Before I had kids, “tummy time” just sounded like another cute, albeit infantilized way of babbling with a baby on the floor, in footie pajamas. Now, having lived through tummy time with a son and a daughter, I completely understand its merit. Since babies spend so much time sleeping in their early days, and on their backs nonetheless, to heed the Safe Sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) through their first birthdays, an offsetting period of tummy time every day is needed to ensure development milestones are met and without much delay.
“The strength built through tummy time practice and positioning lays the groundwork for a huge number of developmental skills (from gross motor skills like crawling, standing, and walking, to fine motor skills like grasping, self-feeding, and writing),” says Ashley Scully, pediatric occupational therapist. “This position also provides our babies with key sensory input to the vestibular, tactile and proprioceptive systems, and plays a role in their visual development.”
It’s important to remember, though, that it’s a process to get newborns to stomach tummy time for long stretches, Scully tells us. “Try not to get frustrated if your baby only tolerates the position for a short while at first, because tummy time is HARD! It’s OK if your baby only performs tummy time for 30 seconds. Short, positive experiences are much better than long, negative ones,” she says. “With time and repeat positive experiences, your baby’s endurance will grow naturally.”
