What are the benefits of tummy time? Find out with specialist OT Carly Budd

Have you ever wondered how something as simple as tummy time can have such a profound impact on a baby’s development? We recently met with Carly Budd, (specialist Occupational Therapist), Sareena, and Nim from Serene Baby to uncover the benefits of tummy time. In our conversation, they shared expert insights into why tummy time is so much more than just placing a baby on the floor. We also got to film a tummy time class, where parents and babies worked together, supported by Carly and the team at Serene Baby, in this vital developmental activity. All of the content is available to watch  in our video library.

Our conversation with Carly centres around the importance of tummy time – it’s her passion subject. She feels its time to debunk the myth that tummy time is just about putting the baby on the floor and leaving them!

She believes that tummy time needs to be part of the play diet which includes supine play (on the back) and side lying –  all of which should be about having fun and being interactive.

Studies show that tummy time can help with gross motor skills and this has an impact in later life on reading and writing, on sitting in a chair and on feeding yourself and getting dressed.

Tummy time can also help with building the neck muscles, increasing shoulder stability that can aids with fine motor skills and hip rotation that will allow for better mobility and navigation.

Time spent on the floor on their tummy or across the arm of a parent or carer can:

• help a baby to become aware of their body
• allow them to kick their legs
• help them become aware of gravity and find out what their body is capable of

When babies are on their tummies and other positions they are receiving sensory feedback and information through their vestibular system: the vestibular system provides the sense of balance and the information about body position that allows rapid compensatory movements in response to both self-induced and externally generated forces. Loving, playful interactions boost hormones such as serotonin which in turn help to build brain connections and pathways.

While on their tummies babies can develop their palm arches when they push up, which in turn helps with fine motor skills including holding a pencil or pen in later childhood.

When babies are on their tummies, and other positions, they are receiving sensory feedback and information through their vestibular system (The vestibular system provides the sense of balance and the information about body position that allows rapid compensatory movements in response to both self-induced and externally generated forces). Loving, playful interactions boost hormones such as serotonin which in turn helps to build brain connections and pathways.

Many experts agree on the importance of tummy time. Professor Iram Siraj, a renowned expert in Child Development and Education at Oxford, has highlighted tummy time activities as crucial not only for babies but also for children in nursery, reception, and even Year One. According to Siraj, tummy time can help:

• Strengthen and develop lower abdominal muscles

• Support toilet training

• Manage stress

• Assist children who tend to be fidgety by stimulating their proprioception system (the system that helps them understand where their body is in space)

Siraj points out that children who have actually missed out on tummy time activities can ‘have problems with stability and movement’ later on.