Use flashcards to make your baby's tummy time more fruitful

Tummy time is the position where you lay your precious bundle of joy on their stomach for a few minutes depending on their age and development scale. It helps your precious bundle of joy to strengthen their shoulder and abdominal muscles, help them in physical activities such as turning, crawling and walking and is beneficial to the baby's motor, visual, and sensory development.

 

Babies spend the majority of their time lying on their backs. Therefore, tummy time should be an important exercise added to your baby's daily routine. By doing tummy time regularly, the physical activities of crawling, standing and walking will be easier for them. Once your baby is comfortable with tummy time, this chunk of time can be great for bonding with your little one. Being on the tummy for a long time can be a bit boring for your little one. To make tummy time more fun and something that your baby looks forward to, bring the flashcards to the table. Flashcards will enable you to connect better with your babies. They are a great way to interact with your little one, give them something to respond to.

 

What are flashcards?

A flashcard is a graphical card with brief information that stimulates early learning. There are a vast variety of flashcards available for different age groups. The flashcards to stimulate an Infant’s eyesight are black and white as their vision is yet to be developed fully. They are a great way to introduce your little one to alphabets, numbers, shapes, animals, birds, vegetables, fruits and many more things. Flashcards give you as a parent an opportunity to stimulate interest and curiosity in your child for learning.

How to introduce your baby to flashcards?

 

• Tummy time on the floor-

Once you lay your baby down comfortably and safely, lay down next to them. Use flashcards according to their age. If your baby is under the age of 5 months, use high contrast cards. Keep the card on the floor and allow your baby to observe it. If the flashcard is tactile, your baby will extend their little fingers to feel it as well.

 

• Spread a few cards on the floor and let your baby pick up one. Talk to your baby about the card. Describe the textures, colours and shapes on the card. It will be a fun exercise for your baby's hands as well as their eyes.
• Hold the card to the baby's eye level so that they can make neck and head movements as well.

 

• Tummy time on your chest-

 

Cuddle your baby on your chest and lay down on the sofa or bed. Support the back of your baby's head and hold them in a way they can still have a look over your shoulders. Ask your partner or baby's elder sibling to flash the cards from behind. This will not only keep them entertain but allow your little human to bond with your family.

• Let's get your little one moving:

 

by interacting with flashcards, babies learn to focus better. You can use flashcards to encourage your baby to make them try to grab it, make them turn, crawl and even stand up. Lay the flashcards a bit far so the baby has to crawl towards them to grab them.

 

In a nutshell, tummy time is a foundational activity that promotes growth and development in babies. Using flashcards during tummy time not only makes the time more interesting but also allows you to bond with your little one. Clap, sing and encourage your baby during tummy time. Introduce your babies to flashcards while giving them tummy time on the floor by laying next to them or spreading the cards across the floor, on your chest with the help of their family members or use flashcards to initiate physical activities for your baby such as stretching of arms, crawling, standing up and walking. Every time they try to grab a card or be engrossed by the cards, let them familiarize themselves with it.

Most importantly, don't pressurize your baby into learning things faster. Have fun and make memories as you flash those cards to your actively growing baby.

 

References:

https://www.rightbraineducationlibrary.com/post/2017/05/03/5-types-of-baby-flash-cards-you-need

https://lovevery.com/community/blog/child-development/how-to-use-high-contrast-for-happier-tummy-time/

https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/tummy-time#benefits

https://www.brainscape.com/academy/how-use-flashcards-with-children/

https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/week-13/tummy-time.aspx

https://www.missmalini.com/2021/11/23/what-is-tummy-time-and-the-fuss-around