Tummy Time Best Practices

23 Nov Tummy Time Best Practices

Tummy Time Best Practices

If you have recently had your baby, you may have heard of tummy time! Tummy time is an exercise where you monitor your baby lying on their stomach for a short time while they’re awake.

Doing this early on helps your baby develop the muscles in their shoulders and neck that they will later need for neck control and to roll over. It may also help improve their motor skills. Tummy time may also help prevent flat spots on your baby’s head that may develop from long hours of lying down.

How do you successfully do tummy time?

1. First of all, get your baby to do tummy time early on. It is usually recommended during the first 1-3 month period. 
2. Slowly build up the duration of tummy time. It may take time for your baby to get comfortable with being on their tummy. Start with 1-2 minutes at a time, 1-2 times per day initially and slowly build up to 10-15 minutes 2-3 times per day.
3. Make sure you supervise your baby at all times.
4. Ideally, do tummy time by placing your baby on a mat or sheet laid out on the floor to prevent them from falling. For newborns, you can even place them on your chest for a little while
5. Wait for a little while after meals before doing tummy time

How can I help my baby enjoy tummy time?

Here are some ways to make tummy time fun for your baby:

1. Lie down next to them, stroke their hair, talk to them, sing songs to them if you like
2. If they’re a little older, you can place illustrated books on the floor while you’re next to them, and turn the pages as they look through the book.
3. Place some of their favorite toys around them.
4. Place an unbreakable mirror nearby to have your baby look at themselves for amusement!

How long should tummy time be?

As we mentioned before, you need to slowly build up the duration of tummy time from about 10 minutes per day to up to an hour by three months of age. Break the duration into smaller bits throughout the day instead of doing it all at once.

We hope these tummy time best practices help you and you have fun helping your little one through this developmental stage, but remember it may take some time for them to enjoy it so don’t worry and keep at it! If you ever have questions, just give us a call!