Is it really necessary to do passive exercises for babies? Are passive exercises really beneficial?

On Weibo, there are sometimes some videos of passive exercises for babies that are hotly discussed. Previously there was a video of a grandmother doing it, and recently there was another similar one. The reason why these videos attract so much attention is mainly because these movements look scary. So let’s talk about whether passive exercises for babies are really necessary?

In the video that has been circulating on Weibo recently, a person who looks like a nurse is doing passive exercises on a two or three-month-old baby. Sometimes she holds the baby upside down and shakes him left and right, sometimes she holds the baby's hands and turns the baby's body over, sometimes she pulls the baby's upper limbs up and down and shakes him left and right, and sometimes she just pulls one arm and shakes him. The whole operation is like performing acrobatics, and the baby's head and neck are completely unprotected, which is terrifying to watch.

Although these passive exercises look scary, parents actually send their children to do them themselves. The reason for this is that many parents believe that doing so will have many benefits for their children, especially after hearing some early childhood education institutions promote that this can develop children's brains, promote intellectual and motor development, etc. Parents don't want their children to lose at the starting line.

Do these passive operations actually work?

Passive exercises can improve limb tension and thus limb function for children with neurological, muscular, and skeletal problems, such as cerebral palsy. However, for healthy children, there is currently no clinical evidence that passive exercises have a positive effect on the movement, nerves, and intelligence of healthy infants. On the contrary, since children of this age do not have enough strength to support or protect themselves, they are easily injured by such intense operations.

For example, the child in the video cannot lift his head well, so the doctor quickly rolls his body, pulls him up by his upper arms, and holds the child's upper arms in the air. When the child is held upside down and shaken from side to side, the head and neck are not protected, which may lead to "shaken baby syndrome" and brain or cervical spine injuries.

Babies of a few months old are still very delicate, and their joint ligaments are relatively loose. Pulling the child's hands and letting the child's entire body hang in the air may also cause traction injuries to the upper limbs. Pediatricians should know that this kind of traction on the upper arm is likely to induce "radial head subluxation". Many children, even older children, often dislocate their arms because their parents pull them. In addition, the bone strength of such a child is also lower than that of an adult. Under such rough operation, it may also cause fractures in children. There have been similar reports in the past.

In addition, this kind of rough and violent operation can easily cause fear and discomfort to children, making them feel insecure and damaging the parent-child relationship. In the video, the child was crying and making a fuss when he was violently turned over. It is precisely because there are no definite benefits and risks that the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement as early as 1988, recommending that children should not be allowed to have their children do this.

1. Programmed infant exercise programs should not claim therapeutic benefits for healthy infant development.

2. Encourage parents to provide children with a safe, high-quality and free activity environment.

Therefore, for healthy children, instead of spending money and risking money to do passive exercises for a little bit of vain intelligence improvement, it is better to spend some time playing with children, talking, reading picture books, which is safe, saves money, and promotes parent-child relationships. For children with neuromuscular diseases, rehabilitation training should also be sought from regular medical institutions.