As a new parent, you have probably heard about the importance of tummy time for your little bundle of joy. Not only laying your baby on their tummy for a brief period will help them strengthen their neck and shoulder muscles, but it’s also useful for improving their motor skills such as rolling over, sitting up, crawling and walking.
However, not all babies enjoy tummy time, and this is why many pediatricians recommend toys and different props as first aid. Even if this is not the case with your baby, why not make their tummy time more amusing? Here are a couple of the essential items parents worldwide recommend.
A Baby Activity Mat
If you’re wondering what’s the best item to help you bring the tummy time fuss away, don’t hesitate to get a childrens play mat for your little one. In fact, a baby play mat won’t only provide a safe and clean surface to lay your baby on, but they’re also great for keeping little ones distracted and engaged during tummy time.
Except for providing a comfy surface for your little bundle of joy, a childrens play mat will provide your baby with a bunch of other benefits. These mats are often designed to keep your baby engaged, and they’ll help improve their vision as your little one will constantly look for sharper colours and refine their neck strength as they turn their head to look around. The cushioned surface of baby play mats is also considered excellent to support your little bug’s body while they develop trunk stability and control in their back and legs.
For this purpose, it’s recommended to pick a soft and squishable mat such as the ones made of plush, as their silky and smooth surface is very suitable for your little one’s still delicate skin and perfect to allow them to discover new exciting textures.
On the other hand, baby mats for tummy time also come in a bunch of interesting designs, such as the ones featuring soft colours, shapes and textures to stimulate your baby’s curiosity. Also, some infant play mats come with themed hanging toys with different lights, music and stimuli to keep your baby engaged while lying- animal rattles that produce sounds, balloons with chimes and bells inside etc…
Finally, yoga play mats are also among the most recommended activity mat versions, as they’re usually made of moisture and bacteria-resistant materials to provide a comfy and hygienic surface for tummy time.
An activity may isn’t only good for elevating your baby’s tummy time, but it can come in handy for a bunch of other purposes such as laying your baby for playtime, practising baby yoga or simply giving your little one a relaxing massage.
Baby Toys
Even if you lay your little bundle of joy on the plushest and softest play mat, know that your baby can still resist tummy time, especially if they find it boring. This is why it’s recommended to provide your little one with a couple of baby entertainment toys for tummy time and see how their experience elevates to the next level.
In fact, one of the most important aspects of tummy time is to serve as a fun activity for your baby. If your little one has a couple of toys as a distraction, it’ll be able to reap more of the benefits that baby entertainment toys bring.
If you’re wondering how to choose baby toys to stimulate your little one while lying, many parents would go for hanging toys on baby activity mats.
However, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pick a couple of rattles, comforters or soft plush toys and place them in front of your baby, as it’ll also enable them to explore and learn unknown shapes and colours.
On the other hand, if you want to work on your little one’s ability to hold their head up throughout tummy time, it’s best to provide them with interesting visual stimulations such as contrasting colours and extraordinary patterns. At this age, babies’ vision still isn’t completely developed, and they mostly respond to the strong contrast between black and white colours. Such contrasting colours and sharp shapes will capture their attention and keep them engaged for a longer period.
Finally, musical toys also make for a great distraction during tummy time, as they’ll introduce your little one to different sounds and stimulate its hearing sense. On top of that, some musical toys for babies come with interactive features and allow your baby to switch between different sounds- from animal and musical instrument sounds to different languages. Some more advanced musical toys can also include visual stimuli such as light flashes and vibrant contrasting colours to stimulate your baby’s perception.
A Tummy Time Floor Mirror
Last, but not least, floor mirrors are widely used by parents while tummy time. And this is not surprising at all, as a simple mirror in front of your baby won’t only spark their curiosity, but it’ll also stimulate your little one’s visual tracking, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and let your baby develop a wider attention span and sense of self. On top of that, placing a mirror in front of your baby who cries and protests when tummy time comes will instantly capture their attention and maintain tear-free tummy time for a longer period.
However, your typical floor mirror is less likely to be suitable for tummy time, as there’re models that are specially manufactured for this purpose. Hence, tummy time mirrors are foldable and designed to angle low, so you can always adjust it however you desire- prop it up or lay it down under your little one’s chin. Also, have in mind that specialized tummy time mirrors are embedded with acrylic to ensure your little one’s safety if it suddenly decides to get fussy.
Now that you found out about the most essential items to lay your baby down on their tummy, it’s time to hit your favourite baby store and provide your little one with the most amusing tummy time.
