Lying him on his tummy forces him to stretch his neck to raise his head. This movement strengthens your arms and prepares you for crawling.
For more than 10 years, parents have been recommended to place the newborn on his back when sleeping to reduce the risk of sudden death.
This suggestion has had very positive results in this regard, but also an undesired effect: now many parents never put their children on their tummy, even during the day. And this can lead to them not holding their head as soon as they should or skipping the crawling stage. Spending moments on your stomach every day helps prevent these problems.
You should get your little one used to being face down as soon as possible. From the month you can already do some exercises to help him exercise the neck muscles and as soon as he supports the head without help (for the three months), it is convenient to leave it for a while on the tummy during the day. He will protest because he does not like to be like this (he has to make an effort to see things), but it is this effort that strengthens his muscles.
1. On your lap: Lay your baby on your lap, holding him on the back with both hands. So he has to raise his head to see you. This posture, which many parents adopt spontaneously, encourages emotional attachment.
2. Upside down: Lay the baby on his tummy, resting on his forearms. He will try to lift his head to see (if he doesn’t raise it, you can stimulate him by gently stroking his back). At the beginning it is enough to put it like this for just a moment, which endures, it is not a question of suffering and having a bad time. Little by little, the time increases. Try to do these exercises before taking the milk, since the effort that the little one must practice to hold the head could cause vomiting.
3. On a ball: To strengthen his neck, you can swing him on a ball or a cushion by holding him by the armpits. You will like this exercise much more than the previous one, as the position gives you a new perspective of everything around you. In addition, it helps you to extend the spine and gradually acquire the muscle tone that you will need later to turn or crawl.
4. Enough Back Strength: By the time you are three months old, your baby has more back strength and the control he has over his head when he is on his back or on his back has matured a lot. If you put him on his back and take him by the hands as if you were going to lift him, he alone will raise his head in anticipation of your movement.
5. Encourage him with a toy: Lay him down on his back again and show him a toy that he really likes from one side to encourage him to turn so he can see it. If you pull the toy away, it will try to grab it by stretching its arms. In this way, he exercises his upper body, which will help him discover how much fun it is to turn and turn on his own.