How much floor time do you give LO?

Mainer-in-Texas · February 2011

So, my MIL has been here all week because DD and I are both pretty sick. It has been awesome. But, she is being extremely annoying about DD's development (you can read my vent on another board here - basically my MIL keeps comparing DD to her 11 month-old cousin and thinks there is something wrong with DD because she's hitting her gross motor milestones later than her cousin did).

Anyway, MIL kept harping on the amount of floor time we give DD and is basically saying it's my fault that DD hasn't rolled from back to tummy or crawled. I have not worried about it. DD's pedi is not worried about it, but MIL won't drop it and it is driving me freaking crazy.

MIL read in a book that DD should be spending about 50% of her awake time playing on the floor, which would be about 5 or 6 hours a day. I'm not sure how much total time DD spends on the floor, but it's not even close to that. She hates tummy time, so I only make her do 2-3 10 minute sessions a day. She likes to sit and play with toys, so we put her in the middle of the bed (so it doesn't hurt if she falls) with lots of toys and play with her, probably totaling a couple of hours a day. The other times she is eating, nursing, riding in her carseat, riding in the baby carrier, being held, playing in the exersaucer, practicing standing, getting her diaper changed, etc.

50% of her time on the floor just doesn't even seem possible given all the other stuff we have to do, but maybe I need to rearrange our schedules and not take her out as much or something (she LOVES to go out, and I figured it was good for her to see things).

kaylakaylakayla · February 2011

I did read your whole post, but to answer your main question -- Liam gets probably 4-5 hours a day 'floor time'.

h2babe · February 2011

My DD never liked the swing--the only thing that she has always tolerated was bouncy chair, and even that maybe 10 min top. With that said, we've had no choice but to put her on the floor. So I would say that she spends probably almost 75-85% of her time on the floor. The other times she is either being held, worn, or seated in the high-chair during feeding time.

elaughlin · February 2011

Nathan doesnt get as much as he should. we have hard wood floors with 3 dogs so the floors get pretty dirty (specially with all the melting snow lol) So we always have a sleeping bag down and its is so dirty that i dont even want to put him on it! lol and if i put a blanket on the sleeping bag he grabs the blanket and rolls with it making a Nathan burrito! My new goal is to have him on the floor more but I'm not too worried. he like you LO only rolls tummy to back. he has only rolled back to belly a handful of times. I was a late developer but DH was super man lol. looks like he will be fallowing in my foot steps!

PinkPeony6210 · February 2011

Almost all of DD's awake time (except for feedings, bath time, when I am holding her or we are in bed cuddling) is floor time. Now that she is crawling, I can't keep her from wanting to move. She is always on the go!

Nichole1121 · February 2011

ErinKD:
Almost all of DD's awake time (except for feedings, bath time, when I am holding her or we are in bed cuddling) is floor time. Now that she is crawling, I can't keep her from wanting to move. She is always on the go!

This!

mrsh1545 · February 2011

I bought those foam mats for all of his toys and he does spend a lot of time playing on it. I put him there sitting up and he will roll onto his stomach and scoot around and try to pull up on his jumperoo. He still isn't crawling though so I can't say that giving him a lot of "floor time" makes him hit all of his milestones. There are a lot of days where I have a lot to do and he isn't playing all day or some days he just wants to be held more than others, there is no set percentage of time that my LO spends on the floor playing. My FIL is the same way and I told DH he better step up if his father mentions one more time how DS needs to learn how to crawl. You are the parent and in my opinion, your DH needs to tell his mother to back off, especially if it's upsetting you.

AbJams · February 2011

DD spends the vast majority of her time on the floor. I don't like to tell other moms what's best for their LO... and I'm not expert... but... 3 10 minutes sessions doesn't seem anywhere NEAR enough tummy time for an 8 month old. But again, I'm no expert.

soldiersgirl78 · February 2011

ErinKD:
Almost all of DD's awake time (except for feedings, bath time, when I am holding her or we are in bed cuddling) is floor time. Now that she is crawling, I can't keep her from wanting to move. She is always on the go!

Pretty much this. I can see having a dedicated amount of "floor time" back when tummy time was necessary, but now, that's where he hangs out. Crawling, playing, pulling up, cruising, rolling around....I mean, what else do you do with them? Sit on the couch? (not being snarky, just confused as to where else they would be) He plays on the floor anytime he's not sleeping, being fed, or being held.

LJR 84 · February 2011

DD is a little younger than your LO, but she hates floor time! She's in daycare, and they've even told us the same thing. She spends some time on the floor, but it's definitely not 50% or more of her day. She would much rather be up right...whether it's in her bouncy seat, exersauser, jumparoo, or sitting and playing with toys. I'm not sure how much time day care actually puts her on her tummy, but I try to make a point to do it when she's at home...even though she hates it. I think once she actually starts crawling and is mobile she'll like it more.

Mainer-in-Texas · February 2011

soldiersgirl78:
ErinKD:
Almost all of DD's awake time (except for feedings, bath time, when I am holding her or we are in bed cuddling) is floor time. Now that she is crawling, I can't keep her from wanting to move. She is always on the go!

Pretty much this. I can see having a dedicated amount of "floor time" back when tummy time was necessary, but now, that's where he hangs out. Crawling, playing, pulling up, cruising, rolling around....I mean, what else do you do with them? Sit on the couch? (not being snarky, just confused as to where else they would be) He plays on the floor anytime he's not sleeping, being fed, or being held.

LOL. No, we don't sit on the couch. She cries when she is on her tummy and she is not mobile. I thought more about our day, and it's broken down something like this:

Nursing: 1-1/2 hrs

Eating in highchair: 1 hr

Riding in car: 45 min

Being worn facing-out while running errands (She LOVES this): 45 min

Getting dressed, bathed, diaper changes: 30 min

Playing in exersaucer: 30 min

Standing holding onto something (eg, activity table): 1 hr

Going for a walk in the stroller: 30 min

Being held: 30 min

That's about 7 of her 11 hours of awake time. The other 4 hrs is floor (or playing on the bed) time, so I guess it's more than I thought, but it's almost all sitting and playing, and it's closer to 30% than 50% of her awake time.

Mainer-in-Texas · February 2011

LJR 84:
DD is a little younger than your LO, but she hates floor time! She's in daycare, and they've even told us the same thing. She spends some time on the floor, but it's definitely not 50% or more of her day. She would much rather be up right...whether it's in her bouncy seat, exersauser, jumparoo, or sitting and playing with toys. I'm not sure how much time day care actually puts her on her tummy, but I try to make a point to do it when she's at home...even though she hates it. I think once she actually starts crawling and is mobile she'll like it more.

This is exactly how my DD is and I have the same hopes. She used to scream on her tummy, but, the more we do tummy time, the more she will tolerate it. Before it was a struggle to get to five minutes. Now at least we can get 10, and sometimes even 20 minutes of tummy time. But, I still think she may skip crawling because she loves standing so much.

ta78 · February 2011

Are you confusing floor time with tummy time? It seems also like you are also practicing standing so I would consider that part of his floor time to if you are counting it toward developing.

I'm not sure how much time DS gets exactly, but it's probably close to 75% of his awake time.

Want a personalized experience?

How much floor time do you give LO?

Re: How much floor time do you give LO?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards