How much floor time?

[stroop]

My baby is 5 months and doesn't seem anywhere near rolling.

During her awake hours, she goes out with me in her pram, she goes in her jumperoo and her bouncer, and sometimes sits on the sofa. We don't do a lot of floor time as it's a faff to set up in our (wooden floor) livingroom.

Should we be doing more floor time? How much floor time do you do with your babies?

I did loads with both of mine. It was just easier and safer to plonk them down on the play mat when they were babies.

Neither of them crawled until they were a year old! And didn't walk until about 18 months!

Could you buy a rug to put down for your DC to lie/sit on? Or what about a play mat? We have laminate upstairs in our house, so we had to buy a big rug for the DC room.

As long as she's happy. She won't learn to roll or crawl if she's not put on the floor to learn how. Can you buy some of those foam squares that fit together like a jigsaw? It's a worthwhile investment if you've a hard floor as your DD will be on the floor either rolling or crawling or playing for quite a few months.

Hmm maybe I should do more floor time! We do have a rug but it still feels quite hard. The foamy squares sound like a good idea.

So just plonk her down on her back and let her get on with it then?

Mine were mainly on the floor if we were at home. We had a wooden floor at the time but we had a rug and I got some of those foam jigsaw tile things.

So just plonk her down on her back and let her get on with it then?

Yes! If she’s always in a jumperoo or bouncer she will take much longer to develop the muscles needed to roll/crawl/walk.

What do you have to set up?? Surely the floor is already there...

Put a blanket down perhaps.

We didn’t have a jumperoo or bouncer and wouldn’t be on the sofa. I just put mine on the floor from as early as possible - we had rugs on the wooden floor. Both of mine were mobile very early on which may have been coincidence.

My 5.5 month old is on the floor most of the time. She is very strong and rolls all over the place, from one side of the room to the other. I stopped putting her in her bouncer except for quiet time or if I needed to get on with something. She loves being on the floor now.

I have a play mat, soft toys, musical toys, sensory toys and change which toys she has out throughout the day. Sometimes I sit and play with her, sometimes I let her get on herself.

How is she meant to learn if she's never on the floor?

Something like this...

www.amazon.co.uk/TLCmat-Soft-Foam-Play-Mat/dp/B002V4JQUI/ref=sr_1_10_sspa?psc=1&keywords=baby+foam+squares&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1537648415&sr=8-10-spons

I bought this when baby was learning to crawl and now they go under his baby prison perfectly and he crawls round in his prison

Mine have all been on the floor since birth really. Lay them on a play mat. My 5 month old rolls everywhere and is scooting on her belly.

Mine has lots of floor time. Before she could roll she would kick and reach and play with the play mat/arch, tummy time is also important to build muscle in neck and back. There are YouTube videos to help with tummy time (I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to be doing). Basically whenever she's awake, she is on the floor. I occasionally use the walker or bouncer but not often

Thank you everyone... I feel like an absolutely terrible mother, I've been doing the wrong thing this whole time. It just never occurred to me or my husband that she ought to be on the floor the whole time. Making space in the livingroom and ordering a playmat right now...

You’re not a terrible mother!

She will be absolutely fine

What do you mean it's a faff to set up? To set up the floor?

My DS2 spent most of his early months plonked on the floor surrounded by things to look at, because I also had a 20 month old so had a lot on my plate. He never had a walker or jumperoo or bouncy chair or any of that. He rolled, crawled and walked early and is incredibly physically confident now at 18 months, much more so than my older son who didn't have as much 'floor time'. I genuinely believe that giving babies unrestricted time to move by themselves is crucial in helping them develop the skills they need to roll, crawl, walk etc. Just bung them on the floor and let them go for it!

You're not a terrible mother, don't worry. Parenting is just one massive learning curve!

www.amazon.co.uk/Fisher-Price-DFP08-Rainforest-Suitable-New-Borns/dp/B016XS2NM0/ref=sr_1_11_a_it?keywords=baby+play+mats+for+floor&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1537652296&sr=8-11

Something like this is brilliant

You are not a terrible mother! Don't worry about what other people do!

My baby prefers to be sat so if I sit her on the floor she'll happily sit there but doesn't roll or anything! Maybe I should be encouraging her to spend more time on her back or front but she just really wants to be sat up!

We have a hard floor too and it does hurt them if they roll over fast and hit their head on it as I recently saw our daughter wiggle to the side of the rug then spin fast from front to back, hit her head on the floor then cried.

I've since added a soft blanket to the floor in addition to the large rug and her play mat.

DD only learned to roll past 9 months when she could already sit... And then she only rolls onto her side to get something she wants or she sleeps on her side. She's hated tummy time ever since she was born, so I stopped doing it (not all paediatricians agree it is helpful). I did put her always on her back on the floor though, so she was never restricted.

Rolling is not a milestone, and neither is crawling. So babies don't necessarily need to do them.

My mother says I never really rolled or crawled, but just went straight to walking at 1. My father did the same. Yet, we can roll and crawl now we're grownups😊 .

You’re not a terrible mother at all- ignore some of the posts that say you must put them on floor. I’m not sure it’s to do with being on the floor all the time to be honest. I think babies sometimes just naturally do things at certain points. My baby was on the floor, not because I was a great mother, but because he had a play gym and a play cushion from when he was tiny. The cushion he used to fall asleep on when he was about ten weeks after whacking his toys and the okay gym he used to play with when changing his nappy and sometimes laid on his changing mat for a while after.

It was not by design, he never really practised rolling though so the time laid down didn’t have a massive impact. He just rolled over one day at 5 months and been doing it since. To be honest if your baby really wants practice then he’ll do it in his cot- spends plenty of time lieing down there, eh?

Crawling I think is a bit different as takes a lot more practise, but again my boy would practise in his cot as well as on the floor. Though that can be a pain as far as sleep is concerned

Oh and tummy time- that’s just silly. All the pressure to put tiny babies on their tummies when they absolutely hate it. I think having them in a sling is just as good

Thank you to some of the later posters. I feel a bit more reassured now. DD can actually roll a bit, to be fair to her. She prefers sleeping on her side, but if she flops down onto her back when asleep, can flip herself back to her side again herself.

I'll do some floor time from tomorrow anyway, as it can't hurt right? My husband says she's just fine and will reach her milestones just fine. First time mother jitters!

Oh and tummy time- that’s just silly. All the pressure to put tiny babies on their tummies when they absolutely hate it. I think having them in a sling is just as good

Silly?

Rolling is a milestone and I’m sure is linked to motor skills later down the line. Why wouldn’t you want your child to encourage your child to develop physically

Mine loved tummy time.

All awake time should be floor time! When mine were babies I'd put a double thickness blanket on the wooden floor and lay them on it, or under a baby gym and then lay down with them to play.