Gymnastics for a child 5-6 months old

Your baby is growing swiftly and developing a greater curiosity about the world around them at 5 or 6 months. This is the ideal moment to start introducing mild exercises that will improve their coordination and muscle development. For infants at this age, gymnastics can be a fun way to strengthen relationships while also promoting cognitive and physical development.

Easy motions like rolling and stretching can inspire your infant to discover the possibilities of their body. These simple, safe exercises are meant to help build muscle without being too strenuous.

Baby gymnastics can be incorporated into your daily routine to provide your child with playtime and quality time while also promoting healthy growth. Just be sure to observe your baby’s mood and take cues from them.

Features of physical development at the age of six months

You can declare with confidence that your child has learned to smile and express his emotions if he is 5 or 6 months old. Additionally, babies in this age group can already grasp toys and objects that pique their interest, move their arms and legs more deliberately, and hold their heads well when they are on their stomachs. Babies who are five or six months old are too strong to just lie down and do nothing. Many kids roll over perfectly, landing on their stomach, back, and back again. A few are attempting to sit up already. Planning a schedule of activities for the child requires the application of all these diverse skills.

The child starts to actively investigate his own body at five months old. Mentally, the infant is actively developing his thinking and attention, as well as his first speech abilities. He can already pronounce some individual sounds and even whole syllables. The child now sleeps a maximum of 15–16 hours per day; periods of wakefulness have grown even longer. He requires tactile, verbal, and emotional communication for the remainder of the day. It should be required to use all of these forms of communication when engaging in gymnastic exercises.

Even the most beneficial exercises from an anatomical perspective won’t produce the desired outcome without these three elements.

At this age, the child starts to understand that he is capable of controlling the movements of his body and limbs. Children are utterly delighted by this. Exercise will be enjoyable for the child and have many positive effects when combined with age-appropriate activities.

Benefits of gymnastics

A five- to six-month-old baby is about to make new discoveries; he will soon learn to sit, crawl, and eventually stand up. Gymnastics should be appropriate for his motor skills and help him acquire new ones. Make sure to incorporate crawling stimulation exercises and strengthening exercises for the child’s arms, back, and chest into the daily curriculum. In order for the baby to sit up more quickly, this will be required. While it is harmful and dangerous to make a child sit down, loving parents can take great initiative in helping their child strengthen specific muscle groups.

Gymnastics at this age contributes to a better understanding of the device of your own body, and this is exactly what the baby cares now. With regular physical activity, joints and the bone apparatus are strengthened, the muscles become more elastic. All this will serve a good service when the child begins to take up an upright position: it will be easier for him to sit down, get up and, ultimately, go. Physical exercises improve the blood supply to the limbs, muscle tissue, and skin. This positively affects the formation of immunity of the baby. It is noted that the children with whom gymnastics every day are sick are less likely, and if this happens, then the disease is easier and practically does not happen complications.

The child’s tactile contact during gymnastics, as well as the massage that precedes it, positively impacts the function of the skin’s nerve receptors and the nervous system as a whole. When a child engages in age-appropriate physical activity, they sleep better, eat a lot, and are less likely to experience constipation. Infants whose mothers exercise with them on a daily basis experience more harmonious development and have their communication needs met. These kids pick up language earlier and go on to show more advanced learning skills.

A child receiving specific therapeutic massage therapy and exercises from a set of physical therapy exercises is recommended if the child suffers from specific neurological or musculoskeletal disorders (LFK).

It is advised to add new exercises to these sets only with the attending physician’s or the pediatrician’s permission.

Gymnastics should be used to develop specific limb movements in a child who, at five or six months old, is advised to receive a regular, all-around strengthening massage and the same physical activity.

A child who is 5–6 months old can benefit greatly from gymnastics as it will help them develop their motor skills and support their physical development. At this age, mild exercises can help develop their natural curiosity and exploration while also strengthening their muscles and improving their coordination. Easy exercises like belly time, light stretches, and imaginative play can build a solid foundation for their development and coordination in the future.

Interesting exercises

With the child’s increased mobility, physical activity should be augmented with active exercises that the infant will do because he will find a particular physical action interesting to perform, in addition to the fact that the mother will be holding his hands or heels firmly. Remember to include music in your activities. You can read aloud poems and sing songs like "Rails-sleepers" and "The giraffe has spots-spots, spots everywhere."

• "Catch me"!". This exercise is aimed at developing hand-eye coordination. Put the child on his back, put a turned-on sound toy to his right. When the baby takes it with one hand, start and put the second toy on the left, which will sound differently. The baby"s task is to take the second toy with the second hand and, at least for a short time, hold both toys with both hands.

• "Chair". This exercise is done to help the child master the skill of sitting. With the baby lying on his back, the mother extends her own index fingers. The child"s task is to grab them and, pulling the body up on his hands, continuing to hold on to the mother"s hands, lift the torso, trying to sit down. No need to drag the child. If his muscles are not ready for sitting, there is no need to sit him down. It is important that the initiative to change the position of the body with your support belongs to the baby. Exclude lifting the body to a right angle, it will be good if, for a start, the child can rise 30-45 degrees in relation to the surface on which the gymnastics is done.

• "Feather". This exercise will be useful for the spine and back muscles. Place a straightened open palm under the back of the child lying on his back and slightly lift the baby above the surface, insuring him from above with the second hand. Ideally, the child will bend, strain his back and abdominal muscles. Do this exercise 5 to 10 times.

• "Tin soldier". A child who is already beginning to make independent attempts to sit up can be offered a new exercise that will show him that the vertical position of the body is not at all scary. Hug the child’s arms around the chest on the sides and hold him in a vertical position for about half a minute with support with legs on a hard surface. During the exercise, you can repeat this technique 2 to 4 times.

This exercise should not be performed if the child has not begun to sit down.

• “Kittens-puppies”. This exercise is aimed at supporting crawling skills. Place the baby on his tummy and place your straightened palm under his tummy. Gently, holding the baby by the back with your other hand, begin to lift the baby to a position in which he will lean on the surface with his knees and arms. Hold the baby in this position for a few seconds, and then smoothly lower him to the starting position.

• “I am myself”!. This exercise effectively develops all muscle groups, stimulates sitting and improves the vestibular apparatus. Lift the baby under the armpits and hold him vertically. First, place a toy right under his feet in front of his toes, for which he will want to bend over. Holding him by the chest, help the baby bend over through a squat. After the toy is in the baby"s hands, smoothly lift it to its original position. It will be enough to repeat the technique 2-3 times.

• "Tickler". This technique will strengthen the muscles of the foot, because the day is not far off when the child will begin to stand up with support on this part of the body. Take the heel in your hands and draw a straight line with your index finger from the third toe, from the toe to the heel. In this case, the child will bend and unbend the foot.

The mother can also perform the classic "Caterpillar" exercise, in which the infant stretches and tries to crawl on his stomach in search of a toy, in addition to these other exercises. If you place two toys in front of the child, the exercise can become more difficult. He’ll eventually learn to hold both items with both hands if you try. If the child’s hands are strong enough, you can also begin the "Wheelbarrow" exercise, in which the mother holds the child by the legs while he uses his hands to step on the surface.

A five- to six-month-old baby’s physical and mental development can be greatly supported by participating in gymnastics. Mild exercises help them become more coordinated, build stronger muscles, and experience enjoyable movement.

Babies are inherently curious and eager to explore at this age. Easy stretches and lighthearted games will promote their development and provide unique opportunities for you and your child to spend quality time together.

Always be gentle and pay attention to your baby’s cues. Gymnastics can become a fun and healthful part of your baby’s routine with consistent practice.

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