Your Childrens Health

Tummy time is important to your baby’s development and should be part of your regular daily routine.  It helps baby’s learn about their body and movement in the first few months and prepares them for rolling over, sitting and crawling.  It helps develop the muscle groups and coordination needed for these activities.  A baby who is placed on their tummy also has a chance to see more of their world.

Not all babies enjoy tummy time.  It may be a challenge at first as your baby cries and refuses to life up its head.  It is important, though, to continue and soon your infant will enjoy the activity.  In the early months, you can encourage tummy time by placing a rolled towel or special pillow underneath the chest.  You can also place your baby over your leg to encourage a head lift.

Once your baby gains more back and neck strength during 3 to 5 months of age, he or she can prop themselves on the fore arms.  Use toys and mirrors to encourage your baby to reach during tummy time.  The extended reaching and pushing on arms will prepare your baby for sitting and crawling.  At 6 to 9 months, your baby has become stronger in the upper and lower back.  Games such as “airplane” can help your baby develop full body strength which encourages crawling and other full body activities.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Pregnancy and Newborns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.