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Families
Babies need tummy time
Tummy time is a chance for your baby to lie safely on their stomach while awake so they can strengthen their muscles needed for activities such as lifting their head, rolling over, and crawling. Your baby should never be left alone during tummy time and should always be supervised.
Your baby needs supervised awake tummy time every day. Tummy time starts as soon as the baby is placed skin-to-skin after birth. It should increase every day so that by the time your baby is 7 weeks old, they should be spending 15-30 minutes of tummy time each day. At first your baby may not like tummy time. However, making small changes such as putting a favorite toy close by for your baby to reach will help your baby enjoy tummy time.
tummy time Tips
• Just because you put your baby to sleep on their back doesn't mean tummy time isn't important!
• Babies need awake tummy time every day with an adult.
• Tummy time helps babies learn to crawl and move around.
• Babies should have tummy time for a few minutes a few times each day working up to 15-30 minutes at 7 weeks of age.
* Image courtesy of the Safe to Sleep® campaign, for educational purposes only; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, http://safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov; Safe to Sleep® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
