Tummy time on a play mat: benefits, how much and how to start

Published 19 October 2026 · 9-minute read

What is tummy time, and why do health authorities recommend it?

Tummy time means placing your baby on their stomach while they are awake and someone is watching, says the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH recommends tummy time to strengthen a baby’s neck, shoulder and arm muscles “so the baby can start to sit up, crawl, and eventually walk on their own”.

The World Health Organization’s 2019 guidelines for children under five place tummy time inside a wider call for floor play: babies under one should be active several times a day, “particularly through interactive floor-based play”. At the launch, the WHO’s lead on childhood obesity and physical activity said:

“What we really need to do is bring back play for children. This is about making the shift from sedentary time to playtime, while protecting sleep.”

Source: Dr Juana Willumsen, WHO focal point for childhood obesity and physical activity, WHO news release, 24 April 2019

What are the benefits of tummy time for a baby’s development?

The benefits of tummy time are mostly physical: stronger neck, shoulder, arm and back muscles for lifting the head, rolling, sitting and crawling, and fewer flat spots on the back of the head. The research evidence for tummy time is strongest for motor skills: gross motor development, rolling and crawling.

• Strength: stronger neck, shoulder and arm muscles (NIH).
• Movement: stronger muscles “so they can learn to roll, sit and crawl” (Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne).
• Head shape: fewer flat spots on the back of the head (NIH).

A 2020 systematic review in Pediatrics of 16 studies and 4,237 babies found tummy time “positively associated with gross motor and total development”. The same review found “an indeterminate association” for “social and cognitive domains”, and for sitting, standing and walking. Most of its studies were observational, so they show a link, not proof of cause.

How much tummy time does a baby need by age?

Start tummy time small and build up. The US National Institutes of Health suggests two or three tummy time sessions of 3 to 5 minutes a day from a day or two after birth, rising to 15 to 30 minutes in total by about 2 months. From there, keep building towards the WHO’s at least 30 minutes a day for babies who are not yet mobile.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes milestones as things most children (75% or more) can do by a certain age. If your baby is not doing one of these by that age, the CDC’s advice is to talk with your child’s doctor, share your concerns and ask about developmental screening. In Malaysia, you can raise it at your klinik kesihatan or with your paediatrician.

How do you start tummy time with a newborn?

Start tummy time on your own body, then move to the floor. The NHS says you can start tummy time from birth by lying your baby on your chest, as long as you are wide awake and unlikely to fall asleep. When your baby is ready, move tummy time to a play mat on the floor and stay beside your baby the whole time.

1. Pick a time when your baby is awake, not too tired and not too soon after a feed, which Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne says “may cause vomiting or discomfort”.
2. Move tummy time to a play mat laid flat on clear floor, away from sofa edges, steps, pets and cords.
3. Get down to eye level, talk or sing, and put a toy within easy reach.
4. Stop when your baby has had enough, and try again later.

What is the best surface for tummy time, and can a baby sleep on it?

The best surface for tummy time is a clean, flat area of floor, not a bed or sofa. Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne advises “a play mat that isn’t too silky, soft or slippery and a surface that isn’t too soft”. No baby should sleep on a play mat: for sleep, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says babies go on their back on a firm, flat surface.

The AAP’s safe-sleep advice asks for a sleep surface that “shouldn’t indent when your baby is lying on it” and says not to use products for sleep that aren’t specifically marketed for infant sleep. For a baby under 12 months, play mats, play couches and cushion sets are for awake play only; sleep is on their back in a cot or bassinet.

Do you need a special tummy time mat, and what should you look for?

None of the NIH, NHS, AAP or Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne tummy time pages asks for a special tummy time mat. Healthychildren.org, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ site for parents, names “a clean floor, a nap mat or blankets of different textures” as natural places for tummy time. A play mat helps if it lies flat, cushions a hard floor without being squashy, stays put and washes easily.

• Flat and soft, not squashy: no bolsters or raised edges, and “soft” should mean a cushioned layer over a hard floor, not a surface your baby sinks into. Press the mat with your palm; it should not sink deeply.
• Stays put: Healthychildren.org says blankets “should be secured so they don’t slide around when baby moves their arms or legs”, and the same goes for a mat on tiles.
• Washable: milk, spit-up and sweat build up fast where, as MetMalaysia puts it, “the days are often hot”.
• Tested fabric: OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 is “a label for textiles tested for harmful substances”. For any labelled product, enter the certificate number in OEKO-TEX’s Label Check to confirm it is valid, and ask which product class it covers.

Bettar Play is a family-owned Malaysian maker of play furniture. Its Signature Topper Play Mat measures 90 x 190 x 2.5 cm, and its product page lists it for “newborn tummy time, rolling, crawling and play”. The Topper Play Mat also works as a single-size topper for beds and daybeds, but never under a sleeping baby: the AAP lists mattress toppers among the soft items to keep out of a baby’s sleep space.

The Topper Play Mat has a 100% natural latex inner layer, a non-slip dotted grip underneath “to help keep the mat in place”, and a removable, machine-washable cover in Bettar Play’s water-resistant, wipe-clean Signature Performance Fabric. It is made in Malaysia and carries a 2-Year Warranty.

When can you stop tummy time, and what comes next?

The WHO ties its tummy time minimum to mobility, not to an age: it applies to babies who are not yet mobile. Once your baby rolls and crawls, time on the tummy becomes part of everyday floor play, which the WHO still asks for several times a day through the first year.

For toddlers, low cushions to crawl over give floor play more to do, with an adult close by. Bettar Play’s Signature 9-pc Triangle Set adds a triangle wedge to eight cushions for what it calls “slides, tents, obstacle courses, or forts”.

Bettar Play’s FAQ says the fabric on its play cushions “is OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certified and SGS tested”, and gives the core as “CertiPUR-US® certified and ECO INSTITUT certified HIGH Density Polyurethane Foam and 100% natural latex”. For how a play couch fits each stage up to age eight, see Bettar Play’s guide to the most suitable age range for a play couch.