DeveloBaby

A preferred side means that the baby prefers to use one side of the body more for motor and sensory tasks. This means that the muscles on the preferred side are stronger and the baby’s sensory life is better on that side.

A very common result of preferred side is plagiocephaly which is flattening of the back of the head on one side.

In Denmark we do not use helmets to treat plagiocephaly - instead we teach parents physical therapy exercises and repositioning techniques that they can do at home.

The best practice treatment for preferred side is:

🔸Positioning for sleep and play (away from the flat side).

🔸Strengthening exercises for the muscles on the weaker side.

🔸Increasing sensory stimulation to the non-preferred side.

🔸Improving tummy time quality.

This is done over time through daily exercises.
You can find the best practice physical therapy exercises (according to Scandinavian standards) in the program “Develobaby - Preferred Side”.

❗️Comment PLAGIO for a direct link to the program❗️
(You can choose English, German or Danish).

If you only put on a helmet, you will not address the underlying cause of plagiocephaly!!

With love,
Maria ♥️

It’s a huge motor development tip to introduce this habit with your baby from around four weeks of age.

Gently roll your baby onto their tummy during every diaper change and on the play mat before tummy time. This gives your baby many small rolling experiences before they begin rolling on their own.
You’ll also find this exercise, together with many other cozy and effective tummy time and rolling exercises, in my program “Tummy Time and Rolling”.

Comment TUMMY for a direct link or find it directly on DeveloBaby.

With love, Maria ♥️

There’s a rule of thumb for tummy time that’s often shared on social media. It’s called “5 minutes per day per week of life.”

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on this rule because the last thing I want is to contribute to a negative, performance-driven culture around parenting. Here are some additional perspectives on this “rule”:

When we set tummy time to a specific number of minutes, the focus quickly shifts from quality to quantity, which doesn’t make sense!

Instead, let’s focus on the quality of movement and the joy of movement!

Here’s what I recommend:

🎈 Aim to have a tummy time session during every awake period throughout the day. If some sessions don’t happen, sprinkle on some self-grace and remind yourself that it’s okay!

🎈 Prioritize quality over quantity. I’d much rather see a happy baby spend 1 minute in good-quality tummy time on a parent’s chest, with help positioning the arms, than 10 minutes of screaming with a dropped head in a compensatory Superman position.

🎈 Set up a tummy time station on the table until your baby can roll over. Sitting at eye level with your baby will make it less strenuous for you and more enjoyable.

🎈 Do multiple short sessions. When your baby gets fussy, pick them up, but try again after a few minutes. This way, you can accumulate many good, high-quality minutes.

🎈 It’s okay for the adults to enjoy themselves too during tummy time. It doesn’t have to be a chore, even if it feels like a “must-do.” For example, make a good cup of coffee and enjoy it together!

❗️Comment TUMMY for a direct link to my program “Develobaby - Tummy Time” that includes exercises and tips for easier and more fun tummy time. This weekend I offer 10% on everything❗️

Is tummy time a positive, negative, or in-between experience in your home? 🤍

With love,
Maria ♥️

(Feel free to leave a comment or an emoji so I know you’ve read this far 🫶🏻

Don’t believe everything you hear!

Myth 1: “It’s because your baby is a bit on the bigger side. That makes it harder to move!”

❗️There’s no basis for saying that. Many wonderfully chubby babies are strong and active. Muscles adapt to weight.

Myth 2: “It’s because your baby has a calm personality and just doesn’t feel like moving!”

❗️That’s also not true. Babies want to move. They’re evolutionarily wired to develop motor skills. They don’t have a personality that just can’t be bothered. If a child is delayed in their motor development, there’s usually a reason—and it’s very rarely something to worry about.

Myth 3: “It’s because your baby is focusing on fine motor skills instead!”

❗️Motor development doesn’t work like that. Children don’t stop developing gross motor skills just because they’re practicing something else.

When children are delayed in their motor development, there’s often a simple and non-dramatic explanation: Their muscles just aren’t strong enough yet.

More active time—and sometimes a bit of loving motor support—is often all it takes to help them back on track.

I totally get why we try to come up with reasons. As parents, we worry. But I want to bust these myths here on my profile and share a different story about motor delays—one that’s not based on myths or fears.

Because the truth is: It’s extremely rare that motor delays mean something is seriously wrong. And from a calm, non-worried place, you can help your child move forward and build a strong, happy relationship with movement.

With love,
Maria ♥️
(Your pediatric physical therapist from Denmark 🇩🇰)

Babies love to use their muscles. It’s both strengthening and sensory stimulating. Go for it! 🥰

With love,
Maria
- Your pediatric physical therapist from Denmark 🇩🇰

Have you ever encountered questions about why you choose to actively support your child’s development?

I certainly hear phrases like:

❗️“They didn’t spend time on that in the old days, and all adults can walk.”!
❗️“I didn’t crawl, and I’m fine!”
❗️“You don’t see any adults today with the back of their heads flat!”

🔸When we were children, it wasn’t yet known that not sleeping on the back increases the risk of SIDS. That’s why it was normal to lay babies on their tummies - one night with their heads turned to the right, the next to the left. This prevented preferred side and relieved tension, resulting in a much lower prevalence of flat heads. That’s why we don’t see many adults with this today. But once the fontanelles have fused, the head doesn’t naturally round out again, so it’s important to understand that it won’t just correct itself.

🔸We know much more today. Extensive research has been conducted on motor development, and more people are successfully communicating this knowledge.
❗️The previous generation’s ceiling is often the new generation’s floor❗️
We now understand that a strong motor foundation creates good conditions for a lifelong joy of movement, social participation, and overall health - both mental and physical.

🔸Many of us are fortunate enough to live in a society where our basic needs are met. Motor skills are not a matter of life and death but of quality of life so there’s room for raising the bar for our children in many countries.

🔸An important factor is also the rise of screen time, which has taken over much of the time children used to spend moving.

🔸Finally, there is much more of a “beware” culture today than in the past. Here in Denmark I notice too many empty playgrounds and when there are children there, their parents often supervise them intensively.

I think it’s important to be gentle with the older generation about these topics. Our parents need to feel like they were good parents, just as we do. So, using these factual arguments in conversation can help ensure that no one feels they’ve done anything wrong.

With love,
Maria ♥️

If your baby is attempting to crawl backward and ends up under the sofa instead of moving forward, try this technique to support the next motor milestone - belly crawling.

Place your baby’s toe (the inner side of your baby’s foot) on the floor and wait for active movement. In my experience, this is the fastest way to teach a baby how to move forward.

This works better with bare feet because your baby gains a sensory advantage when feeling the floor beneath them.

If one leg appears weaker than the other, focus more on exercising that leg to prevent asymmetrical belly crawling.
Enjoy practicing belly crawling!

For a 15% discount on my evidence-based motor development and sensory integration courses, use the checkout code:
🌸MOTOR15🌸

With love,
Maria ♥️

It is important to place a baby on the back for unsupervised sleeping to prevent SIDS❗️(World Health Organisation).

But being allowed to sleep on the side under supervision from time to time when you’re a newborn baby has several benefits. It’s calming for the nervous system, it supports digestion and helps prevent flat head syndrome.

So if your baby (0-4 mo) sometimes naps right next to you, while you are there to make sure he/she doesn’t roll over, then it’s perfectly okay.

🔻If your baby shows signs of having a preferred side or flat head, choose the opposite side to lie on.
🔻If your baby is showing signs of reflux, lying on the left side can be soothing - both awake and asleep.
🔻If your baby arches their head backwards in the side lying position, help position their head in line with their body.

Sleep well!

With love,
Maria ♥️