In a pediatric visit for my 1 month old son. The doctor suggested that we do a "Tummy Time" practice several times a day. She explained to us how to do it. But I could not understood what are the benefits of it.
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
The benefits include:
- strengthening the neck, back and body muscles, as well as the arms and shoulders
- additionally babies who get tummy time are less likely to develop Torticollis (where the neck muscles tighten and restrict movement
- giving the baby an opportunity to see the world the way they will for the rest of their life
- helps avoid the development of a flat spot on the back of the head
answered Dec 15, 2012 at 23:24
-
1and supporting the inhibition of primary reflexes, which otherwise interfere with normal physical and neural development.– boisvertFeb 5, 2013 at 15:35
When my daughter was 5/6, we found out she could'nt read or write. She also had huge difficulties catching a ball, running, not bumping into things/people, finding her way around.
It turned out to be a visual deficiency - an inability of her brain to process images, and so build up a meaningful sense of space, but also to control the fine movements of her eye - try reading while your eyes are constantly shifting their gaze uncontrollably.
The cure came through a beefed up version of tummy time. She lay on her tummy watching her thumbs in front of her. She crawled on the floor. She walked on all fours and tried to balance on one arm and one leg... Many other such exercises that caused her to catch up with what tummy time does in babies.
Work was hard but her progress were fast, unrelenting and still amazes me. After 2 weeks she ate without dropping food outside the plate (much). After three I heard her run downstairs for the first time - and for the first time ever, thought "she's going to fall", because she'd always been so incredibly careful. Reading took another year, finding the house from a nearby street one more, catching a ball longer still. The great victory was cycling - at 11. Today her spelling is practically right, and apart from atrocious handwriting and low confidence, she is an ordinary 13-year old. We still deliberately play ball and cycle as if it was a job.
Do yourself a favour and put your baby on his belly. Lay in front of him and play. Send balls to watch in front of him, crawl with him, climb obstacle races of cushions and furniture. Give up any illusion your house can be tidy for another day while your child lays under some tripod of "educational" soft bits hanging down over his head. Kids need movement, and if it looks like push ups they still need it.
