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Practical Tips to incorporate into daily
activities.
Put all
attention devices on the side to which the head is tilted so baby will have to
rotate to that side:
The center of the room
Siblings
Television
Mom and dad approach the bed from the
tight side
Encourage active turning of the head to the tilted side with toys, faces, lights, music
or noises. Put the bottle at the side of his mouth so that he must turn
in the direction of the tilt. When not in the car, do not use the car seat more than one
hour.
Common Parent Comments:
“My child doesn’t
like his head turned but one way.”
“My child will cry so
I turn him back to the way he likes.”
“He won’t let me turn his head that way.”
Therapist responses:
“True, he doesn’t like it, but these tips will make it very
easy for you and him. A baby builds up his tolerance
very quickly. Try the new position
for 15 seconds, while
playing with him in that position. Pick him up for positive reinforcement. Do it again, five times in a row gradually increasing the time that he is in the new position.
The baby will begin to realize he gets to play with you while in that position. Fifteen seconds grows into 30, into 60,two minutes, five minutes, rather quickly. Do this for tummy time as well. The sooner he accommodates to the new position, the sooner treatment will be over.
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What you
can do.
While baby
is in the first few days of life, the prevention/correction process should
begin. While he is still so little, you
can help reshape his head and stretch his muscles by placing him in certain
positions. This prevents harder work
for correction in the following months.
- Have baby sleep on his sides
- Put baby down to sleep on the side of the tilt first
- Position baby on his side with his back pushed into
the bumper pad, top leg forward
- Do not let the flat side of his head lie on the bed
- More tummy time while awake, at least 10-15 minutes
during each awake time period
- Carry baby in a sidelying position with tight side
down. Hold your child
facing away from you, in a side-lying position, with his LEFT ear resting
against your LEFT forearm, if tight on LEFT.
- Put
your baby in varying positions in the crib, the swing, your
arms, or when feeding, so that he practices turning his head in both
directions.
- Try holding
baby in a sitting position. Lean the baby in the direction of the tilted
head in order to produce postural reactions -- baby wants to hold his
head/eyes level.
- When carrying baby in one arm, the side of the tilt
should be away from your body.
- ROTATE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE TILT. If baby tilts to the right, he must
turn to the right to stretch the tight SCM.
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