Therapeutic exercise for a 5 month old baby

Parents sometimes don’t even notice how quickly their children grow. Babies at 5 months can already do a lot of things. They are able to coordinate their movements.

Increased muscle tone disappears by this time in most children. They roll over onto their tummy without difficulty. At five months they are still trying to crawl.

It is important for parents to develop their child correctly and harmoniously and introduce him to the world around him. For proper development, a child needs not only the love and care of his parents, but also physical therapy with massage. Exercise therapy for a 5-month-old child allows you to strengthen the immune system, develop muscles, which are so necessary for the baby to learn to sit and actively crawl.

The importance of physical education

Health activities have a positive effect on all body systems. Complex gymnastics improves the digestive and nervous systems, teaches proper breathing, normalizes metabolism and blood circulation. The most important thing is to strengthen the child’s muscular system, as well as normalize muscle tone.

Without special health-improving gymnastics, full development is impossible. In some children, many movements may be delayed, or they are not precise, which is why health-improving physical education is considered mandatory.

Therapeutic exercises at five months are aimed at strengthening the ability to coordinate your body. They also help the baby cope with new stages of development.

Main goals

At this stage of growing up, the child’s internal body changes, so parents, when choosing a set of exercises, need to take into account developmental features:

the child loses increased tone, so flexion and extension movements become more accurate and correct;
the baby makes all his movements consciously;
rolls over onto his tummy and actively tries to crawl;
The child can now hold objects in his hand for much longer.

Based on these skills in development, the main tasks of health-improving gymnastics are identified:

development of crawling skill;
normalization of tone in muscle tissue;
develop holding objects for a long time;
development of unconditioned reflexes.

The complex should also include passive exercises, since at five months the child’s tone decreases significantly. In addition, when performing gymnastics exercises, you need to complicate exercises that are aimed at coordinating movement.

Rules for gymnastics

Regardless of the age of the baby, there are certain rules for conducting classes. Parents must strictly follow them in order not to cause unnecessary discomfort to the child.

Before charging, the room must be clean, dust-free, and thoroughly ventilated. If classes are held in the summer, and there is no wind outside, then you can leave the window ajar during classes.

An adult conducting gymnastics must comply with all hygiene standards. Hands must be washed and disinfected. You should also remove all jewelry and trim your nails short. This is necessary so as not to accidentally injure the baby.

It is best to conduct classes on a changing table, as the surface is hard and the baby is better familiar with it. You definitely need to put a diaper or towel on it to make your body nice and comfortable.

Physical education for babies aged 5 months involves special therapeutic complexes. This type of physical activity is not suitable for young infants and newborns as their skeletal and muscular systems are at an earlier stage of development.

Children at five months need all-round development. It is especially important to follow the instructions and observe the regularity of treatment activities in order to achieve results. Experts have even released special training videos that allow you to clearly study all the important nuances.

You cannot exercise on a full stomach. Therefore, it is recommended to wait 45 minutes after eating or exercise half an hour before eating.

At the beginning of each lesson, it is necessary to establish a tactile connection with the baby - to do this, light strokes can be performed throughout the body. The duration of classes can already be increased to 30 minutes.

Important! Parents should talk to their child throughout the lesson. You can learn songs, nursery rhymes, and comment on your actions. This is necessary to create a positive emotional background.

Do not forget about your mood - this factor is decisive for physical activity. If the baby is capricious, then the lesson should be rescheduled for another time. In order for a child to be inclined towards gymnastics, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the daily routine. Then the baby will always be in a normal mental and emotional state.

It is not recommended to conduct classes in the evening, as the baby will not be able to fall asleep normally after them. His body will be very agitated, and he will not be able to go to rest on time. It is also necessary to remember that the child definitely needs a relaxing massage.

Useful tips

Turn every lesson into an interesting game.
Turn on the music, go and read poetry. The baby should be interested. Take your time, increase the load and duration of sessions gradually - from 5 to 15 minutes (for advanced mothers). Do not try to teach your child to roll over, crawl, or sit if he himself, in a calm state, does not demonstrate readiness to perform such movements. What is good for a six-month-old baby can harm a baby at 4 months.

Make sure that the conditions in the room where the lesson is taking place are optimal - the air temperature should not be higher than 21 degrees Celsius, and the air humidity should be 50-70%.

If the child begins to be capricious, do not try to continue massage and gymnastics at any cost. Stop the lesson and return to it when the baby is in a good mood.

It is better to do a soothing massage in the evening before swimming, an hour before going to bed. Carry out strengthening manipulations in the first half of the day to avoid problems with appetite and falling asleep.

Massage technique

Massage at five months is almost the same as that performed at four months. However, due to new developmental features, it is necessary to introduce other massage elements. Much attention is paid to the development of facial muscles, as well as fine motor skills of the hands.

The massage should begin with the facial part of the body, using gentle movements from the forehead to the temples, from the nose to the cheeks and from the lips to the cheekbones. Parents' movements should be careful and not cause pain.

Foot massage is almost the same as at 4 months and consists of the following elements:

stroking;
wallow;
tingling;
rubbing.

Hand massage is given special attention - it is necessary to work on each finger separately. The abdomen is massaged clockwise, the main thing is not to touch the navel and the area around it. The back is simply stroked, you can pat it a little.

Features of the procedure

Gymnastics with a baby at the age of five months is aimed primarily at strengthening the musculoskeletal system and strengthening the back muscles. Very soon the baby will be sitting and crawling, so the back muscles must be strong. The duration of massage and gymnastics takes from 15 to 30 minutes; the baby’s mood plays a significant role here. The mood he is in is one of the main criteria during the procedure. Monitor your baby's reaction during various movements; if you see a negative reaction, stop the exercise.

Smiling and communicating with the child are also required. Gymnastic exercises for a five-month-old baby are more intense than gymnastics for a 4.5-month-old baby. During this period, the baby already perfectly perceives songs for children, so background music will add a playful atmosphere. It is also recommended to count loudly during massage or gymnastics, this will help develop rhythm.

The massage should begin with the face, then move on to the arms, chest, legs and back. The best time to study is lunch or evening, but not just before bed, otherwise the process of falling asleep will be delayed.

A set of health exercises

Classes include both active and passive exercises. The number of trips is not limited, the main thing is that the child enjoys doing the exercise. During the gymnastics process, you can turn on relaxing music. This can help teach your child to feel rhythm. Necessary:

Be sure to first stroke the entire body. This procedure is necessary for the baby to get used to the hands of an adult;
then you need to develop the legs using flexion and extension;
Next, you need to work with the hands so that the baby can complete the next exercise. To do this, they are pulled to the side, and then brought together on the child’s chest;
put it on your back and give it a small stick in your arms. The adult gently pulls it up, while lightly supporting the child by the arms. The child’s task is to sit up from a lying position;
The baby needs to be placed on a hard surface, the adult fixes the baby’s legs so that they remain level and in one position. Next, you need to very carefully bend your upper body forward so that an obtuse angle is formed;
To prevent flat feet, you can perform an exercise with a gymnastic stick. Sports equipment that will have a diameter of 2 centimeters is suitable for this activity. The stick must be placed on the table, and the baby’s legs must be placed on it;
The crawling exercise is especially important. The parent’s task is to teach the correct execution of this element. To do this, you need to turn the baby onto his tummy and place your hand under his feet. The child will reflexively begin to crawl forward; the exercise is best done on the floor;
If you don’t have a gymnastic stick, you can perform a sitting exercise using your hands. You need to put the baby on the table, put your thumbs in his hands, and use the remaining fingers to grab the baby’s hand and gently pull him towards you. The exercise develops the musculoskeletal system well and prepares the child for the next stage of development. After all, most children begin to sit at the age of six months.

This complex is aimed at developing and strengthening the muscles of the back and abdomen, improving coordination and developing fine motor skills. Exercise therapy is aimed at the proper formation of the muscular structure of the body, and also improves immunity. This is very necessary during seasonal changes, when the child is susceptible to colds.

Massage sequence

We perform the “fetal position”, putting the legs and arms together with one hand, with the other we tilt our head forward a little and rock the child a little.
We massage the hands: with stroking, spiral rubbing from the palms to the forearm. Knead deeply and cross your arms over your chest several times.
We stroke the child's head and neck muscles, turn the head forward, left and right.
We help the child sit down: we press the palm of one hand to the surface of the table, and lightly pull it forward with the other. Thus, we teach a five-month-old child to take a sitting position, leaning on his hand. We repeat the exercise 3-4 times for each handle. Next, we give the 5-month-old child the opportunity to grab his thumbs and sit down.
We massage the legs: with stroking, spiral rubbing from the feet to the thighs, deep kneading, stroking. We imitate walking, bending the foot to the leg to teach you to step on the entire foot, and not on the toes. We perform “bicycle”, “sliding steps” on the table surface.
We turn onto our stomach.
We perform a back massage: stroking, spiral rubbing from bottom to top, stroking.
We massage the legs (back surface): stroking, spiral rubbing, stroking.
We carry out the reflex movement “hovering” from a position on the stomach.
We teach the baby to crawl: we place a toy in front of the baby, move his hands along the surface and pull one arm towards the toy. We rearrange the baby's legs on the knees.
We massage the abdomen by stroking clockwise from the periphery to the center and vice versa, using spiral rubbing along the oblique abdominal muscles.
We teach a five-month-old child to walk. We hold the baby in front of the table, place one leg on the surface of the table and press it against its surface. He will put the other leg on the table himself. Swap the legs. While the child is trying to walk, we hold the baby and press his foot to the table. During the second step, we release the foot of the first leg and press the second foot.

Children at five months are massaged in the morning and evening, but not just before bedtime. Do not use jumpers or walkers for a child who cannot walk. When walking independently, order orthopedic shoes for your baby to prevent flat feet.

Hand massage for a 5 month old baby

How to massage your face

Stroking is performed on the forehead from the center line to the temples, on the cheeks from the nose to the tragus of the ears, from the corners of the lips and the center of the beard to the earlobes. Continue with light vibrating kneading of the cheeks, since in children of 5 months they experience greater stress. Kneading massage is carried out with circular movements of the index and middle fingers, pressing lightly.

Sitting exercise. Lying on your back, stretch your arms along your body. The assistant presses the palm of his right hand to the surface of the table. The masseur holds you by your straight legs and with your other hand lifts you by the back, forcing you to sit with support on your right arm, bent at the elbow. The body tilts slightly forward. Then press the palm of the left hand and repeat the exercise.
Sitting exercise with a stick. The child lies on his back. He is allowed to grab a stick with a diameter of 2-3 cm and holds it with his fists. The assistant fixes the straight legs and watches the head to prevent a blow to the back of the head. They force you to lift your back from the table and sit down.
Stick squat exercise. The stick is placed under the diaper. The baby's legs are placed on a stick in the middle of the sole, spreading them shoulder-width apart. They hold a five-month-old baby under the muscles and do not allow the feet to move.
Exercise with bends on a stick. The feet of 5-month-old children are fixed as described above. With your left hand you need to hold the straight legs in front, and with your right hand you need to fix your chest and tummy, tilting your torso forward.

Back massage technique

The child is positioned with his legs towards the massage therapist. Stroking is performed with the back of the fingers, directing movements from the buttocks to the cervical vertebrae along the spine. Next, the brushes make a semicircle and the palmar surface of the fingers performs a massage, stroking from top to bottom. If the baby spins, then hold his legs and perform a massage with one hand.

Using circular translational movements with the fingertips, the back muscles are rubbed and kneaded, pressing moderately and directing the movements from the sacrum to the neck.

Technique for performing buttock massage

Massage of the buttocks is performed by circular rubbing with the pads of slightly bent fingers, directing movements from the center to the periphery. Next, they tap the buttocks with their fingers, changing hands.

All massage movements must be repeated 5-10 times. During the massage procedure, you need to communicate with the child, read poems and sing songs to create a favorable atmosphere.