The Tummy Time controversy

A recent New York Times Health Section had an article with the headline: ‘Tummy Time’ May Not Be Needed.

As this article discusses a new study of Canadian infants born before and after the introduction in 1994 of the "Back to Sleep" campaign shows that there is no difference between the groups in when they started rolling front to back or back to front. Other research seems to indicate that there is also no difference between when kids who sleep on their tummy and back walk (although some of this research shows tummy sleepers did crawl and roll earlier).

Now on to my anecdotal evidence, which as we know is rationally less important but emotionally more relevant. My older son hated tummy time from the get go, but I felt obligated to try it and did for the first few months. He learned to roll both ways at about 4 months. As soon as he learned to roll onto his belly he always slept on his belly, but otherwise did not like to spend time on his belly. If I remember by 8 months he was pulling up to stand up on his own, but not crawling. By 9 months he was traveling short distances by scooting around the floor on his butt in the sitting position, but not crawling. Sometime after he turned 10 months old he finally started crawling. He only crawled for about two months. About two weeks after his 1 year birthday he started walking and within a couple months he was an expert walker and to my dismay runner. I am 100% confident his lack of tummy time did not lead to any problems. He is a very athletic and coordinated kid who learned to run way too fast for me at a very early age.

Little baby baldie.

My younger son loved being on his back from the get go, and big surprise also hated tummy time. He is 7 months old now and since birth has had a little bald spot on the back of his head from where his head rubs when he is in his crib or bouncy chair. At 4 months he learned to roll from his tummy to his back, and since then attempts at tummy time have lasted exactly 2 seconds, which is exactly how long it takes  for him to roll back onto his back. Time will tell if he is a early or late walker, but thanks to my earlier experiences I am not so hung up on crawling this time around. And to be honest it is sort of nice to have a baby that stays put when you put him somewhere!

What both these articles and the medical research emphasizes is that the "milestones" of rolling and crawling are not predictors of developmental delays. They encourage parents not to worry about when their baby crawls. This is not to say that other milestones are not important. A five month old who is unable to hold his head up or a nine month old who is unable to sit unsupported I am guessing would warrant further attention. In the meantime I am not going to feel guilty about depriving my baby of tummy time.

Painting is for kids and parents :)

In the last six months my three year old has really gotten into all forms of coloring and drawing, including painting. I wasn't so keen on joining him when he was using his fingers and the thick chunky paint, but now that he is using a paint brush and watercolors I am finding painting with him to be hugely enjoyable.

There is something so relaxing and satisfying about painting with the water colors. And I'm not talking about being creative, I am talking about me printing a picture of some animal or airplane or car that my son wants to paint then fastidiously painting within the lines.

For example, here is my latest masterpiece.

My new stress reduction technique.

It's not as entertaining as watching Arrested Development or as healthy as going for a jog or a long walk, but it is very calming after a long day. And to be honest last night after my boys were both asleep I spent a few minutes painting by myself!

Meanwhile my son has made great progress in the art department, a big achievement for a kid who is pretty bad at sitting still. He went from thinking crayons were for chewing at 18 months to painting and coloring in the lines at 3.5 years old.

18 months old: crayons are non-toxic for a reason right?

3 years old: using tools appropriately and coloring in the lines!

Unsung Milestones: My 3 year old learns to lie

My older son is 3.5 years old and the other day he started telling one of my all-time favorite lies. A lie that I remember fondly telling my parents time after time when I was a kid.

It goes something like this... My son is in his bedroom making worrisome sounding noises. The noises that sound like maybe something is breaking or about to break. So I say in a sort of stern mommy voice, "What are you doing in there?" And my son replies, "Nothing."

That's it. Blatant lie. In that case I think he was kicking toys around his bedroom. It's happened a few other times, always when he is doing things he knows he is not supposed to be doing.

Now I'm curious if kids generally start doing this at about the same time or if our son has picked up some advanced deception skills somewhere. Any comments from other parents?