout the day. A good way to implement this is after each diaper change, allow your baby a few minutes on their belly building up time as the baby tolerates.
- Use a mirror! A safety mirror like the ones that come on baby toys that will not shatter when dropped or hit can help encourage your baby to lift its head up while on its belly. Holding the mirror in front of your baby’s face and bringing it up to the top of the head can help a baby track the mirror image lifting their head.
- Brightly colored playmats or blankets can help your baby enjoy tummy time. Babies enjoy seeing the bright patterns and can even begin to push through their arms and lift their heads to continue to see more of the pattern.
- Boppy pillows are another good resource for helping your child enjoy tummy time. By placing the boppy pillow under the baby’s chest, this can give them a boost up off the floor making it easier for them to lift their head and tolerate the position.
Giving babies plenty of opportunity to work on muscle strength on their bellies is an important part of overall development. These strategies can help improve your baby’s tolerance to tummy time. Of course, tummy time should always be supervised by an adult and babies should never be placed to sleep on their bellies for safety reasons.
The information provided in this post should not replace medical advice. If you have questions or concerns about your child, contact their healthcare provider.
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