Season 1, Episode 3: Tummy Time

  • In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss the significance of tummy time for babies’ development. They emphasize that this activity is crucial for laying the groundwork for crawling and stress the need for babies to spend a quarter of the day on their belly. The hosts also explain various positions for tummy time and the importance of proper muscle usage during this exercise. They advocate for allowing babies to struggle and figure things out on their own rather than relying on supportive cushions or pillows. Additionally, the hosts stress the importance of engaging with babies during tummy time and suggest seeking guidance from a pediatric physiotherapist if needed. They also touch upon the benefits of allowing babies to explore different positions as they grow older. The next episode is mentioned to cover rolling, which follows tummy time.

  • The Crucial Role of Tummy Time in Your Baby’s Development

    As parents, we often seek out the best ways to support our little ones as they grow and develop. In a recent podcast episode, the hosts delved into an essential aspect of infant development—tummy time. This seemingly simple activity holds profound significance in laying the foundation for your baby’s physical milestones and overall growth.

    The hosts emphasized the importance of tummy time, highlighting how it acts as a building block for crucial skills such as crawling. They stressed the need for babies to spend a quarter of their day on their belly, outlining various positions and the significance of proper muscle engagement during this exercise.

    One of the standout points made was the encouragement for babies to struggle and figure things out on their own during tummy time, rather than relying on supportive cushions or pillows. This notion speaks to the innate capabilities of infants and the importance of allowing them to develop their strength and coordination naturally.

    Moreover, the hosts underlined the vital role of parental engagement during tummy time, advocating for interaction and support. They also recommended seeking guidance from a pediatric physiotherapist if needed, highlighting the value of professional advice in ensuring the best outcomes for your baby.

    Looking ahead, the podcast teased the next episode, which will cover rolling, the natural progression following tummy time. This indicates a comprehensive approach to addressing the stages of infant development, offering a wealth of valuable insights for parents and caregivers.

    The benefits of tummy time go beyond physical development, extending to cognitive and sensory stimulation as babies explore different positions and perspectives. This foundational activity fosters a sense of curiosity and discovery in infants, setting the stage for their ongoing exploration of the world around them.

    In a world where parents are bombarded with information, this podcast episode provides a refreshing and insightful take on a fundamental aspect of infant care. It offers a reminder of the simple yet profound ways in which we can support our babies’ growth and development, emphasizing the importance of mindful engagement and natural progression.

    Whether you’re a new parent or have experienced the joy of watching your little ones reach developmental milestones, this podcast episode is a valuable resource, shedding light on the significance of tummy time and its role in nurturing your baby’s journey towards mobility and independence.

  • The Importance of Tummy Time for Babies’ Development

    In this episode, the hosts delve into the crucial role of tummy time in fostering the development of infants. They emphasize that dedicating a significant portion of the day to this activity lays the foundation for important milestones such as crawling. The hosts stress the need for babies to spend a quarter of their day on their belly, highlighting its impact on muscular and cognitive development.

    Listeners gain insight into the various positions suitable for tummy time and the significance of proper muscle engagement during this exercise. The hosts advocate for allowing babies to navigate the challenges of tummy time independently, discouraging reliance on supportive cushions or pillows. They underscore the importance of active engagement with babies during tummy time, emphasizing the potential benefits of seeking guidance from a pediatric physiotherapist if necessary.

    Furthermore, the hosts touch upon the advantages of encouraging babies to explore different positions as they progress in age, promoting overall motor skill development. This episode serves as a precursor to the next, where the focus will shift to the significance of rolling, a natural progression following tummy time.

    Key Themes:

    Importance of tummy time for laying the groundwork for crawling

    Recommended duration for tummy time

    Various positions and proper muscle usage during tummy time

    Discouraging reliance on supportive cushions or pillows

    Benefits of engaging with babies during tummy time

    Seeking guidance from a pediatric physiotherapist if needed

    Encouraging exploration of different positions as babies grow older

    Join us for the next episode as we explore the next phase in infants’ development - rolling.

  • 00:00 - 00:16

    Baby Myths Busted. A practical guide to giving your child the best start in life.

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    Hi everyone, welcome to this episode of Baby Myths Busted. Once again, I am Jackie and this

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    is Simon. Hello Jackie. Hello Simon. Today we are talking about babies and tummy time.

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    So, health professionals tell us all the time that tummy time is important. I don't know if

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    they go into much detail as to why, but tummy time, Simon, is literally just having your baby

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    spend time on their belly, correct? Yep, that's as simple as it is. Okay, so why is it important?

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    Well, tummy time, or being belly down, that position, that is beginning to develop the

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    foundations for your baby to be able to crawl. Right, okay, so no tummy time means they're

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    going to have difficulty crawling? Well, there's going to be less of a chance that the quality of

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    the movement is going to be great. When you get to crawling? Correct. Okay, and so when do we

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    start tummy time? Immediately. Okay, and what does tummy time include? Is it just on the floor,

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    or can it be on mum's chest, if mum's laying down on her back, anything like that? Or does

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    it have to specifically be on the floor? No, it doesn't have to be on the floor. It's just

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    tummy time. And a lot of kids will not necessarily enjoy tummy time, so one way you do have to give

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    them time is on the parent or caregiver, so they can feel like they've got a bond there and it's

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    they're not so alone doing it. Is that why they may not necessarily like tummy time on the floor?

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    That's one of the reasons. If they're not, again, talking about the sympathetic versus

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    the parasympathetic nervous system, if they don't have the ability to relax,

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    then it makes it harder for them to be by themselves on the floor. Okay, so to start

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    off with, at least laying on mum or dad's chest is acceptable for them to be okay with it?

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    Well, especially in those first few days. Yeah, okay.

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    Because the first few days, there's so much going on. You don't worry about trying to,

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    oh, I've got to do this for the development of my child. It's, what do I do for my child in those

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    first five days? And then once you've got your head around a little bit around how you're going

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    to structure your life, then you can start to think about, all right, how do I incorporate

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    true tummy time into my daily life? Yeah, okay. So you get used to having a baby first,

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    learn how to feed it, change a snappy, put it to sleep. And then when it's awake,

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    because I guess the first however many weeks, they're sleeping quite a lot anyway, right?

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    Yep. So you don't put them down on their tummy

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    or don't really prioritize it. There's other things that are important.

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    You still do it. If they're awake.

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    Yeah, if they're awake, absolutely take the opportunity because they need to experience

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    all of it. But yeah, in those first few days, don't stress too much that you haven't done it

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    or you need to do more of it or anything like that, but it is something that your baby will

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    need to do a lot of. Okay. So don't stress first few days,

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    settle in and then bring it in as a regular thing. And how long are they on their tummy for ideally?

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    Well, the rule, the quarter of the day rule. So you need to be quarter of the day on your

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    belly, quarter of the day on your back, quarter of the day on either side. So really as a total,

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    they need to be on their belly for six hours a day.

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    Wow. Okay. If they're awake. Oh, well, no, just in general, because if they're sleeping,

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    they may be on their back or on their side or something when they're on their first early days

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    or on the back. Or if they're sleeping in someone's arms,

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    they might be laying on their belly with the person who's holding them with their arm underneath

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    their belly and going through underneath their hips to hold them. And that's counted as tummy time.

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    Okay. So anything where they're weight. So like the belly pride, face down on your

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    forearm. Yeah.

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    Yeah, yeah, yeah. The husband, the husband hold.

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    That's the football hold, yeah.

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    The football hold, yeah. Yeah.

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    Okay. So you can do that. That's helpful for getting them to get rid of any gas and things

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    too, isn't it? So if they have a feed and put a bit of pressure on the belly.

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    It's pressure on the abdomen, yeah. It just helps to get things to pass through if it needs to.

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    And so if we don't do it, they have a greater difficulty of creating the patterns to enable

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    them to crawl well or whatever. How does that work if they're not on their tummy?

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    Yeah. There's certain spots on the body that need to be loaded in order to get the right

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    muscle activation to coordinate together to generate a movement. So the general thought

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    is that babies need to get stronger in order to do different movements, but it's not a strength

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    thing. That was my next question.

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    Is it about strength? Yeah, yeah.

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    It's not about strength. Okay.

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    So when you're on your tummy, people go, oh, look how strong their neck is.

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    Yeah. And like, depending on how that looks and

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    how they're doing it, that might be a good or a bad thing.

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    Right. Okay. So it's not about strength. It's just about putting pressure on certain

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    points in their body that then cause specific muscle patterns to be created, which then

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    lead them to lift up their head in a really easy, effortless way.

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    It should be effortless. Okay.

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    So the first time you put your baby on your belly, most of their weight will be into the

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    front of their chest or their sternum. That's where a lot of their weight will be put through.

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    Yeah. With their hands probably by their sides,

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    and maybe they'll bring it up close to their ears or something, but generally just look

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    like they're just flopping around like a fish out of water.

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    Okay. And so then as you progress through the

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    first three months of life, they should then be able to progress from going to or from

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    having pressure on the front of their chest or on their sternum and having that pressure

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    being evenly distributed between little bony bits on the inside of your elbows with your

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    arms out in front, like a diamond shape, and also on your pubic bone, so the bony bit at

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    the bottom and top, bottom and front part of your pelvis.

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    Those are the two zones that act as the foundation to enable a baby's head to start to lift in

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    the air so they can look at their surroundings. And when do we want them to be able to start

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    lifting their head and look at their surroundings? Is that by the end of that first three-month

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    period? You want it to look good by the three-month

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    period. You want it to look good, okay.

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    And so do we put them in this position with their arms in a diamond shape?

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    No. Okay.

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    We put them down however they- You put them down however they get put down,

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    and you let them struggle. Oh, okay.

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    Parents will hate that. They've got to struggle.

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    They've got to figure it out for themselves how to do it.

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    Yeah. And they will.

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    If everything's working well, they will. 60 or 70% of kids will do it without you

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    doing a thing. Okay.

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    So what about there's these cushions and things that you- that they're called tummy time cushions,

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    and it's like a mini boomerang pillow that goes under their chest and armpits, I suppose,

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    to prop them up, and it's got little toys and things for them to look at.

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    What are your thoughts? It's just sending the wrong message

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    about how you hold your body to move. Okay.

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    So it's putting them in the wrong position, or it's not letting them figure it out themselves?

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    It's supporting them at the wrong areas to generate the movement that looks like a good

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    movement, but it's masquerading itself as a cheap movement, i.e. those boomerang pillows

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    are supporting through the front of the chest, the sternum, like a newborn does.

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    And so if you're always trying to- If you're not encouraging them to learn or get out of that,

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    then they don't actually progress through the cycles of movement or the development of movement

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    to get to ideal or good quality stages of movement. Yeah. So you're cheating their way to it,

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    and it's not going to be working for them in the long run.

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    No. So you'll be preferencing some muscles to work over others instead of using the summation

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    of all of the musculature of the body to be able to generate a nice, easy movement,

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    which is what babies do best. They use every element of their body, get the right support

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    zone, link it all together to use the entire muscle group or groups to then generate what

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    seems to be a nice fluid movement. Okay.

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    But if you don't allow them to do that, then they will cheat. They will try and use too much of

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    their neck muscles or too much of their lower back muscles or whatever that might be to try

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    and lift themselves up, which is not what you want. Their back should be completely relaxed,

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    the neck should be completely relaxed. It's more of a pushing into the floor,

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    like you're doing a push up with your elbows and your head comes up rather than you're lifting

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    your head. Yeah.

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    It's not a lift of your head, it's a push up and your head comes with your chest.

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    So parents could possibly see that if the baby's going to a lot of effort and

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    they can see sort of their upper back or neck. The easiest way to look at it is that by three

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    months of age, their arms aren't in a diamond shape in front of them, then they're not going

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    to be using the right muscles. All right. Okay. Good way to look at it.

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    So if their arms are back a little bit so that their hands are kind of in line with their head

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    and they're trying to pull themselves up, you will see their back muscles gripping on to make

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    that happen. Yeah, right.

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    As long as they're still getting a little bit further out in front and then being able to

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    support themselves through their forearms and their elbows specifically, then eventually,

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    yeah, that's cool. They might be a little bit slower, that's fine. Who cares? I don't care.

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    That's probably my big thought around movement. Yes, on average, kids will be able to do this

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    well at about three months of age, but I don't really care when they do it.

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    Yeah.

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    As just as long as the quality of the movement is good.

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    Right.

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    That's the problem with us as parents. We want to help our kids so much.

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    True.

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    And if they're not achieving these things at these particular times, then we want to help them

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    by helping them by to try and make it easier or adapt it for them so they can do the movement,

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    so then they can progress on to the next stage.

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    Yeah.

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    But what we should be doing to help them is just let them figure it out for themselves.

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    Yeah. Okay. So you got to put up with the crying because they might not want to be on the floor by

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    themselves. They want to look at everything and they can't do that in that position. They want

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    mom, they want dad, whatever.

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    Yep.

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    So you got to put up with crying. What's a way for a parent to get through it in a way,

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    in a sense? Because no parent likes to see their child cry and if they see them struggling,

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    they want to help them. How do they stop themselves?

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    If you really struggle with your child crying and look, it is important that you do let them cry if

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    they don't like tummy time. When I say that though, I don't mean allowing them to be hysterical.

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    Yep.

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    They can whinge and groan and make random loud noises or cry, but as soon as they become

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    hysterical, absolutely you pick them up and comfort them because you don't, that's beyond

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    them struggling to try and hold themselves. That's, I can't deal with this anymore type of behaviour.

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    So really those early cries are just them, I can't do this. I'm in an uncomfortable position.

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    I want to have my head up. I want to be able to look at everything. And it's just them

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    essentially complaining that this is not fun.

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    Yeah. And then especially when you come to about that six week mark where they can actually

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    see things.

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    Yep.

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    And fixate on things, they will whinge more in tummy time.

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    Oh yeah.

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    Because they can see everything and they want everything, but they can't get it.

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    Yeah. Okay. But really during that period where they're having a whinge, that is their

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    brains are trying to figure out then what to do and how to get what they want.

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    Yeah. So if they're motivated by something.

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    Yeah.

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    And I've got the innate ability to generate these moving patterns, the struggle is how

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    they do it.

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    Yeah. So let them struggle because that's how they're learning.

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    That's teaching them how to learn.

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    Yeah.

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    That's allowing them to learn.

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    Okay. So can parents get on the ground and lay down with them so that babies can see

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    their parents' faces or get down with a toy and that kind of thing? Does that help?

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    Absolutely.

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    Okay.

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    You've got to have something that's motivating.

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    Yeah. Okay. So don't just put them on the floor and leave them unless they're happy to

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    do that.

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    Yeah.

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    But if you want to help them lay down across from them, roll a ball.

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    Just get on the floor with them, just be with them.

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    Yeah.

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    Yeah, absolutely. And then if there is something they really like, typically your car keys

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    or your mobile phone or whatever that might be, just have it there in front of them as

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    motivation for them to press themselves up to be able to look at it.

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    Yeah. Okay.

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    There's got to be something there on the floor that's motivating enough for them to want

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    to be able to learn or teach themselves how to move.

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    Yeah.

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    If all they see is them on the floor and you standing up and you're not interacting with

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    them, then all they'll want to do is be upright.

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    Yeah.

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    And so therefore they will just whinge and whinge and whinge and whinge when they're

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    on the floor because all they see you as being up and they just want to be with you.

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    Yeah.

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    So you need to be on the floor with them.

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    Okay. So don't give up and pick them up.

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    Just get down with them, help them through the struggle.

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    Yeah.

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    If they get hysterical, pick them up.

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    Yep.

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    So no cushions, no rolled up towels either.

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    Nothing.

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    What if they're doing like that Superman looking thing where they're on their bellies,

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    but they've got their arms lifted and their feet lifted and they're kind of arching backwards?

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    The old penguin slide.

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    Oh yeah. Yeah. Penguin slide. Yeah.

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    Yeah. Like that can be, it depends on where, at what point of the timeframe it is.

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    That's a very normal thing to do.

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    Okay.

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    And you'll see that more controlled when they're about six months of age too.

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    It won't be a full back muscle tone thing.

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    It'll be more of a belly control thing at that six months of age.

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    I mean, that's a really important thing to be able to do.

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    But yeah, the real arching of their back and straining of their neck, you don't want to see

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    that.

    14:05 - 14:06

    Okay.

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    And you probably will see it in the early days, like those first six weeks or so, but that's,

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    like they're trying to figure it out.

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    Yeah. They're just doing anything they can.

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    Yeah. But if you're still seeing it at three months, then that becomes, it can become a

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    problem if you don't get on top of it.

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    Okay. So three months, arms in a diamond shape, pubic bone flattening on the floor,

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    so their legs are relaxed.

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    Yeah.

    14:27 - 14:29

    They're not squeezing through their butt.

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    Their back's not like...

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    Gripping on.

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    Yeah.

    14:32 - 14:33

    Yeah.

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    And so they're able to pick their head up and look around.

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    And the surface of the skin, everything should feel relaxed.

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    Okay.

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    Shoulders should be away from their ears.

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    It should just feel like they're not working hard to do it.

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    So they should look really comfortable.

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    And if, can a parent sort of run their hand around and make sure no muscles are sort of

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    rock hard?

    14:52 - 14:55

    You'll feel the big ridges in their back if they're gripping on with that too much.

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    Okay.

    14:56 - 14:59

    You'll see what I suppose are called train tracks in their neck if they're just using

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    their neck muscles to do it all.

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    It's really important for them to use their chest muscles to be able to push themselves

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    up.

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    It's a very important part of their development.

    15:08 - 15:15

    And so without doing tummy time, this obviously affects crawling, as you said, does it affect

    15:15 - 15:20

    the other patterns like rolling, which is what we'll talk about next episode?

    15:20 - 15:22

    Does it affect those sorts of things as well?

    15:22 - 15:24

    They all interrelate.

    15:24 - 15:24

    Okay.

    15:24 - 15:25

    Absolutely.

    15:25 - 15:31

    So especially when say if a child is learning how to roll, they've rolled onto their side

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    and they just can't get over the rest of the way.

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    Yeah.

    15:33 - 15:40

    That next bit requires the action or the control or the position or whatever.

    15:40 - 15:40

    Yeah.

    15:40 - 15:44

    That is very similar to what you create in that three month diamond shape position with

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    your arms.

    15:45 - 15:45

    Yeah.

    15:45 - 15:49

    You need that control to be able to then roll yourself over the top of your shoulder to

    15:49 - 15:50

    get onto your belly.

    15:50 - 15:54

    So if you don't have that, it makes it difficult and you either find a different way to do

    15:54 - 15:57

    it or you just don't roll that way, which is also detrimental.

    15:57 - 15:58

    Okay.

    15:58 - 16:04

    And when these babies have grown up and they're either, I don't know, high school kids or

    16:04 - 16:10

    they're adults or whatever, can you see that they've skipped something like this?

    16:11 - 16:13

    That's what I look for every day.

    16:13 - 16:13

    Okay.

    16:13 - 16:18

    In every human that walks in the door, I will be able to pinpoint at what stage in their

    16:18 - 16:21

    first 12 to 18 months that they didn't develop properly.

    16:21 - 16:24

    Just by how they are walking in, how they move?

    16:24 - 16:26

    Their posture and how they move.

    16:27 - 16:29

    It'll take me about two minutes to figure out.

    16:29 - 16:31

    Oh yeah, cool.

    16:31 - 16:31

    Okay.

    16:31 - 16:36

    So really important just to get the position right, applies the right amount of pressure.

    16:36 - 16:40

    What if a baby just can't do this?

    16:40 - 16:45

    Can't get into the position, can't get their head up or isn't applying the pressure on

    16:45 - 16:46

    the right spots?

    16:46 - 16:48

    What does a parent do or how do they know?

    16:48 - 16:51

    You need to go and find someone who might know something about it.

    16:51 - 16:52

    Okay.

    16:52 - 16:54

    Obviously, I'm a physio, so I've got a bias towards physio.

    16:54 - 16:59

    So you go and see a pediatric physio or someone who has a special interest in it, at least,

    16:59 - 17:04

    and they'll be able to guide you on some things to do to try and help make this happen.

    17:04 - 17:05

    Okay.

    17:05 - 17:06

    That is your first port of call.

    17:06 - 17:06

    Yep.

    17:06 - 17:11

    And again, if you don't like the information you get, find some more information, go somewhere

    17:11 - 17:11

    else.

    17:11 - 17:12

    Yeah.

    17:12 - 17:16

    See anybody who's got an interest in the development of a child and ask them.

    17:16 - 17:16

    Yeah.

    17:16 - 17:21

    Pick up lots of different pieces of information from lots of different people and make a decision

    17:21 - 17:21

    yourself.

    17:21 - 17:22

    Yeah.

    17:22 - 17:26

    Make an informed decision for yourself in terms of what fits with you and what you believe

    17:26 - 17:26

    into.

    17:26 - 17:27

    Okay.

    17:27 - 17:29

    So time and time, very important.

    17:29 - 17:30

    Yeah.

    17:30 - 17:34

    Starting early, build up the amount of time that they're on their belly for, so they're

    17:34 - 17:35

    up to about a quarter of the day.

    17:35 - 17:36

    Yep.

    17:36 - 17:40

    And then should they spend another quarter of their day on their back, another quarter

    17:40 - 17:41

    on one side, another quarter on the other side?

    17:41 - 17:42

    Correct.

    17:42 - 17:44

    And so how do you do that?

    17:44 - 17:46

    Is it mostly sleeping positions?

    17:46 - 17:49

    Or obviously it's easy to have your baby on their back all the time.

    17:49 - 17:49

    Yeah.

    17:49 - 17:54

    Or it can be sleeping, it can be playing, it can be them just being on you.

    17:54 - 17:54

    Yeah.

    17:55 - 17:58

    The hours seems big, but it accumulates pretty quickly.

    17:58 - 17:59

    Okay.

    17:59 - 18:01

    And you don't have to sit there with a little book and tally it all up?

    18:01 - 18:02

    No.

    18:02 - 18:05

    It's just, you just need to realize that you need to be on-

    18:05 - 18:06

    Just shift and move.

    18:06 - 18:07

    All sides of the body.

    18:07 - 18:08

    Yeah.

    18:08 - 18:11

    Is there anything else you want to tell us about tummy time?

    18:11 - 18:14

    Have we pretty much covered everything?

    18:14 - 18:20

    I suppose the big thing is that a lot of people feel as though, or I'll get people coming

    18:20 - 18:25

    into clinic and say, oh, my baby could roll from their belly to their back at two weeks

    18:25 - 18:27

    of age, but now they can't do it anymore.

    18:27 - 18:31

    And this baby might be four months of age or something like, what's wrong with my child?

    18:31 - 18:31

    Yeah.

    18:31 - 18:33

    And I say, absolutely nothing.

    18:33 - 18:34

    That's perfect.

    18:34 - 18:34

    Okay.

    18:34 - 18:39

    So the reason why I say that is that if a two week old baby is rolling from their belly

    18:39 - 18:40

    to their back, it is not purposeful.

    18:41 - 18:41

    Number one.

    18:41 - 18:47

    It is just them trying to find their way through the maze of figuring out how to get themselves

    18:47 - 18:49

    into this good three month position with the diamond arms, et cetera.

    18:49 - 18:56

    So like we had friends who had a baby who, his head was quite large, it was quite heavy.

    18:56 - 19:01

    So could it be possible that, I mean, baby's head is heavy compared to the rest of their

    19:01 - 19:02

    body.

    19:02 - 19:02

    Absolutely.

    19:02 - 19:06

    Could it be possible that they're pushing up and their head just sort of pulls them over

    19:06 - 19:07

    so they end up doing a bit of a roll?

    19:07 - 19:07

    Yep.

    19:07 - 19:10

    So it's completely accidental.

    19:10 - 19:10

    Yeah.

    19:10 - 19:11

    Just momentum.

    19:11 - 19:12

    Yeah.

    19:12 - 19:12

    Okay.

    19:12 - 19:17

    So they could be doing all this fancy stuff and you're not to take it too seriously as

    19:17 - 19:21

    a parent, because it's just them figuring out how to get in this perfect tummy time

    19:21 - 19:21

    position.

    19:21 - 19:21

    Yeah.

    19:21 - 19:23

    And you don't encourage them to be able to do it.

    19:23 - 19:27

    You might think it's clever, but it's not actually them trying to be purposefully clever.

    19:27 - 19:27

    Yeah.

    19:27 - 19:29

    And it's not a good pattern to get into either.

    19:29 - 19:30

    Yes.

    19:30 - 19:34

    It might be helpful as they get older, if they're sleeping and they want to go from

    19:34 - 19:37

    their back to their belly and back to their back when they're older, that's cool because

    19:37 - 19:40

    then they can self-settle themselves and find a new position.

    19:40 - 19:42

    And that's how you then get sleep all the way through the night.

    19:42 - 19:43

    Yeah.

    19:43 - 19:48

    But it is not a necessary movement pattern to be able for your baby to develop well.

    19:48 - 19:48

    Okay.

    19:48 - 19:51

    Because the movement patterns that you develop on your belly and on your back, for that

    19:51 - 19:55

    instance, the aim is to get you upright eventually.

    19:55 - 19:55

    Okay.

    19:55 - 19:57

    But you put it all together.

    19:57 - 19:57

    Yeah.

    19:57 - 20:02

    But if you're on your belly, there is no need, based on how we develop and what we do to

    20:02 - 20:06

    try and generate these patterns, there is no need for you to then roll onto your back

    20:06 - 20:07

    to then get up.

    20:07 - 20:08

    True.

    20:08 - 20:09

    True.

    20:09 - 20:12

    No one goes from their belly, oh, I'll roll on my back and then I'll roll back over and

    20:12 - 20:13

    then I'll get up.

    20:13 - 20:14

    Yeah.

    20:14 - 20:15

    No one does that.

    20:15 - 20:16

    Yeah.

    20:16 - 20:17

    It's not a developmental pattern.

    20:17 - 20:18

    Okay.

    20:18 - 20:23

    So the fact that this child at two weeks did it, four months stopped doing it, I'm like

    20:23 - 20:27

    celebrating saying, hey, that's really good because they've got better control of their

    20:28 - 20:29

    belly patterning.

    20:29 - 20:30

    Okay.

    20:30 - 20:30

    Yeah.

    20:30 - 20:32

    They can actually control themselves in that position.

    20:32 - 20:33

    Yeah.

    20:33 - 20:35

    And they've stopped and they realize they don't need to do it anymore.

    20:35 - 20:35

    Okay.

    20:35 - 20:37

    So I was like, no, that's good.

    20:37 - 20:37

    Yeah.

    20:37 - 20:38

    Good.

    20:38 - 20:42

    And so the pediatrician, their GP, they're all a bit worried that they had this skill

    20:42 - 20:43

    and now they don't have this skill anymore.

    20:43 - 20:44

    What's wrong with my child?

    20:44 - 20:46

    It's not actually a skill.

    20:46 - 20:49

    It's not actually a skill for one, and two, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your

    20:49 - 20:49

    child.

    20:49 - 20:50

    Your child's doing a great job.

    20:50 - 20:50

    Yeah.

    20:50 - 20:50

    Yeah.

    20:50 - 20:51

    Yeah.

    20:51 - 20:52

    Okay.

    20:52 - 20:57

    So personally, you would tell me time, don't give them any tools to help them cheat.

    20:57 - 20:57

    Not cheat.

    20:57 - 21:21

    Not cheat.Dictionary

    21:21 - 21:26

    And eventually the struggle was less, it almost became a bit more of a challenge for them

    21:26 - 21:29

    and they thought, yeah, I can figure out how to do this and they would do it.Dictionary

    21:29 - 21:33

    But also as their development gets better, you won't see them just have their arms

    21:33 - 21:34

    flopping by the sides when you put them down.

    21:34 - 21:39

    They'll be reaching for the floor in preparation and that is a good sign that they're starting

    21:39 - 21:42

    to develop the patterning that's needed.Dictionary Yeah, perfect.

    21:42 - 21:49

    So tell me time, very important, persevere, help them with encouragement but don't move

    21:49 - 21:52

    them, just let them get through the struggle and it pays off.Dictionary

    21:52 - 21:54

    So just be on the floor with your children.Dictionary Yeah, yeah.

    21:54 - 21:55

    Dictionary It's like the...

    21:55 - 21:56

    Dictionary Big one.

    21:56 - 21:58

    Dictionary Probably the biggest thing I say to everyone

    21:58 - 22:01

    all the time, what do you do with your child when they're on their tummy and they're not

    22:01 - 22:02

    happy?

    22:02 - 22:04

    They go, oh, I'm not sure you're doing this or I'm not sure you're doing this.

    22:04 - 22:07

    So be on the floor with your child when you're doing it.Dictionary

    22:07 - 22:09

    They're probably not unhappy about being on their tummy.

    22:09 - 22:11

    It's got nothing to do with discomfort or anything.

    22:11 - 22:13

    They're just unhappy because they can see you.Dictionary

    22:13 - 22:18

    Maybe a baby who is refluxy or whatever might be a bit unhappy about it, but that's

    22:18 - 22:19

    understandable.

    22:19 - 22:22

    But most of the time they're just trying to struggle to figure out how to do it.

    22:22 - 22:26

    But if you're with them trying to do it with them, it's a lot better experience for the

    22:26 - 22:27

    baby.Dictionary Yep.

    22:27 - 22:28

    Okay, good.

    22:28 - 22:29

    All right.

    22:29 - 22:31

    Well, I think that wraps it up for tummy time.

    22:31 - 22:37

    Next episode, we are going to talk about rolling, which will come straight off tummy time.

    22:37 - 22:39

    And so that's the end for today.

    22:39 - 22:40

    We'll see you then.

    22:40 - 22:41

    Bye.

    22:41 - 22:42

    Dictionary Bye.

    22:42 - 22:46

    Feeling more than fine.

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Season 1, Episode 4: Rolling Over

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Season 1, Episode 2: Sleep