How to teach a child to keep his head lying on his stomach

When a baby appears in a family, his parents think with anxiety whether everything is all right with him, whether the crumb conforms to development standards. Immediately after birth, the child is unable to keep the head - the muscles of his neck are still quite weak. It must be supported so that the baby does not throw his head back and do not injure the cervical vertebrae. But you can tilt your head to your chest - this is not dangerous. The ability to hold one's head is the very first physical skill that a small person masters.

When the child starts to hold his head

For a start, I would like to note that all the kids are different and their development is also different. Someone begins to hold his head in a month, while others learn this skill closer to six months. However, there is an approximate time frame in which the child must learn to hold his head without the help of mom and dad.

Already a few weeks old, the baby is trying to tear the head from the diaper, lying on his stomach. However, this is not very good for him - the muscles are very weak. Closer to two months, the child can raise his head and hold it for about a minute. At three months, the holding time of the head reaches several minutes. Do not try to force the child to hold his head by force - this is a serious load for his weak neck muscles.

In the position of the post to keep the head a little easier, there are much less muscle involved. If a child cannot hold his head from a supine position at an age older than 6 months, this is a good reason to consult a doctor.

Exercises for training the muscles of the neck

In order for the baby to quickly learn to hold the head independently, it needs to be stimulated. That is, the muscles will not develop without proper training.

1. Regularly, a day, several times you need to lay out the child on the stomach in order to train the muscles of his back. Put a number of toys - colorful rattles, ball, doll. All this attracts the attention of the crumbs, and he examines them, not noticing that his neck is training intensively at this time.It is best to lay the child on the belly between meals, so that a full stomach does not cause discomfort to the baby.
2. If the baby is two months old, more often wear it vertically, while holding the head with your hand. From time to time, allow the crumbs to keep their heads on their own, supporting the neck only as an insurance.
3. Put the child to sleep on both the right and left sides so that the muscles of his neck develop evenly.
4. If the child stubbornly does not want to lift the head, you need to put a small roller under his armpits that will lift his body, as it were. In this position, the baby will feel discomfort and he will have to raise the naughty head.
5. When the baby lies on its back and lifts its head at least a little to the sound of a rattle, you need to drive it from side to side to train its neck muscles in motion.
6. Exercises on fitball are very effective. Put the baby on the big ball on the belly. Slowly move the ball back and forth so that the crumbs head is now above and then below the body. This will allow him to raise his head in those moments when the body is almost vertical.

These simple movements and exercises must be performed with love and patience.It will take quite a bit of time, and you will remember with a smile that you were worried about the inability of the child to hold the head.

Massage to strengthen the muscles

Massage for a small child is a unique opportunity to solve many problems. With the help of massage in infancy, you can correct almost any defects in the structure of the skeleton. The course of massage on the neck will help you strengthen the muscles of the baby, make it stronger and stronger.

Massage should be carried out in a warm room, in a comfortable atmosphere. Put the naked baby in a clean diaper, apply some massage oil on your hands, and then start the massage. The light stroking and rubbing movements of the neck perfectly stimulate the muscular muscles. The massage should be done by a professional, at least a few sessions. After that, carefully watching the movements of the specialist, you can repeat the massage at home. Remember, no sudden movements! Massage should bring pleasure to mother and baby.

Nutrition

Proper and balanced nutrition - the key to successful development of the crumbs.In order for the baby to get enough vitamins and microelements, the nursing mother must eat a variety of foods. In her diet should be meat and dairy products, cereals, fruits, vegetables. Eat more nutritious food - honey, nuts. However, be careful that new products do not cause allergies. Babies who eat artificially don't worry about it. As part of the adapted mixtures usually have all the necessary vitamins to the growing body.

Swimming to strengthen the neck muscles

Swimming is another effective exercise that will help your child strengthen the muscles of the neck and limbs. Water favorably affects the child, because much less effort can be spent in water. Very effective swim with a special circle. It is put on the baby’s neck and fixed. A crumb can swim by moving its legs and arms and not be constrained in movement when mom holds it. In addition, a mother with such a circle is much easier - she does not have to keep a child, bending over in three deaths.

The ability to hold the head has a positive effect on the body. This forms the correct neck curve, improves blood circulation in the brain. But sometimes, despite all the efforts, the child can not keep his head.Then you need to consult a doctor and find out the true cause of this malformation.

Why the child does not hold his head

There are several factors that can cause the inability of the baby to keep his head.

1. Premature babies due to their lag begin to hold their heads later. But this is not a pathology, just such kids start to do everything later, looking back at their true age.
2. Torticollis. It can be congenital or acquired. Sometimes torticollis occurs due to birth injury. A small torticollis is observed in many children when they sleep only on one side of the bed. For example, the baby is constantly lying looking to the right to find a mother. So the muscles of the left side are less developed, the child does not turn his head in this direction and, as a result, later begins to hold the head.
3. Neurological problems can cause developmental delays. Consult a neurologist on this matter.
4. Insufficient workouts also affect the ability of the baby to hold his head. The child needs to be engaged every day, only in this case you will get a visible result.
5. Poor nutrition can also cause developmental delays.Perhaps mom should drink a complex of vitamins in parallel.

In order to exclude possible deviations, the state of the child must be assessed by a doctor. In a month, it is obligatory to examine not only a pediatrician, but also an orthopedic surgeon and a neurologist. If the experts have not noticed any pathologies, then everything is in your hands.

Love your child, despite the fact that he still does not know how to do some things. Practice with your baby in a playful way, and very soon he will delight you with new achievements.

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