Tummy time is a very important activity for all babies and needs to be part of a daily routine. During the first months of life your baby learns about movement and develops the physical skills required for rolling over, sitting and crawling. Your baby will learn to respond and adapt to challenges and this is why baby needs the opportunity for tummy time.

Playtime on the belly has psychological pluses: When your baby learns to make his body do new things, he feels a sense of accomplishment. This gives him the confidence to try new skills as he grows and his coordination improves tummy time will also help minimize flat spots on his head that may be forming from sleeping on his back.

Tummy to Play is one of the best ways to support both physical skills and the development of a baby's sense of competence. Babies who spend time on the floor in an open space have the opportunity to learn about their bodies. They learn what positions they can get themselves into and out of. They develop the muscles they need for their next developmental challenge. Babies who are playing on the floor are strengthening all of the muscles they will later need to roll over, sit up and crawl.

For the parent, the best part of tummy play is spending time with your baby on the floor to view the world in her perspective. You can watch and see what your baby does, where she looks and how she moves. You can sing and talk with her and communicate with each other in a special way that only a parent and child love and appreciate.

So, how can your baby enjoy tummy time? Try one of these:

Spin & Explore

Happy Flyer
First Mirror - Winnie the Pooh

First Mirror - Lamaze

Musical Inchworm

In 1992 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published recommendations to put healthy babies to sleep on their backs, resulting in a dramatic reduction of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). The AAP’s “Back to Sleep – Tummy to Play” campaign reminds parents to provide babies with adequate supervised tummy time, to promote growth and development.