my son is 8 months old and hates tummy time. he will lay there and look around for a few minutes and then starts to scream and subsequently smacks his face into whatever he's laying on. because we have hardwood floors, i'm scared to put him down on our floor without a blanket, and he spends tummy time in a playpen. he's not even close to crawling and although my older son didn't crawl until about 11 months old, he enjoyed being on his stomach and scooting or just looking around and rolling by this age. any ideas or products you know of that help keep a fidgety 8 month old on the floor?
2006-11-21 05:09:29 · 14 answers · asked by itendstoday 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
by the way, by tummy time, i mean playing on the floor to build muscle and maybe help him to start crawling. i am not worried about his development at all considering he has been rolling from back to tummy and tummy to back for a long while and can also sit up. i am just concerned with crawling since my older son didn't crawl until so late and also didn't begin to actually walk until 14 months. my older son did stand and walk along furniture for a long time before that but i've heard that weakness can come from not being able to crawl so i didn't want to have the same thing with my younger son. also, he has a jolly jumper and a floor gym. he'll sit in the jumper for an hour straight but on the floor, no matter how many toys or who's lying next to him, he fidgets and cries and eventually does the face smacking thing. i still give him at least 20 minutes a day on the floor, although mostly it entails crying.
2006-11-21 05:45:59 · update #1
You could try a plastic mirror, or a toy with a mirror in it. I honestly wouldn't worry. My 2 year old hated tummy time as well. She didn't crawl until she was 10 months old, but she was walking by her first birthday. Just remember every baby is different, and unless he has shown other signs of developmental problems, I'm sure it's normal. If you're really concerned, give your pediatrician's office a call. They don't mind answering questions like this one!
2006-11-21 05:14:34 · answer #1 · answered by Robin 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
My baby never did any tummy time, he always hated it. HOWEVER from 1 week old he was sitting up holding his own head. And from one month he stood almost all day and he would lean over and grab and what not. All this moving made him very strong. He is 8 months and has just started crawling, but he has been pulling himself up and walking around the furniture for about a month. Also we live in a small house so he could always just roll over once or twice and get what he wanted. So tummy time isn't the only way to do things.
The best way to get kids to do tummy time is to do it on daddy's chest. (Mommy's usually being bumpier and more tender, but mommy can work too.) Babies love looking at faces.
If you are *really* desperate and breastfeeding here is what I did to get him to roll over. I lay on the bed away from him and took out the boob. Now that is motivation when nothing else was! However, chubby babies generally dislike being on their bellies.
I would try to teach him to bum scoot while sitting up. More challenging than crawling but he might like it.
2006-11-21 05:35:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You haven't started the tummy time soon enough, a lot of parents make this mistake. you are supposed to start at 3 weeks for a few mintues each time and slowly work up to 20 minutes ( or whatever). He hasn't had the opportunity to build up those muscles so he is having a hard time, just keep it up and do it is increments - 5 minutes 3 times a day, then a few days later 6 minutes 3 times a day and so on a so forth. By the way don't make the area too cushiony, he will sink in too much and therefore have a harder time pushing himself up, one or two blankets is enough. Also try a boppy pillow some of the time (not all). Good luck
2006-11-21 05:17:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I had the same problem with my oldest. What I learned from it was starting to let them play and get used to being on their stomachs at a earlier age avoids this! That's not going to help you now, but I did have to overcome it and here is how. Take him out of the playpen. I left my son in there so much that he hated it by 7 months, absolutely hated it. I didn't know any better and I had issues with the regular floor too, so I just figured this was safe, no take him out. Second, get a mat. One of those floor gyms that can be used either on your back to kick the toys or to have tummy time with. If he likes mirrors buy one with a mirror. Whatever he likes, it's worth the money. Don't leave him there for hours on end, maybe 20 minutes here and there throughout the day. If you're wanting him to want to push up or want to roll over, strategically put things where you want him to go. If he likes a movie, play it to encourage him to want to push up to see it. He'll be rewarding himselfy by pushing up and seeing the screen while at the same time using those muscles. If you want him to roll over, use the gym part of the toy, have a toy hanging he'll want to roll over and touch. This will all come to him in time, and you're not going to be able to rush it, and it will take a few hard days at first (trust me), but before long he'll start to do things.
2006-11-21 05:19:38 · answer #4 · answered by ... 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter was exactly the same so I stopped bothering, she would just lay there and scream too. At 3 months she started to roll over still preferring to be on her back but now at 4 months she is much happier about being on her tummy and will hold her head up and play and laugh. I don't think you have anything to worry about, just leave him be for awhile and try again when he's a bit older.
2016-03-12 21:06:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Create a large padded area with a quilt or cover on top. " Like a picnic in the park" Place special toys, books and soft objects on this pallet. Keep it there as though it is a piece of furniture. The spot where you can lay down with your child and read, sing or just talk. This can also be a good place for play too. Make it a comfort zone. And with you being able to interact in this area with your child will most likely make it an area your child will feel relaxed and comfortable. It could possibly stop the problems. One more thing, try lying next to your child while attempting nap time and gently continue to roll the child on their side and place a small pillow against their back to help from rolling. It could be that this particular child really is uncomfortable lying on their stomach.
2006-11-21 05:34:43 · answer #6 · answered by yaya 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My first son was much the same - although he crawled by 5 1/2 months. But, before then he apparently equated tummy time with torture. He too would scream and smack his face and all that. Because you have hardwood floors I understand your concern, but you could lay even a couple blankets down to give more padding. Then, lay him down and when he starts to cry give him a minute or 2 before you pick him up. Soon after he calms down put him back down and once again wait a min or 2 before you pick him up. Another idea is to lay him down and then you yourself get down on your belly and mimick him - sometimes that (or attention diversion via toys) will slowly help to extend the time he will allow himself to be on his tummy. Good luck and God bless!
2006-11-21 05:17:03 · answer #7 · answered by magen n 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry my daughter was like that then poof she was walking skipped crawling, actually she was running and hasn't stopped running (2 years and 8 months old). She has done everything else much quicker than any book has ever said she would. Enjoy the time while you can before you know it your son will be mobile. My daughter also hated saucers and walkers. All children do things in their own time.
Have a GREAT day!
2006-11-21 05:20:45 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My son, now 20 months, didn't do much tummy time either. I did use a throwdown with a pillow & a mirror that had other objects to pull & play with. I think I got it at Wal-Mart. I also used my Boppy to support him while on his tummy. You may try to put some of his fun toys down & get eye level with him. I also used flash cards & talked to him until he was comfortable looking at them by himself, for a couple minutes anyway.
2006-11-21 05:16:45 · answer #9 · answered by yu247365 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I would say that at 8 months, you probably don't have to force him to have tummy time. My pediatrician only recommended tummy time for the first 3-4 months so that baby's neck muscles develop well and to avoid that flat head from sleeping on their backs.
Does your son know how to roll over yet? From back to tummy or tummy to back? How about sitting up (even if that means leaning on his hands for support)? Those are good signs of good muscle development.
There are all sorts of toys to keep baby occupied on the floor. My son loved those kickstart gyms (baby kicks it while on his/her back or tummy and it lights up with music). I used those in his playpen also.
He also loved toys on a string that roll around (usually toy dog or car). Those toys encouraged him to crawl to go get the toy. But you have to keep an eye on them because the string is a strangulation hazard. I used those in his playpen as well.
Most of our house has tile floors and my son was fine crawling and playing on the tile. I tried putting little knee guards on him when he was starting to crawl but those never stayed on. I was only afraid that he might fall and hurt himself when he was learning to walk.
A bright note for you: in my limited experience, i've noticed that late crawlers (or never crawlers) tend to be early walkers. My son was crawling at 7 months (I was so proud) but couldn't walk until he was 16 months (went from so proud to soooooooooooooooo worried).
If your son's pediatrician isn't worried then your son is probably fine and working on a different part of development (teething, eating, walking, learning, etc.).
Hope that helps.
Mari
2006-11-21 05:25:28 · answer #10 · answered by mari m 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋