Tummy Time

By: Teri Roberts, DPT, Kids Place  

Tummy time is the most important position for a child between the ages of birth and 6 months. With the Back to Sleep Campaign it has been strongly recommended that infants should not sleep on their stomach and should always be positioned on their back to sleep. With these updated sleeping positions, tummy time during waking hours has been recommended for infants. In modern America, our infants are used to spending ALL day either on their back or in an upright seated position; while in the swing, bouncy seat, car seat, highchair, etc . The equipment is very marketable, and not all bad, however it limits the amount of time a child spends learning how to move on the floor, especially in the prone (on tummy) position. A child in prone learns how to use their muscles, especially their neck, back and bottom muscles. This blog piece would be hundreds of pages long if every important reason for tummy time was described. Trust experienced therapists when stated that daily tummy time is extremely important for overall gross motor development. Fifteen minutes daily of tummy time is the bare minimum, but the more awake tummy time your child can perform, the more they will enjoy it and the stronger they will become. Unless otherwise stated by your physician, tummy time can start the first day your child is brought home from the hospital. Just remember to monitor your child at all times while they are on their tummy, until they are able to roll onto their stomach independently.