Is ‘Tummy Time’ beneficial for your child’s development?
I’ve had so many parents tell me, “My child hates being on their tummy.”
Why, you would ask? It is good for strengthening their back and neck muscles, isn’t it?
My answer, YES and NO.
When your child starts rolling onto their tummy all by themselves, they are developing the coordination required to stay balanced and be comfortable on their tummy.
Children who can roll over freely would prefer to stay on their tummy to play. They are able to see a lot more of the world around them from this perspective. With lots of practice, their backs will get stronger which will then enable these children to crawl and sit by themselves eventually.
It would be a completely different story if your child were placed onto their tummy with the goal of strengthening their back BEFORE they have developed the skills necessary for them to roll over.
Children who are placed on their tummy (before they have developed the muscular control to do so themselves) generally have a hard time lifting their head up. They might not know how to push with their arms or to balance themselves in this position.
As a result these children will stiffen up their back, arms and legs, essentially their whole body, in an attempt to do whatever they can to stay in this position. And if they are able to figure it out, they will roll out of it immediately.
Imagine if you are caught in a situation where you do not have any control over your environment, you would do your best to avoid being in that situation again.
Similarly, when you place your child in a position that is unfamiliar and likely uncomfortable, your child will naturally fuss, communicating their discomfort and struggle to get out of it. Over time your child could develop an aversion to lying on their tummy. This would essentially take away any opportunity for your child to figure out how to creep and crawl.
“What if my child has challenges that prevent him from learning to roll over? Isn’t it best to put him on his tummy so that he can experience this position otherwise unavailable to him?”
The good news is there are more intelligent ways to support your child with this.
In the next few issues, we’ll look into the development of rolling in healthy babies. This will help you understand why keeping young infants on their backs is so important.
Once you have an understanding of the organic processes involved in a healthy, developing nervous system, you’ll be able to apply these principles to support your child faced with special challenges so that they too will have the opportunity to learn to move.
We will also discuss the pros and cons of ‘tummy time’, and how best to find a balance that will positively support your child’s overall development.
Until next time,
