What is the importance of Tummy Time?

Most babies do not enjoy tummy time and resist it as it is physically challenging. Your baby does not have the neck strength to lift their head, push up their arms yet or keep their legs on the floor, giving them the control they need. Making it an uncomfortable experience as they want to look around but feel stuck.

• Tummy time is crucial for your baby's physical development. Being in that position lets them explore the different ways they can move their head, limbs, and neck. Helping make their neck and shoulder muscles stronger so your baby can start to sit up, crawl, and walk later. As they kick their legs or wiggle their fingers, this stage of development is known as 'sensorimotor' and is part of cognitive development.

• Tummy time aids your little one development of spatial awareness, which means that they begin to understand where they are in relation to their environment and where their limbs are in relation to their body. This also means that they begin to learn that they have a body and that it has different parts, which is part of their development of their sensory system.

• As your little one spends time on their tummy, it will help your child develop their spatial awareness, which means they learn where their limbs are in connection to their body and that they have a body with different parts, which is part of their sensory system development. Also, spatial awareness helps them learn where they are in respect to their surroundings.

One simple way to support your baby is to push your baby's weight down instead of pushing it towards their head, by placing a small bag of rice or pulses on the low back and rump area to add the extra weight needed!