Reasons To Lay Your Baby On His Stomach During The Day
Here we give you 3 important reasons to lay your baby on his / her stomach during the day .
The importance of laying the baby on his back or on his back before bed has been emphasized for many years. This should be done to avoid sudden infant death syndrome.
However, there are several reasons for laying the baby on their tummy during the day , also known as the prone position. We’ll show you three compelling reasons why you should do this. Additionally, we’re going to add some practical tips to make it easier for your baby.
Why should you lay your baby on his / her stomach during the day?
1. Development of motor functions
Spending enough time on their tummy will help them develop their balance and visual and auditory skills.
In addition , it will help strengthen the head, neck, muscles of the shoulders and back. All of this will be necessary for everyday activities such as pulling, pushing, sitting, standing up, and crawling.
During the first months of life the baby has to learn everything about the movement possibilities of his body and how to control them. So it will develop the necessary physical skills to turn, sit, and crawl. This will not be sufficiently achieved if the child spends a lot of time in baby chairs or in other places that restrict movement.
In addition, a baby who spends all of his waking time on his back will only see the blanket and objects on either side. When your baby is on their tummy, they will lift their head and start looking at many more things around them.
2.- The normal development of the head
As a result of advertising campaigns to prevent sudden infant deaths, the number of children with plagiocephaly has increased.
What’s this? Because babies do not have fully closed skull bones, a trait that helps them withstand small blows, their head can become deformed if they remain in the same position for long periods of time.
Babies tend to spend too much time sleeping on their back, in chairs or playpens (including on their backs) . This causes the back of the head to become flat. It is therefore important that the baby spends enough time on his / her tummy during the day while he is awake and playing.
3. Development of social skills
Another reason to lay the baby on his stomach during the day has to do with developing sensory and perceptual skills. It also improves their social-emotional skills, problem-solving skills, learning, and adapting to challenges.
When the baby is in the prone position , he or she remains alert and is more aware of the world around them. It is in a state of constantly receiving stimuli while interacting with everything that surrounds it.
“Babies lying on their tummies raise their heads and begin to see more things around them”
Ways to lay your baby on their tummy during the day
If you’re unsure how to get your baby to spend enough time on their tummy, or if they don’t like being in this position, here are some handy tips you can follow:
Between 0 and 2 months
Try laying the baby on his / her stomach on a blanket. If you see that he cannot lift his head, put your hand on his lower back and shift the weight down. If they still can’t lift their head, place a rolled towel under their chest or on your legs.
Another excellent option is to place the baby on your chest. This will make them feel more secure and you can encourage them to lift their heads to look at you. With this activity, the baby will develop control of his head and also strengthen the upper part of his body.
Between 3 and 5 months
Since his back and neck are already strengthened, he can lean on his forearms alone. Using toys and mirrors you can stimulate the baby to shift their weight and their reach will increase.
Now it can interact with its surroundings at eye level. It will pick up many more stimuli and learn to respond to them.
As your baby gets stronger, he will begin to push himself up with arms outstretched to reach objects and play. This serves as preparation for sitting and crawling.
“When you lay your baby on his stomach, you strengthen his head, neck, shoulder and back muscles.”
Between 6 and 9 months
Now your baby is stronger and you can play games like “the plane” with him, lift him up and hold him by the waist only. Another option is to stand your baby on their bent legs and move them up and down.
This strengthens his whole body. Obviously, it can then crawl better and explore the world.
Remember, you should perform these and other routines with your baby on a daily basis. This is the best way to support its development.
