A recently published Canadian study has underlined the importance of tummy time for the development of gross motor skills in infants. 1

The study was undertaken by Valerie Carson and her colleagues with a group of 411 parents and their infants in Edmonton, Canada.  The study method involved parents recording at ages 2,4 and 6 months the average time their child spends awake on both their stomach (tummy time) and back (back time) when they are free to move.
 
In addition parents reported the dates that six gross motor milestones were achieved – independent sitting, crawling, assisted standing, assisted walking, independent standing and independent walking.
 
The study found that tummy time was consistently associated with more advanced gross motor development, including the earlier acquisition of these gross motor milestones.
 
The full study can be accessed here

This is an important study, building on previous smaller studies, and confirming the benefits of tummy time – something we at Learning Connections we have been promoting for 40 years!

We also refer you to the Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines (based on the Canadian Guidelines) which recommends that infants who are not yet mobile should accumulate at least 30 min/day of tummy time throughout waking periods, which includes reaching and grasping, pushing and pulling. This happens naturally when the infant is on their tummy.

The Movement Guidelines are available here.

[1] Carson, Valerie, Zhiguang Zhang, Madison Predy, Lesley Pritchard, and Kylie D Hesketh, ‘Longitudinal Associations between Infant Movement Behaviours and Development’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 19.1 (2022), 10 <https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-022-01248-6>