Tummy time for your baby

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that your baby to sleep on their back as it decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, prolonged periods of lying on their backs will cause the back of their heads to be misshaped. Adjusting your baby’s position to be on their tummy’s once in a while will give the back of their head some much needed rest.

Tummy time advantages

By allowing your baby to be on their tummy once in a while, it allows them to practice strengthening their muscles such as their neck, back, arms and legs to help them crawl and stand sooner. Although your infant may not be big enough for the bigger activity centers that are out on the market, there are plenty of activity gyms/mats for your baby to have a comfortable place to be on their backs or bellies and be entertained with toys at the same time. At around 4 months, your baby will have enough head control to do a bit more fun activities like playing airplane. Or place them on their tummy on top of an exercising ball while putting your hand to support her back and gently roll the ball back and forth.

Monitor your baby’s progress

It’s important to always provide your baby adult supervision, especially when it comes to putting them on their tummies. Trying it out for the first time you would need to see how comfortable they are and watch their progress. And if your baby happens to fall asleep on their tummies, it’s time to put them on their backs again so they can rest properly and avoid SIDS. The recommended time to allow your baby on their tummies is about 30 minutes a day. Depending on what your schedule is like, you can break them up into several tummy time sessions or use it up all at once. The importance is to use it on a per day basis, and only associate the session when they are in a good mood.

About AuthorJoanna is a freelance writer that dotes on family values and environmental issues. She also reviews baby products for BassinetStyle.com

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