Author: Mahera Kantawalla | Jul 23, 2016
All babies learn to do things such as rolling over, sitting, crawling, walking, using their hands for fine motor tasks and learning to talk, at their own pace. These are the “developmental milestones” in the child’s life. If the child does not reach their developmental milestones at the expected times, then they are said to have a developmental delay.
As an Occupational Therapist working at Sethu, I get many referrals of children diagnosed with developmental delays – particularly delay in using their large and small muscles. For example, a child may not be able to hold their head up, sit on their own or reach out to hold a toy in their hands at 1 year of age. In such cases, the first thing I recommend to parents is providing lots of tummy time to the child.
Tummy time is the time a baby spends on his/her abdomen while awake and supervised. Tummy time helps to strengthen head, neck, and upper body muscles which helps to build the strength and coordination needed for rolling over, crawling, reaching, and playing. Tummy time activity is therefore extremely important to achieve the developmental milestones.
Many babies resist being placed on their tummy and may cry initially, either because they are not familiar with this position or may not have gained the head control and upper body strength that is necessary to maintain the position comfortably. However, with time and a few basic techniques (accompanied by loving and comforting baby talk by the parents!), any infant can learn to enjoy tummy time.
Tummy time is most effective if it is made part of the family’s daily routine. It is best to begin with 3 to 5 minutes per session, working up to a total of 40 to 60 minutes daily. Tummy time can be done in short sessions throughout the day, based on the baby’s tolerance and needs.
Tummy time has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Research has shown that, at four months of age, babies who spend at least 80 minutes per day playing on their tummy while awake are able to more successfully reach motor milestones than those who spend less time playing on their tummy.
I would therefore recommend that ALL babies must receive adequate tummy time play, to learn skills necessary for normal development. It’s never too early to start tummy time and parents can introduce this position to newborns too. In fact, the best is ‘tummy to tummy time’, which is when the caregiver, offers tummy time to the baby on their own tummy. This comforting position is what many children remember even when they become adults!