Gymnastics has a positive effect on the well-being and development of a child of any age. But for babies in the first months of life, it is especially needed.
Helping the baby learn new skills is the task of any loving parent, because in the general development of the child in the first year of life, mental, emotional, and physical development are closely interconnected. Without one component, the picture will be incomplete. In this article, we will talk about how to do gymnastics for children at 3-4 months.
Age features
For a three-month-old child, the world around him becomes more interesting every day. The kid already knows how to keep the head lying on his stomach, he is already trying to rise on the arms from this position, if something interesting happens in front. The baby reacts emotionally to his mother, smiles, and also reacts more consciously to the touch of adults to different parts of his body. Massage and gymnastics at this age can be a real pleasure and fun game.
At this age, a full-fledged color sensation begins to form. That is why bright toys, rattles and conspicuous objects will not only help the development of vision, but will also be an excellent stimulus and motivator during children's gymnastics. In the same way, you can use sounds, because the baby already easily determines where they are coming from, and turns his head with interest.
At 3-4 months, the baby's innate reflexes begin to disappear, which were actively used by parents during massage and gymnastics from birth. Now they are being replaced by conditioned reflexes, the baby is already beginning to try to straighten the body, stretch. This means that soon the baby will begin to roll over, and the muscles of the back and legs are preparing for crawling movements.
The baby sleeps less during the day, wakefulness becomes longer, and this provides additional opportunities for developing activities.
General charging requirements
Physical activity for babies should be daily. Therefore, gymnastics should become an integral part of the daily diet. You need to start the exercises after the baby's muscles and ligaments have been "warmed up" by a preliminary massage.
Gymnastics for a four-month-old child is becoming more difficult, now it is not only an effect on the muscles, it is training visual and auditory functions, the formation of the first speech skills - humming.
Mom cannot do without auxiliary materials - she will need bright toys, rattles, pleasant music and knowledge of nursery rhymes, counting rhymes, nursery rhymes that develop the perception of the rhythm of human speech.
Every move must be commented on. The baby should gradually master the parts of his own body, and the mother can help him with this by clearly naming them during the exercises.
At 3 months, the child needs a comprehensive lesson, all exercises of which are conditionally divided into two groups:
- passive (mother performs the exercise for a calmly lying child);
- active (the baby takes a lively and direct part in what is happening to the best of his ability).
Exercises from the exercise therapy arsenal are added to the complex for a child with some developmental and health problems, if any are prescribed by the attending physician.
You can add exercises on a ball (on a fitball) to classes. Dynamic gymnastics practitioners complete their exercises with dynamic exercises. Whatever the set of activities compiled for your child, it must necessarily include:
- laying out on the tummy (develops the muscles of the abdomen and neck);
- warm-up for the limbs (stimulates the muscles of the arms and legs);
- exercises for changing the position of the body in space (turns with support, crawling with support).
General strengthening gymnastics does not imply acupressure, massage and other effects on the spine, lower back (kidney area), on the armpits and popliteal cavities, on the fontanelle on the head.
Gymnastics strengthens the child's immunity, removes the remnants of muscle hypertonia, with which up to 100% of children are born, develops lungs, normalizes the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, and improves blood circulation. The tone goes away gradually, and this is completely normal.
At first, the tension of the muscles of the arms weakens, and only by the end of 4 months - the flexor muscles of the legs. But this does not happen for everyone, and some muscle tension is considered quite natural up to six months.
Always carry out gymnastics according to a specific plan, starting with a simple one and gradually moving on to a complex one:
- massage and warm-up - 5 minutes;
- passive exercises for arms and legs;
- exercises for the joints and ligaments of the limbs;
- general exercises for the development of the muscles of the abdomen and back;
- active exercises (coups, crawling, fitball);
- soothing light relaxation massage - 2-3 minutes.
The impact on the muscles and joints of the child should be gentle and minor. Otherwise, the baby's muscles will ache.
Every adult who has overtrained in the gym at least once or played sports games is familiar with the painful feeling of "clogged" muscles. In children, muscle tissue behaves in the same way in response to excessive stress.
Therefore, make sure that the load is moderate, otherwise problems with sleep and appetite cannot be avoided later.
Exercises
The preliminary massage is carried out in a traditional way. First, hands and feet are rubbed and gently massaged from the toes up. Then, in a circular motion, lightly rub the muscles of the chest and abdomen, back, buttocks. Then you can go directly to gymnastic exercises. We recommend these techniques:
- "Boxer". Lay the baby on the back. Take the brushes of his handles in yours and lunges them forward, just as a boxer usually does in the ring. The exercise develops the muscles of the arms and upper back well, helps to strengthen the shoulder joints.
- "Mill". The child continues to lie on his back. Lock the brushes of his handles between your thumb and forefinger and shake the brushes, and then rotate them in a circle. Do this carefully so as not to injure your baby.
- "Butterfly". Spread the arms of the baby to the sides and bring them back to the chest. After you have done this several times, lift the arms up and down, along the body. Complete the exercises in semicircular movements from top to bottom, the baby's hands should write out two arcs on the sides of him, like the wings of a butterfly.
- "A bike". Do not forget about the exercises that you performed on your baby in the first weeks after birth. The "Bicycle" is still relevant - adduction with the bend of the legs at the knees alternately. But the already familiar trick needs to be slightly complicated. While doing the "bike", lightly press with your palms on the feet of the child so that the "pedals" rotate with a slight load. Exercise perfectly develops the legs, knee joints, thighs, lower and long back muscles.
- "Cuttlefish". The kid is lying on his back. Raise its legs to the head and lower them to their original position. At the same time, make sure that your legs do not bend at the knees. To do this, hold the baby's limbs in the ankle area with one hand, and under the knees with the other.
- "Frog". The baby is on the stomach. Place your palms under your feet and apply pressure to make your baby bent at the knee and hip joints. At the same time, his pose will resemble that of a frog. Move your baby slightly forward. This exercise will be a good base for future crawling. Stimulate the child's participation in the process - place a bright toy in front of him so that he himself tries to reach it.
- "Turn". Put the child on the back, put your index finger in his right hand so that the baby grabs it tightly. Holding the baby on the left side of the body, pull your hand towards you and gently flip from the back to the stomach through the left side. Then do a flip over your right side, but for this you need to let the baby grab your finger with the left hand.
- "Caterpillar". Place the baby on his stomach, pull his arms forward, place your palm on the feet and push slightly forward so that the baby moves slightly forward. At the same time, his handles are bent at the elbows, again take the handles and put them in front. Thus, like a caterpillar, the baby will slowly move forward, for example, to an interesting toy. Remember that the child must have an incentive to do vigorous exercise. If there is no motivation, there will be no pleasure from gymnastics.
- On the ball. Place the baby with your belly on the ball, holding the sides. Roll the ball back and forth, left and right. Turn the child onto their back and do the same. Exercise stimulates the development of the abdominal and back muscles, and promotes the development of the vestibular apparatus.
Useful Tips
Here are some helpful tips to make your three-month-old child enjoyable:
Turn on music, talk to your baby - communication will help establish emotional contact, and the child will perceive gymnastics as a fun and interesting game.
Do not do gymnastics before an evening swim. Exercise stimulates the nervous system and increases circulation. As a result, your baby may fall asleep less easily and worry at night. It is best to do gymnastics in the morning.
Always observe the child's mood. If today he is not in a very good mood, he is capricious, it is better not to do gymnastics.
If the weather and the season permitting, do your gymnastics without clothes and in the fresh air. So it will be possible to combine useful exercises with hardening, as the children's doctor Yevgeny Komarovsky advises.
Gymnastics is not done on sick days, especially if the child has a fever. Also, it is impossible to do gymnastics without the participation of a doctor for children with congenital heart defects, severe renal failure, large hernias (inguinal, umbilical or spinal).
Before doing the exercises, if you are starting to practice with your child for the first time, watch the training video. It will help you understand the technique.
See the following video for charging technique for a 3-4 month old baby.
