Gymnastics for a baby 6 months

The first six months is a very important period in a child's life. During this time, there are many changes, both in the physical and psychological development of the baby. An important stage in the physical development of the second half of life is the ability to crawl, then walk. Gymnastics for a child of 6 months is necessary in order to properly prepare him for this, to strengthen his muscles, and to develop certain skills.

Baby on belly

Physical development of a 6 month old baby

At this age, the baby already knows a lot. He easily rolls from belly to back and vice versa. Lying on his back, raises his torso on outstretched arms, tries to sit down. The kid is happy to stand on his legs when an adult holds him under his armpits. Some active fidgets by this age can already sit or stand on all fours on their own, try to crawl, get up, holding onto the support.

Also, by 6 months, hypertonicity in the muscles disappears. The child can consciously grip the toy, transfer it from hand to hand. He will try to crawl on his stomach to the object he likes, pushing off with his legs. Often, when trying to crawl forward, the baby comes out back or around its axis, which is also a variant of the norm.

Why is gymnastics useful for infants

First of all, gymnastics for babies 6 months old helps to strengthen the muscles and prepare for the next important stage - crawling. For this skill, the muscles of the legs and arms, abdomen, back and neck must be sufficiently developed.

Exercising for children 6 months and older also helps develop coordination of movements, balance while sitting and trying to stay on their feet.

Exercise has a beneficial effect not only on physical skills, but also on psychological ones. Studying with the child, the mother has tactile and visual contact with him, which is very important for normal development. By communicating and pronouncing every movement, the mother helps to develop the baby's speech.

Finally, thanks to gymnastics and exercise therapy, there is an improvement in blood circulation not only in all parts of the body, but also in the internal organs, which has a beneficial effect on digestion, the work of the cardiovascular system and other organs.

Gymnastics

Features of the procedure

Gymnastics for a 6 month old baby undergoes small changes:

The duration of classes increases from 15 minutes to half an hour.
A greater number of loads are given to the musculoskeletal system.
Workouts are carried out one hour after eating and half an hour before eating.
The procedures can be carried out not only on the table, but also on the floor, covering it with a gymnastic rug.

The rule of a good mood remains unchanged: if the baby is capricious, you should not force him to be forced, let only positive emotions from the lessons. You can turn on rhythmic fun music.

Important! Full classes can only be carried out with a healthy child. Even if he is outwardly healthy, he should be monitored regularly by a pediatrician to identify possible contraindications to exercise.

Exercise for babies at 6 months

Before starting gymnastic training, you need to warm up the muscles and joints of the legs and arms.

Leg exercises

Starting position - lying on your back, legs are straight.

Holding the baby's thigh with one hand, bend and straighten the other leg with the other, 5-6 times. Repeat the exercise with the other leg.
Bend and unbend the legs together - 10 times.
Exercise "bike". Grasping the calves, alternately bend and unbend both legs, 8-10 times.
The mother wraps her hand around the knee and part of the thigh of the bent leg of the child, gently carrying out circular movements, first with one leg, then with the other - 5-6 times.
Put the baby's feet together and quickly pat them together, 10 times.
Bend both legs of the child and put their feet on the mat, in a lying position, raise and put them back down, 10 times.

Hand exercises

Position - lying on the back, arms and legs of the child are straightened.

Taking the baby by the hand, bend and unbend the arm at the elbows, 5 times. Repeat with the other hand.
Exercise "mill". Carry out active waves of hands from head to legs in a cross direction, 10 times.
Exercise "hugs". Alternately cross the arms on the baby's chest, first the left hand on top, then the right, 10 times.

After the muscles and joints are warmed up, you can start more challenging exercises. Such charging is useful for babies not only for 6 months, but also younger.

Exercises with pens

Gymnastic exercises for babies at 6 months

By the sixth month of life, the baby is mastering the ability to sit independently. In order to do this correctly, you need to perform a special set of exercises.

Preparing to sit

The position is lying on your back.

With one hand, an adult connects and fixes the child's legs, holding the hips, with the other, pulls the baby by one handle. Leaning on the second handle, the baby sits down. Repeat by changing hands.
Squeeze the child's legs, connecting the feet in the frog position. At the same time, attach the baby's hands to the outside of the ankle, connecting with the legs. An adult grasps the baby's ankles with his thumbs, with the rest of his fingers holds the handles by the forearms. With a sipping motion encourages the child to sit down. Repeat 5 times.

This set of exercises groups and strengthens the muscles of the press, back, neck and provides information on sitting.

Exercise to prepare for crawling

It is more convenient to do this exercise on a table, the starting position is lying on your stomach, with your feet towards an adult. Mom lifts the baby with her left hand under the tummy, and with her right hand she brings the baby under the arms. He rests his palms on the surface of the table, an adult pushes the toddler's handles with his right hand and elbow alternately.

Next, you can try for the baby to walk with his hands himself.

Crawling & Sitting Lessons

Exercises for a 6 month old baby on fitball are very useful. It helps to develop the vestibular apparatus and strengthen all muscle groups.

Cover the ball with a clean diaper, put the baby on the tummy. Press his elbows to the body so that there is support, and sway on the ball back and forth and to the sides.
Lying on his stomach, the baby's arms are stretched out in front of him. The parent rolls the ball forward, and the child touches the floor with his palms, taking several steps with his hands.
The baby sits on the ball, mom supports him from behind, wrapping her arms around his hips. Light swaying back and forth, to the sides and in a circle is done.
Using the position of the previous exercise, the adult rolls the ball forward harder so that the baby tightens the body while remaining in a sitting position.

On fitball

Gymnastics and massage techniques for six month old babies

Gymnastics for a 6-month-old baby also implies massage, with the help of which the tightened muscles are relaxed, the nervous system normalizes, the development of motor skills, and the general strengthening of the body.

Note! General strengthening massage differs from medical massage, which can only be performed by a specialist.

Chest massage for 6 month old baby

The child lies on his back, the mother with the back of her hand begins stroking from the lower part of the sternum up and to the sides to the shoulders.
Next, with your fingers, stroking from the center to the edges along the direction of the edges.
Small circular movements are made with the fingertips around the sternum from the bottom up.
Having changed the direction of movement, the parent moves his fingers between the ribs from the sternum to the edge, avoiding the heart area.
Completing the massage of the chest with stroking, you can gradually move to the abdomen.

Abdominal massage

With the back of the hand, make circular movements around the navel in a clockwise direction.
By connecting the other hand, palms slide synchronously from the sides to the center from bottom to top.
Further, the right hand, bent into a fist, gently moves in a spiral around the navel in a clockwise direction. Thus, 2-3 circles are made, each time increasing the diameter.
The massage ends with light stroking of the abdomen.

Breast massage

How to give hand massage to a 6 month old baby at home

Hand massage is very beneficial, especially in the first year of life. Motility develops, hypertonicity of fingers is removed, blood circulation improves. If the little one is already sitting confidently, the massage can be done while sitting.

You must first relax your fingers, stroking the inner side of the hand and moving to the fingers.
This is followed by a gentle rubbing of each baby's finger from the tips to the base. Finish with initial stroking.
An adult puts his thumb in the baby's palm, with the other hand he strokes from the wrist to the elbow from the outside, then from the inside. He does the same, rising higher, from the elbow joint to the shoulder.
Rubbing should be done in the same way, but only on the outside of the forearm and shoulder.
Now you can proceed to kneading. Mom grabs the baby's forearm with her hand, thumb to the inside. Makes kneading movements alternately with all fingers, moving up to the shoulder joint. Repeat 2-3 times.
Finish hand massage by stroking from fingertips to shoulder.

Daily gymnastics classes are necessary for a six-month-old child, for his harmonious development and strengthening the body as a whole. This is the opinion of many children's doctors, including Dr. Komarovsky.