Sometimes it seems like we parents can't do anything right. First the "Back to Sleep" campaign urged us to make sure our babies
sleep on their backs to avoid the risks of SIDS. So we dutifully followed those instructions and methodically laid down our little ones facing upwards instead of down. Which was, and remains, the right thing to do.
But it turns out all that "Back to Sleep" stuff has made us less diligent about ensuring that our children spend time on their tummies during the day. The American Physical Therapy Association reports that therapists have noticed an increase in motor delays among infants during the past six years. The No. 1 cause: Not enough tummy time. The APTA also notes that in recent years, care centers and providers have cited a whopping 600 percent increase in referrals for misshapen heads, another side effect of a lack of on-the-belly QT.
Judy Towne Jennings, an APTA spokeswoman, told Marketwatch that, "Ideally, babies should be placed on their tummies after every nap, diaper change and feeding, starting with 1-2 minutes."
Now, all of this probably doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who recently dealt with a newborn. (Yeah, my son only wanted to turn his head a certain direction. As a result, I feared he would turn into a Conehead. Thankfully, he did not.) We know that making sure the kids sleep on their backs is important. We also know that tummy time is, too. Which is why, at the end of the day, we sometimes feel like we're flipping our babies around like cute, little sizzling omelets on the frying pan of life. Or something.
The APTA's information is helpful, for sure. And all we can do as parents is try our best to take it to heart without turning into rampaging, infant-flopping, baby-head-twisting psychopaths. I've met people like that. And let me tell ya, they're not pleasant.
Image: iparenting.com
