Tummy Time & Cognitive Development

Starting with as little as 30 seconds of tummy time can provide numerous benefits, including improved motor and sensory development. As your child gets stronger, the time spent on their tummy should increase. A general guideline is 10 minutes per age in months per day. It is recommended that newborns receive a few minutes of tummy time three or four times each day — you can gradually increase tummy time as your baby gets older.

Tummy time chart by age

• One to three months — baby shows increased flexibility and head movement
• 4 months — baby begins to lift the chest off of the ground
• 5 to 6 months — straightens arms, pivots, and begins pre-crawling movements
• 7 to 9 months — starts rocking back and forth, transitions from being on hands and knees to sitting, begins reaching for toys and crawling.

Some babies are just not receptive to the tummy time position and prefer to be on their backs where it’s more comfortable. If this is the case, it can help to make tummy time more engaging for your baby. Additionally, simply by adding a few educational components, you’ll be able to transform tummy time from a physical activity to one that also promotes cognitive development.

Spread a few toys out in front of your baby. Your baby will look at those toys, identify them and then reach for them. This activity requires decision-making and planning and encourages motor skills. You could also place an unbreakable mirror on the blanket nearby to further develop your child’s cognitive skills.

“By gazing at themselves and you in a mirror, your child can learn to identify familiar faces, track movements, and even develop their tiny muscles as they reach and roll toward their reflection during tummy time, ” child development expert Dr. Michelle Peter explained in a BBC News video. “During tummy time, a mirror can motivate your baby to lift their head, keep it up, and look around. For babies who usually cry during this time, propping a safe mirror in front of them may distract them and hold their interest longer.”

Does your baby hate tummy time? “You are not alone, most babies if not all babies, initially hate tummy time in the beginning,” pediatric occupational therapist — and mom of two — Emma Hubbard said in her YouTube series. “One thing you can do is distract, distract, distract. Get directly in front of them and sing songs, make faces — your baby finds you the most interesting, more than any toy.”

While there has been an emphasis on the importance of tummy time, recent research indicates that yes, it is important but parents need not go out of their way to make it happen like clockwork every day. There’s no reason to overthink it.

Providing a variety of experiences for your little one is imperative to their development. If you’re only able to get your baby to participate in tummy time for a few minutes, so be it. The benefits of tummy time are not just relegated to the physical, of course, there’s the cognitive aspect, but probably not in the way that you think.

“It is good for all of us — babies, children, adults — to push ourselves out of our comfort zone a little bit and practice things that are hard for us,” Dr. Lee Beers, M.D., a pediatrician at Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., told The New York Times.

Recent research from the American Psychological Association indicates that babies typically begin walking right before they learn language skills. More tummy time, could lead to faster crawling and walking, and ultimately talking. So in that sense, cognitive development is one of the benefits of tummy time.

But, if your little one just won’t tolerate it, do not worry. There will be ample opportunity to encourage your child — beyond infancy — to expand their horizons. Children will experience a variety of physical, intellectual, speech, and cognitive changes through adolescence. Tummy time is just one small blip during the early childhood developmental stages and not an indicator of future growth and development