Your baby has finally come into this world. After some time, when your emotions to this big change have settled, you finally feel better about feeding and all of the other challenges along the way (I wish all new parents the best of luck!). You accept the fact that you will not always be able to accomplish what you set out to do in a given day. After my third baby, I finally realized that the pile of dirty laundry does NOT have to keep me up all night! Soon, the day will come when you start to take a closer look at your baby’s process of development.
You will start to pay attention to whether your baby smiles at you, begins to “talk,” enjoys lying on the tummy, or turns over, crawls, moves around on all fours, sits and walks… Phew… That’s a lot! And it’s all related to motor skills!
There will always be some reason to worry. And yes… even in the best case, it will be like this until our children grow up, find their other halves, and go out into the world. At this point, we, guided by our common sense, with more or less heartache, will finally take a back seat in this journey. (By the way, it’s a good point for why to focus not ONLY on my children but also to take care of my marriage because… the children will leave and my husband is the one who will actually stay home. 😉
But let’s get back to the point.
In my practice, I meet worried parents whose children do not have great head control: they don’t like lying on their tummies, they don’t want to turn over, they favor one side of the body, they keep asymmetrical body positions, they constantly tilt their body weight to one and the same side, they don’t reach out for toys, they are very tense or – quite the opposite – their bodies seem to be “lazy.” In a word, there are big or small developmental challenges.
Of course, as parents, we can usually tell if there is a problem with a particular skill or the lack of it. However, today I want to draw your attention to something of utmost importance. Something that may not seem significant at first glance, but actually affects all areas of a child’s development.
I’m not proposing a silver bullet that will solve all problems at once (when problems do occur, they usually require a broader, more holistic approach), but it is certainly a good place to start – it’s a basis for further development.
WHY IS HEAD CONTROL SO IMPORTANT?
What does head control have to do with turning, lying on the tummy, or… reaching for a toy?
Contrary to what it may seem – a whole lot! Children, unable to adequately control their heads, still have a natural drive to explore the world. And in order to do this without head control, they develop maneuvers to compensate for head control. To put it plainly, compensation is a substitute measure – if they don’t let me in through the door, I’ll go in through the window. However, in this case… “entering through the window” may not be so elegant.
Needless to say, compensations will certainly have an impact on the child’s QUALITY of activity. It’s like this – if my muscles are not able to provide good head control, then… maybe, for example, I could lift my shoulders higher? Then, my head will be stable between them and I… will be able to proceed with further development. Brilliant, right?
Well… not really. Of course, this could work as a temporary solution, but keeping in mind that children acquire new skills based on previous experiences and build their further activity on what they can already do, it is not hard to guess that raised shoulders is a condition that may stay with the baby longer than we would like.
That is why early response is so important; it also means that children, diagnosed by a pediatrician with insufficient head control, frequently undergo physiotherapy.
Head control is not only about lying on the tummy or “passing” a head control test.
Head control is closely related to eye control (especially to eye convergence, which develops properly when the head is positioned in line with the torso). Head control is also related to control of the jaw and tongue, the ability of babies to observe their hands, thereby getting to know their body schema; as well as, the development of hand-eye coordination, the integration of postural tension, and symmetry…
The list goes on and on…
Okay, but what can I do as a parent?
If a pediatrician or you yourself notice a problem, it’s best to consult a physiotherapist.
However, that doesn’t mean that what happens at home is completely irrelevant. Quite the opposite! Oftentimes, we can proactively prevent certain problems – or at least minimize their effects.
The goal we strive for here is for the child, while lying on the back, to be able to keep his or her head in a straight line, symmetrical to the torso. The baby also should be able to look past the midline of the body, to look down and to focus on an object that is shown not from the side, but straight in front of him or her.
But take it easy, step by step – not everything at once!
Before we get down to it, we need some basic information.
When babies are born, they do not keep their heads in a straight line with their torsos. And when put on their backs, they turn their heads from side to side. This is not entirely dependent on their will, but it’s rather a matter of their weak muscles, and also… the force of gravity which mercilessly pulls the baby’s head to the side.
Although newborn babies do react to light, staying focused on a toy or a face will come later.
In the 2nd month of life, babies still spend most of their time with their heads to the sides – although now they are able to control it for a while when positioned in the midline of their bodies. They can also focus on a toy or someone’s face, but doing that comes easier for them when the object is not straight in front, but rather off to the side, from a distance of about 10 inches. Babies are able to follow the object with their eyes and then, to even cross the midline of their bodies, not only with their eyes but also with their heads. However, focusing on an object directly in front of them is not yet possible.
At the end of the 3rd month of life comes the ability to keep the head in symmetry for a longer period of time and for the eyes to follow a toy in the range of 180 degrees. Now, children are able to follow vertically moving objects and begin to look down at their hands.
The ability to look down, which we can see in the following months, is important for the development of good cooperation between muscle groups. Children begin to dissociate, meaning that they separate their eye movements from their head movements. In order to look to the side, they no longer have to move their heads, but they only need to move their eyes in a particular direction.
Knowing this, we can easily guess what playtime activities will have a positive impact on the development of good head control and eyesight focus – basically, which activities support the harmonious development of your baby in an natural way.
SUMMING UP:
– Achieving SYMMETRY is a very important step in a child’s developmental journey. At the end of the 3rd month of life, babies should be able to keep their heads in line with their torsos when lying on the back as well as on the tummy. The symmetrical position of the head tells us a lot about the symmetrical distribution of muscle tension – that it is the same on both sides of the body.
– It is important to keep working in the midline of the body – while newborns are not yet able to keep their heads up in line with the torso, it is good to encourage them to do so in the coming months. Towards the end of the 3rd and in the 4th month of life, babies should be able to keep their heads up for longer periods of time and they should also be able to look down. Therefore, you can show them toys from lower and lower – no longer in their range of sight, but also above their chest or even above the bellybutton.
– At the end of the 3rd month of life, when your baby is lying on the back, you should see the so-called CHIN TUCK, which is a movement of the chin towards the sternum.
– When working on eyesight focus and vision, YOU SHOULD GIVE YOUR CHILD TIME so that he or she has a chance to notice an object or your face (which, by the way, is far more interesting for your baby than even the best of toys). Do this kind of exercise SLOWLY. Also try not to shake the toy too much, but instead slowly move it around. If you’re not entirely sure that this makes a difference, try to read a chapter title while shaking a book.
– From the very first days of life, pay attention to the position of your baby’s head – making sure it turns both ways, because if it doesn’t, you should encourage your baby to turn over and make sure that you are not dealing with flat head syndrome.
– From day one, give your child maximum freedom, avoid putting him or her on soft mattresses, on pillows, or in a reclining position, because this could make it difficult for the child to freely turn his or her head.
– Always watch closely to see if your little one, while lying on the tummy, turns his or her head from side to side, and at the end of the 2nd and in the 3rd month of life, make sure that he or she can keep his or her head in line with the torso and doesn’t hold it facing only one direction. (For this reason, a great idea would be to lay your baby on the tummy in front of a mirror).
– Pay attention to baby-friendly care while lifting and carrying your baby in harmony with the natural development of a child.
– Play with rolling and getting to know the body a little better…
Some interesting facts:
- “Grasping” with the eyes – I told you earlier that head control influences the child’s ability to reach for a toy. But how does it work? Well, before children are able to reach for something, they have to locate it with their eyes, which would not be easy at all without good head control.
- Poor head control may be related to weak stomach muscles. In order for babies to lift up their heads, the oblique stomach muscles have to stabilize their chest. If their core is not stabilized, lifting up a heavy head is much more difficult.
- Head control and eye control go “hand in hand” – head control in blind children develops later than in their seeing peers.
You may also be interested in:
The best way to make sure that your baby is developing normally is to Play Smart! – from the moment of birth to first steps – check out my e-book:
Sources:
Bly, Lois (1995). “Motor Skills Acquisition in the First Year:” Therapy Skill Builders.
Prechtl, H.F., Cioni, G., Einspieler ,C., Bos, A.F., Ferrari, F. (2001). “The Role of Vision on Early Motor Development: Lessons from the Blind:”Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. March 2001;43(3): pgs. 198-201.
