Infant & Child Development: Tummy Time

As a pediatric physical therapist, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of TUMMY TIME!

In 1992 the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that babies sleep on their backs to reduce the number of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) cases, with its "Back to Sleep" campaign. Belatedly, in 2000 they have added "Tummy to Play." So: "Back to Sleep, Tummy to Play."

I won't argue against the recommendation for "back to sleep," but normal infant and child development starts on the tummy; right away. After months of being mostly flexed forward in the womb, the baby needs to work against gravity and develop core strength (head and trunk control). You know the plank position and its importance for core stability? Tummy time is the plank position of babies, and after a while, they will be able to hold the yoga plank position!

There are the standard reasons for tummy time, such as reducing plagiocephaly (skull flattened in the back) and bald spots. But another important reason is to allow normal development through head control against gravity, turning of the head, core strengthening, upper extremity strengthening and control for pushing up, rolling to the side and eventually rolling from back to front (using abdominal strength), lifting the arms to reach for then play with toys, pivoting on the stomach, belly crawling, pushing up into all fours and rocking, crawling/creeping on all fours, transitioning from all fours into side sit and sitting, pulling to kneel, pulling to stand, cruising along the coffee table, and walking with a push toy (or laundry basket!). All of these activities work on the "building blocks" needed for independent walking, as well as for fine motor control, speech and language development, learning skills, binocular vision, visual motor or eye-hand coordination, sensory integration (normalizing the processing and response to sensory input), and even rhythm!

Check out the post on Walkers to read about the building blocks of walking.

There are many websites about tummy time, many with hints to make it easier for babies who fuss. I like the article by The Bump. Note that your goal should be at least 20-30 minutes/day by 3-4 months of age.