{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Astonishing as babies taught to stand at under four months old' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54d4cdd8eafeecae1f5b1a' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54d4cdd8eafeecae1f5b1a' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nAstonishing as babies taught to stand at under four months old\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eLEADINAn Icelandic developmental therapist is helping babies less than four months old to stand on their own.The astonishing feat takes place in a local swimming pool near Reykjavik to the delight of the babies' parents. STORYLINE : At...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eLEADINAn Icelandic developmental therapist is helping babies less than four months old to stand on their own.The astonishing feat takes place in a local swimming pool near Reykjavik to the delight of the babies' parents. STORYLINE : At this swimming pool, instructor Snorri Magnusson's young pupils are performing remarkably for their age.Thanks to his techniques, babies as young as 3.5 months old are able to stand unaided.  Usually this doesn't happen until around nine or ten months old. Magnusson became Iceland's first baby swimming instructor in 1990 and he's been perfecting his unusal methods since then. Babies attending this course take a twice weekly, twelve-week one hour swimming class.Soon most of the young students are able to stand, either balancing in Magnusson's hands or on top of a corkboard.Magnusson says the secret is strengthening the babies' spine and upper bodies.  \"The parents are always very surprised. Really surprised by what their babies are able to do. But it always starts with the straight training. So when the kids come first they have homework to do in order to strengthen their spine. Because when there is strength in the spine and the upper body you can do whatever. And also the babies are sometimes the first to start talking, to start smiling. We work with that during the class.\" Earlier this year Magnusson teamed up with professor of neuropsychology Hermundur Sigmundsson from the the Norwegian University of Science and Technology to carry out an official study on what goes on during the classes. Sigmundsson's results were published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed journal 'Frontiers in Psychology'. 11 out of the 12 babies who participated were able to stand up without assistance for at least 15 seconds by the end of the 12 week course. The remaining baby only managed to stand for about eight seconds.The average age of the children was 4.3 months, with the youngest only 3.6 months old.The babies do warm up exercises assisted by their parents, in which they are encouraged to reach for,and grasp objects.  The children are then handed to Magnusson, who helps them follow a somersault routine on top of a floating mattress.What follows then is something that turns the therapist into a sort of \"baby whisperer\" when he places the baby on top of his palm and the baby stands on his or her own. For the next few seconds it's an exercise of balancing and standing.The results of the research indicate that babies don't forget what they are learning.So once the babies learn how to stand they are able to repeat the skill.So practice seems to work even for the youngest among us.Magnusson insists that rather than simply teaching them how to swim, what he does is work on the motor development of the babies' brain.\"I am not here teaching babies how to swim. I am working with their motor development. Working with their balance. That is the foundation of my work. I am not teaching them how to swim.\"This time around there are 15 babies in total in the class. Three of them are between 6 and 8 months old.Ten are under 5 months old and two are only 3.5 months old. The ten youngest babies have been taking classes for just a month.The babies stand up on top of Magnusson's hand for about 4-6 seconds, up to 15-20 seconds each time.And in each and every class they stand up about 4 times for a total time of 1 to 2 minutes.Not long enough to pose any risk on their hips and legs, according to Magnusson.They have also been doing strength training, by laying on their stomachs to strengthen their spine as they lift their heads. Magnusson emphasises that parents shouldn't try this at home but only during the classes.But as it happens during later stages of life, not all babies respond the same way to the classes.Zorey Jonsdottir's two daughters both attended Magnusson's swim classes. Viktoria has just turned four months old and she is already able to stand on her own during the class.Nevertheless, she explains that three-year-old Sylvia took longer to achieve the same feat, which she managed when she was a little bit older than Viktoria.\"I think that it's different between babies. like my older daughter wasn't standing on her own at this age. Even though she was swimming as well. But this one is different. She wants to do it. She wants to stand. And she is always trying to stand and sit up. She doesn't want to lie down. So I think it's a combination of the exercises as well as the baby's mentality.\"Juan Ferrer de Paula is a paediatrician based in the Spanish city of Barcelona.After watching videos of the babies during Magnusson's classes, he says he can't find any medical explanation to what he sees.\"To be honest I have no idea. I would like to know how this man can stimulate these babies so they can stand on their own. It isn't logical. It isn't normal. Generally a baby can stand or sit down at eight months of age. Or standing up if they are leaning on a chair at seven or eight months. But to watch them standing on their own on top of the palm of his hands is something extraordinary.\"Child development milestones suggest that an infant's ability to stand without support usually occurs at the age of 9–16 monthsAccording to the report in the journal 'Frontiers in Psychology' 'Due to their large heads and short feet, infants have a relatively high center of mass (CoM) combined with a relatively small base of support (BoS)' . The results demonstrate that by forming neural connections during earlier stages, babies are able to do things earlier than previously thought, 'demonstrating signs of motor learning in task-specific independent standing',  but the authors of the report noted that the study was of only a small group of children.Mosfellbær, Reykjavik, Iceland  - June 1, 20171. Various of swimming instructor during class with babies and their parents2. Various of instructor enabling 3.5 months old baby boy Hilmar Elvarsson to stand on his own3. Various of swimming instructor helping three months old baby boy Gunnar Baldursson stand on his own4. SOUNDBITE: (Icelandic) Snorri Magnusson, developmental therapist and physical education teacher\"The parents are always very surprised. Really surprised by what their babies are able to do. But it always starts with the straight training. So when the kids come first they have homework to do in order to strengthen their spine. Because when there is strength in the spine and the upper body you can do whatever. And also the babies are sometimes the first to start talking, to start smiling. We work with that during the class.\"5. Various of babies and parents doing various routine exercises during class6. Mid of instructor helping five months old baby girl Emilia Sevarsdottir stand on her own7. Mid of instructor helping 3.5 months old baby girl Viktoria Danielsdottir stand on her own8. SOUNDBITE: (Icelandic) Snorri Magnusson, developmental therapist and physical education teacher\"It's true that the Icelandic women and the women from the Faroe Islands give birth to the largest babies in the world. So that could be a factor. But still I am not here teaching babies how to swim. I am working with their motor development. Working with their balance. That is the foundation of my work. I am not teaching them how to swim.\"9. Mid shot of instructor and babies during class10. Mid of instructor helping three months old baby boy Gunnar Baldursson stand on his own11. Mid of instructor helping three months old baby boy stand on his own12. Various of swimming instructor helping eight month old baby girl Heiddis Gunnarsdottir stand on her own 13. Various of swimming instructor helping eight month old baby girl Heiddis Gunnarsdottir jump into the water, brings her to her mother14. Various of woman and her two daughters at home 15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Zorey Jonsdottir, housewife (Viktoria and Sylvia Danielsdottir)\"I think that it's different between babies, like my older one, she wasn't standing on her own at this age. Even though she was swimming as well. But this one is different. She wants to do it. She wants to stand. And she is always trying to stand and sit up. She doesn't want to lie down. So I think it's a combination of the exercises as well as the baby's mentality.\"16. Various of Zorey Jonsdottir and her children Barcelona, Spain  - June 28, 201717. Various of paediatrician watching video of babies standing up18. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Juan Ferrer de Paula, paediatric doctor\"To be honest I have no idea. I would like to know how this man stimulate these babies so they can stand on their own. It isn't logical. It isn't normal. Generally a baby can stand or sit down at eight months of age. Or standing up if they are leaning on a chair at seven or eight months. But to watch them standing on their own on top of the palm of his hands is something extraordinary.\"Mosfellbær, Reykjavik, Iceland  - June 1, 201719. 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