7 Month Old Vs. Tummy Time....

My son hated it, so we didn't do it. He was holding his head up at birth, and as others have said I DID hold him in all positions of the rainbow. Even after he started speed-crawling, he still never spent any time on his stomach. Even as an 8yo he doesn't lay on his stomach for longer than a minute or two, he lounges on his back, with his feet kicked up. That position annoys ME, I lounge on my stomach or side. We all have different likes/inclinations.

Some babies never crawl. They go from sitting to walking. Others (like my son) crawled at the speed of light for MONTHS, and avoid walking because it was too slow (my son almost never walked, and even now rarely walks, he tends to run/skip/jump/slide, but will walk if I'm holding hands with him).

I worked at a daycare, and a baby there didnt like tummy time either. She was around 8-9 months and could sit up fine as well. She eventually liked it around 11 months, and thats when she started crawling.

In my understanding, one of the main purposes of tummy time is to strengthen core muscles and the neck so that a child can learn to turn over and sit. If you want to encourage more time on his tummy, how about using some of your "together" time to hold him on your chest and play with him? Most babies LOVE this.

i used Tummy Time as workout time---lay on your back, kick your legs up in the air and put baby on your shins and do some crunches! Babies make the best medicine balls AND love when you make goofy faces at them while whirling them around :)

Agree with Peg. My 2 month old dislikes tummy time and won't stay on his stomach more than a couple minutes without crying. So we give him tummy time on Daddy's chest! He already holds his head up just fine and can push up with his arms a little.

I wish I had pushed tummy time more when my son was a baby. He didn't really like it (probably because he naturally had low muscle tone), so I didn't really force it. Since then I've learned that core muscle tone is important for everything a body does though, from gross motor movements down to fine motor skills. Tummy time does so much for their core development and unfortunately now at age 6, my son is suffering for it. He struggles with overall coordination and strength, and in particular handwriting. Don't underestimate the importance of that tummy time!

My daughter despised Tummy Time too. No matter what I tried she was just not a happy camper on her tummy. I never pushed the issue with her either. She did create her own form of crawling for a while and eventually figured out the common version of crawling as well. I say don't push the issue, if your baby has already learned to sit unassisted then he should be fine. Every child learns in their own way and at their own pace. My DD hit all her milestones on time and has had no "bad reaction" from not spending more time on her tummy.

Have you tried turning tummy time into play time with you or another person? Get down on your tummy and face him, talk with him, tickle him while you turn him back on to his tummy, that sort of thing? You can also prop a plastic mirror or even a large shiny pot in front of him or buy one of the toys that encourage tummy time.

I also suggest that he just might not be ready yet for tummy time. Keep encouraging it but don't get discouraged. It's possible that one day soon he'll discover that this is fun, too.

I wouldnt worry about it. Some kids never crawl, my granddaughter didnt... she went from laying around to walking overnight one day... they are all different.
Laying on your stomach isnt supposed to be good for your spine anyway, so dont stress on it. He's doing what's comfortable for him.

My son liked being tummy to tummy on me. He also loved it when I gave him horsey rides on my shins. Eventually he liked to slither up to grab a rattle or toy and there seemed to be no stopping him after that.

my son didn't start crawling till 9 months and he prefered his back, he would be on his tummy but mostly was on his back. About at 8 months is when he would get up onto his arms and kind of go back and forth. So no fear. Something will happen.

I 100% agree with Kristi...my daughter is 14 months and cried and threw a fit when I put her on her tummy so I just stopped doing it (she slept on her tummy starting at 6 weeks so I thought that would be enough...and I know thats a no no, but it worked out so don't judge). I regret it because she didn't crawl for a long time, she just scooted on her bottom. I know that crawling is not an actual milestone, but there may be more benefit to it than I thought because at 14 months she is still not rolling over on her own (from back to front) she just stays on her back like a turtle and just recently started crawling. Anyway, her dr was concerned enough to order ECI services (Early Childhood Intervention). They came out and did an evaluation and one of the first questions the occupational therapist asked me was about tummy time. She told me that tummy time is where they develop their core muscles and since she didn't get much TT, her core isn't strong enough to allow her to pull herself off her back.

So, my point is, just put in some ear plugs and make him stay down for a little while. Sometimes as parents we have to do things for our kids that they don't particularly agree with, and this is one of those times.

-Leanne

All 3 of my kids hated being on their stomach so I didn't push the issue. Tummy time is so overrated. They all walked by 8 months.

If your son can sit up, you really don't need to worry about tummy time anymore. A big part of that is just to strengthen their necks and keep them from getting flat heads. Once they can sit up, it's not necessary.

My son never crawled - he scooted on his bottom instead. He was as fast as all his friends and could go anywhere he wanted. Don't worry at all about when or if your son crawls.

If he hates tummy time, you can stop doing it.

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

isnt it supposed to be 7 minutes at a time for 7 month old 8 minutes for 8month old etc. ? so dont worry about long periods of time if you can get at least five-7 minutes twice a day...
what does his pediatician say? my son didnt start tummy time unitl 6 mo and the Dr said he his motor skills were delayed, at 2nd birthday he was tested by Early intervention(for speech) and they said he had the motor skills of a three year old.

Sorry this is a little late, but I just wanted to share my experience. My son also hated tummy time and I had the same concern. Turns out there was no need to worry. He just decided to skip crawling altogether. At 7 months he would roll if he wanted to get somewhere. At about 7 1/2 month he started standing holding on to the furnature and at 9 month he started walking. He is 10 now and though I don 't know if I have ever seen him crawl, I'm pretty sure he can do it. LOL So I wouldn't worry to much.

Our oldest hated it, too. I would torture her for 1 minute every day while she screamed and I cried. SOOOO stupid. I thought she'd never learn to crawl, but she did, even though she never spent more than that 1 minute a day on her tummy until she was sitting and crawling and walking. And now? Her favorite sleeping position is on her stomach. :)

I think being on the tummy helps develop the neck muscles and back and is needed for those issues more than for crawling. Seven of my 8 children slept on the tummy, in that day nobody yelled about it said it caused anything at all. One refused to sleep on his stomach and liked his back. He had the head shape a bit flatter as a result but thankfully it got better without any problem. I see so many today with the head issues and I personally think it's from no stomach time and no sleeping on the stomach. I would work slowly with your son and do short times on his tummy and make it fun and roll him yourself from side to side. Put toys he likes so he has to reach and then make it a game. Sitting will help with the head issues I mentioned so in his case that's not a problem. Some children don't crawl until around 9 months or some and some are walking by then. Just be happy with him and don't compare too much. Soon he's be running all over the place.

My kids both hated it, so we just ignored tummy time altogether. One crawled the week he turned 6 months, the other one never crawled. I'm pretty sure tummy time is a recommendation to give parents an idea for getting their baby active in some way, strengthening muscles, rather than just lying around in a bouncy seat 24/7. It sounds like your kiddo is just fine.