Did Abraham Lincoln have Tummy Time?
Backstory
Ah, tummy time, a sure-fire way to make a parent think he’s fucking up. How it works is that you stick your kid on his stomach in order to build up muscles in order to crawl. And there's also research that says more tummy time means early, better cognitive development (I read this in Slate). The problem is many kids -- certainly mine -- hate it, screaming like a wild animal after 90 seconds of the recommended 20 minutes you’re supposed to get over the course of a day. When I asked a friend who has two small children, and someone seems to have retained his sanity, if he gave his kids “tummy time" he replied: "We did our best, but could barely get five minutes a day out of them. Don't stress about it. You know who didn't have tummy time? Our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln." And, my friend went on to explain, "After Abe’s mom died, his dad went looking for a wife, leaving him to be raised by his 8-year-old older sister, and he turned out pretty well. So don't feel bad; you're still a good parent." I have no idea if this is factually correct, but one of my friend's kid's name is Lincoln, so I'm guessing it's close. by Larry_D._Smith in Six Words on Dads on Jul 01, 2011 | 
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Comments
tonyglim says,
I don't know. What's Tummy Time?Larry_D._Smith says,
Ah, tummy time, a sure-fire way to make a parent think he’s fucking up. How it works is that you stick your kid on his stomach in order to build up muscles in order to crawl. And there's also research that says more tummy time means early, better cognitive development (I read this in Slate). The problem is many kids -- certainly mine -- hate it, screaming like a wild animal after 90 seconds of the recommended 20 minutes you’re supposed to get over the course of a day. When I asked a friend who has two small children, and someone seems to have retained his sanity, if he gave his kids “tummy time" he replied: "We did our best, but could barely get five minutes a day out of them. Don't stress about it. You know who didn't have tummy time? Our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln." And, my friend went on to explain, "After Abe’s mom died, his dad went looking for a wife, leaving him to be raised by his 8-year-old older sister, and he turned out pretty well. So don't feel bad; you're still a good parent." I have no idea if this is factually correct, but one of my friend's kid's name is Lincoln, so I'm guessing it's close.tonyglim says,
Thanks for answering my question. After I posted it, I decided to Google "Tummy Time" and read the Wikipedia article about it. The article, however, did not mention Abraham Lincoln. This is a good Six-Word Memoir. Thank you for arousing my curiosity.tonyglim says,
I just discovered your backstory. I guess I missed it when I first read this memoir.oopsalittle says,
thanks for the chuckle - you try all sorts of things with your first- ask my daughter!