Are you accidentally putting your baby at risk of developmental delay?
Soooo ‘container hopping’, it sounds fun and cute no?
Actually it’s not (damn). Its a real thing that us parents do (usually totally obliviously) and unfortunately it is putting our babies at risk of lots of things like developmental delay, flat head syndrome and toe walking!!! Eeeeeek!
Containers (read: swing, car capsule, activity centre, exersaucer, bouncer, moulded seat, jumper, high chair etc etc) are fun convenient things that take up space in our homes, things that we place our babies in to keep them out of the way of the crazy toddler, to keep them asleep in the lounge-room, to settle them down when they are grizzly etc. They enable us to move our babies from room-to-room (and even outside to the garden in my case) without having to put them down on the cold floor, knowing they are safe and out of harms way.
I get it now. I didn’t really get it before I had my first baby. ‘Put your freaking baby on the floor woman!’ I would think in my consulting room. ‘Your baby will not learn to move all wrapped up in a swing!!’
Then I had my own bubba and I discovered there was no way that I was going to put my teeny newborn baby down anywhere near the slate floor in my house. I didn’t even want to put him down at all. I had a dog for goodness sake.
And it was so easy in those first few hazy months to go from bassinette to bouncer to swing to capsule to pram (still in the capsule) and back again.
Because TIRED. Because CRYING BABY. Because CRYING BABY NOW SLEEPING. Because CAESAREAN. Because FORGETFULNESS. Mummers and Papas I am a freakin physio and I still forgot!!! So we weren’t really getting tummy time in.
Do not touch him!
I’m. So. Tired
Soooooo, much to my dismay, one day I noticed the back of my baby’s head was starting to look a little pancake-ish. Good God. I am a physio! I can’t have a baby with a flat head!! I will be the laughing stock of the entire world!! (No-one but me noticed). But it kicked me into gear and I started to make a special effort. And it had to be an EFFORT in the early months, to put him down on a lovely thick rubber play mat, mostly for tummy time, but also on his back or even on his side, when he got jack of his tummy. I tried to do this for every ‘play time’ about 20 minutes after a feed, between naps. Even putting him on the big firm flat bit of the couch (I forget what its called) was great when he was miniature and didn’t roll anywhere.
Sausage dogs were good motivators for tummy time in our household
I think my main message in regards to ‘containers’ (mainly the ones that claim that they are good for baby’s development) is this: They are generally not.
Placing your baby in a ‘jumper’ or moulded seat or walker for the purpose of helping them to stand/sit/walk faster is not going to work. Babies put in activity centres or ‘exersaucers’ are often not ready to stand. Babies put in jumpers are certainly not ready to jump and they do not need to ‘strengthen their legs’ by jumping. Babies placed in seats are not ready to sit , and babies in walkers are not ready to walk.
There is a beautiful sequence of development that needs to occur naturally in a baby before they are ready to tackle the next set of skills.
Don’t interrupt the sequence lovely mumma!!
Tummy time is the best thing you can do for your babies at this point. I know it sounds odd, but tummy time will help them to sit and stand and walk. It is the first building block.
I do need to say this last bit though. And I do truly mean it when I say:
By all means, pop your baby in an activity centre while you pack the groceries away or while your toddler is running around ‘being-an-elephant-mum’ or just generally being a demon and a safety hazard. Let your baby have a kick and a squeal in a Jolly Jumper for 5 minutes every so often because it is the funnest thing he has discovered on earth so far. If your baby falls asleep in the swing or capsule then let them sleep in there every so often so he gets through another sleep cycle. Sista I hear you. Do what you need to do.
Just be aware that if it is happening consistently, all day every day and you are discovering you are a serial ‘container hopping mum’ then your baby could unfortunately be at risk for developmental delay, flattening of the head, coordination difficulties, toe walking and even visual delay. And we do not want that.
So as often as you can, get that gorgeous little burrito baby out of his container when he is sleeping and put him in his cot. And when he wakes up, get down on the floor with him for tummy time.
And if that doesn’t work, at least put him flat on his back under one of those ugly baby gym things. They are great. They’ll like it eventually. I promise.
My Eyes Burn
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Alana xx
Summary
A small baby needs to be placed on their belly, side or back regularly throughout the day in order to develop healthily.
Regularly ‘container hopping’ your baby is a mistake many parents make but could be costly for your child’s development.
Baby toys that are promoted as ‘good for child’s development’ aren’t necessarily so. A baby will develop skills in a particular sequence and it is best not to put him in unnatural positions that will disrupt that sequence.
If needed it is perfectly fine to use ‘containers’ such as swings and baby capsules sparingly throughout the day for safety or convenience sake (30 mins in total a day is all that is recommended). Just do not make it part of your routine.