Balancing Acts

Helping Baby Become Confident and Mobile

By Renee Roberson

During the sleep-deprived first months with your new baby, it's hard to picture your tiny little bundle doing anything but sleeping and eating, much less sitting up without support, standing, talking and walking. But for most parents, it happens before you know it.

While obtaining balance comes naturally to most babies, it does require a little help from Mom and Dad, words of encouragement and helpful advice from a trusted pediatrician and, most of all, understanding and patience.

Dr. Jennifer Shu, a pediatrician from Atlanta, Ga., says that babies start demonstrating forms of balance early on when they begin holding their heads up on their own at around 1 to 2 months of age. If you're familiar with the term "tummy time," it is for this very reason.

Dr. Shu, co-author of Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005), recommends parents provide their infants with designated tummy time each day to strengthen neck muscles and help promote coordination. Laying your baby on a blanket, activity mat on the floor or propped up on a Boppy pillow are all good ways of helping baby develop the first semblance of balance.

To further help your baby develop balance during the first few months, Dr. Shu suggests the following tips from The Wonder Years: Helping Your Baby and Young Child Successfully Negotiate the Major Developmental Milestones (Bantam, 2006) by Tanya Rember Altman:

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