Babies should always sleep on their backs. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends this to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). When awake, babies need supervised tummy time to encourage their development. Short, frequent, and supervised play time on the tummy will give your baby the best start.
Start supervised tummy time soon after birth, so your baby will be used to, and comfortable in this position. Start with very short periods of time (1-2 minutes) on a flat, firm surface several times each day, perhaps after diaper changes.
Babies should only be on their tummies for short periods, and never right after feeding. They should not be left unattended. They should continue to sleep on their backs.
Supervised tummy time encourages babies to push up on her hands and arms. This helps to develop the strong shoulder, arm and hand muscles needed for skills like reaching, grasping, colouring, and printing. |
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Babies also learn to balance themselves while on their tummies. Balance is important for rolling, crawling, sitting, and walking.
It is important to use car seats for safety, but using other infant seats, swings, and exercisers reduces your baby's time on the floor. Equipment can restrict movement, and place your baby in a reclining position. This limits your baby's chance to try new movements and learn balance.
When babies are in a reclining position, they have a very limited view of the world around them.
Your baby will amaze and impress you with new skills learned in the first year. These new skills usually develop in a certain order from holding the head up, to rolling over, sitting, and creeping. Tummy time plays an important part in this.
"Supervised tummy time is important for development."
Dr. Mary Thain - Medical Director, Five Counties Children's Centre
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During supervised tummy time, you often see babies:
at 1 month:
• lift their face from the floor and turn their head;
• rock up and down;
• lie with their head turned to one side;
at 2 months:
• lift their head to 45 degrees, enough to clear their chin;
• turn their head more easily with control;
• discover their hands;
•turn to locate sounds;
at 3 months:
• prop themselves up using their forearms;
• lift their head to 90 degrees, enough to look forward;
at 4 months:
• push up using their hands;
• roll from their tummy to their back;
• support themselves on one arm while reaching with the other arm;
at 5 months:
• roll from their back to their side to play with toys or their hands;
• play with good head control shifting weight from hand to hand;
at 6 months:
• roll from back to tummy, and over again;
• push up on their hands and knees;
All of these new and wonderful movements have been learned from playing on the floor, on their tummy! Because you've given your baby the chance to strengthen back, neck, and arm muscles, soon you will see your baby creep, crawl, sit, reach, grasp, and play with toys.
