But within the first few weeks of the start of the campaign, pediatricians realize that the number of deformations of the skull bones is climbing impressively (we are talking about plagiocephaly, brachycephaly for example). And in the 12-18 months following the start of the campaign, pediatricians notice a real motor delay, a delay in motor acquisitions such as sitting, crawling, standing, walking. And 5 years after the start of this campaign, «Back to Sleep» becomes «Back to Sleep, Front to Play» and later «Back to sleep, Tummy to Play». We sleep on our backs, BUT we play in a tummy position. The Tummy Time Method was invented. And so it is not a fashionable luxury activity. It's useful. It's even more than useful when we detail the list of benefits of doing Tummy Time, and the disadvantages of not doing Tummy Time. In fact, it allows you to benefit from the benefits of sleeping on your back, without the disadvantages of being almost all the time on your back including in play.

It's a truism.... But when your child is not on their stomach in supervision mode, what is their position?

On their back? At night necessarily, part of the day surely. But the weight of their head (infant state) is ONE THIRD of their weight; this is what explains the flattening of the cranial bones! A huge weight on a hard to very hard surface...

On the side to sleep/doze? NO! The position lying on the side does not fit at all in the recommendations to fight against the risk of sudden infant death

What can be their other position? Sitting in a «maxi-cosy» or any type of special baby seat; and even if there is padding in the shell, well there again, your child is sitting inclined, the weight of their head is still 1/3 of their body, it presses less than being completely lying on the back included on a play mat, but it still presses.

American pediatricians, who have been very advanced, very responsive, have clearly pointed out that it was sleeping on the back that caused these problems on the cranial bones; BUT as it was necessary/must keep SLEEP ON THE BACK, they invented the Tummy Time Method, they invented the «let's find supervised play times on ventral position». They noted the cause «children too long in rigid shells leads to flattening of the skull bones» as being aggravating.

We would almost deduce that, ideally, the child should: sleep on their back, spend a certain well-dosed well-programmed time on their tummy being supervised, and the rest of the time in parent's arms.... Well the deduction is not wrong.

In-utero problems, involving a lack of space, may have led to pressures (on the cranial bones) in certain places;

The full-term newborn has relatively soft cranial bones, it's done on purpose (also be careful with certain practices around labor-delivery-birth that can injure the cranial nerves and lead to feeding problems, which are much more noticeable in the case of breastfeeding). So full-term baby has soft cranial bones.... imagine the premature baby: even softer cranial bones.... so increased risk of flattening

A stiffness of the neck muscles, understand torticollis... a shortening of the neck muscles on one side, can lead to the baby not being able to turn their head effectively, which will increase the pressure on one side.

As a specialist in oral and facial structures, including restrictive ties, yes, we use Tummy Time for these children, whether the parents proceed with a frenectomy or not. It helps them. Children suffering from torticollis would benefit enormously from the Tummy Time Method. Children who have spent a lot of time in hard, rigid shell seats, or who have spent their entire early life 24/7 on a floor or mattress as well. However, the Tummy Time Method is useful for all children - if only that some children would need it even more.

Delay in motor acquisitions; well, the child will sit later, etc.... We can say «I'm not 3 months ahead», and it's understandable. Especially since the studies motivated notably by American pediatricians have noted a delay, but no consequence; the acquisitions are made later, that's all.

However, we also note a lesser deep muscular strength; and later it will give the position: child slumped on his or her desk, the head that needs the support of the hand.

Possible addition of poor coordination, including poor hand-eye coordination because the Tummy Time Method helps with focusing, tracking objects (focus/tracking) which are the basics for good hand-eye coordination.

More precisely: The weakness of the trunk muscles leads to a tilt of the head, because the child does not have the strength to hold their head in place. As the child is not able to focus quickly, he/she sees blurry images. When the «central» muscles strengthen, this decreases the swaying of the head and allows the child's visual field to balance and become clearer. This allows the eyes and neck to start working together to locate and track objects. Good visual tracking is very important for the development of reading-but not only for that.

More precisely: The hands are one of the things that the child first learns to spot. His/her eyes follow the movements of his hands as he learns what his hands can do. This is the beginning of hand-eye coordination, which is crucial for writing and many other tasks like turning the pages of a book or playing sports-but not only for that.

Vestibular system (sense of movement)
Time spent on the ventral position -on the tummy- helps the baby's brain understand the orientation of her/his position relative to the ground. If babies spend a lot of time on their backs, gravity exerts pressure on them that prevents them from moving in most movements. If they are on their stomachs, they are able to resist the pull of gravity by doing things like lifting their head and neck, lifting their head and limbs, which activates the vestibular system.

The vestibular system is responsible for balance and coordination. The indicators of a malfunction of a child's vestibular system are as follows:

1/ a child who is not functioning properly may have difficulties with coordination, object discrimination and even self-regulation,

2/ object discrimination and even self-regulation. This can lead to behavioral problems and short attention span problems.

3/ the child must be taken in his/her individuality; in case of doubt, it is your child's doctor who will tell you what it is.

Doing Tummy Time Method under supervision

Adapt, modify, the position of toys

Adapt, modify, the feeding position

Adapt, modify, the position in the “gadgets” with rigid or semi-rigid shell

Limit the time spent in the maxi-cosy relax stroller and other stuff with rigid or semi-rigid shell, and really prefer opting for the arms, the baby sling

the child sleeps on their back; and in the car, the child is placed attached in a secure adapted seat.

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