Inchstones Pediatric Physical Therapy & Wellness

Inchstones Pediatric Physical Therapy & Wellness Inchstones Pediatric PT & Wellness offers in-home private PT and wellness sessions in Massachusetts, as well as in-person baby playgroups in North Reading, MA!

Grab your FREE tummy time guide or check out my other online resources in the shop!

POP-UP EVENT: Intro to Infant Massage 🍼Tomorrow's Baby Cafe at Stork Ready is getting a special guest! I'll be swapping ...
09/01/2026

POP-UP EVENT: Intro to Infant Massage 🍼

Tomorrow's Baby Cafe at Stork Ready is getting a special guest! I'll be swapping in with an intro to infant massage.

✨ Learn gentle massage techniques to help your baby relax
✨ Support better sleep
✨ Ease gas and fussiness
✨ Enjoy peaceful bonding time with your little one

📅 Tomorrow, Wednesday 9/2
🕙 10 to 11:30am, in place of regularly scheduled Baby Cafe
👶 For newborns through prewalkers
💵 Free

Come learn some hands on techniques to bring home and use with your little one.

📍 Stork Ready

Tag a parent who'd love this!

If I had to choose just five tummy time toys, these are the ones I'd keep.Not because they're trendy. Because they've ea...
08/19/2026

If I had to choose just five tummy time toys, these are the ones I'd keep.

Not because they're trendy. Because they've earned their spot through years of actual use with actual babies.

🐝 High-contrast mirror with textures. Gets eyes up and holding.
🟢 Oball. Simple, grabbable, never goes out of rotation.
🔴 Suction cup wheel. Keeps babies visually tracking and reaching.
📱 Musical remote toy. Sound plus grasping practice in one. (and for some reason the tune never gets old)
⬜ Black and white water mat. My go to for the newborn stage and beyond.

These are the five I recommend over and over. Tried, tested, and still in the toy bin years later.

Comment "LINKS" and I'll send you my Amazon storefront with all five, plus my other top picks for toys, products, and more.

Tummy time is one of those things every parent gets told to do — but nobody really tells you how.I've been there myself:...
08/18/2026

Tummy time is one of those things every parent gets told to do — but nobody really tells you how.

I've been there myself: baby face-down on a blanket, crying within seconds, me wondering if I was doing it all wrong. As a pediatric PT and a mom, I promise — you're not.

It's not about forcing 20 minutes on the floor. It's about small, consistent moments that build the strength baby needs for rolling, sitting, crawling, and everything after.

That's exactly why I made this free guide. Inside:
– When to start (and what's actually normal)
– Realistic ways to fit it into your day
– What to do when baby hates it
– Troubleshooting from someone who's been on the floor herself

No guilt. No Pinterest-perfect setup required. Just real support.

Comment TTGUIDE and I'll send it straight to you 🤍

Tummy Time & Infant Massage are back at Stork Ready in North Reading for September, October, and November, both led by m...
08/16/2026

Tummy Time & Infant Massage are back at Stork Ready in North Reading for September, October, and November, both led by me, a pediatric physical therapist.

Same Tuesdays, same sweet little faces, same gentle reminder that you're not alone in this stage, even the parts that feel hard.

Whether we're working through the fussiness of tummy time or the calm of hands-on massage, both groups are built around helping you understand what your baby's development is telling you, and giving you tools to support it with confidence.
Dates:
📅 Sept 8, 15, 22 | Oct 6, 13, 20 | Nov 3, 10, 17
🕚 Tummy Time: 11:15–12:00
🕧 Infant Massage: 12:30–1:15
👶 Ages 1–6 months
💵 $99 for the 3-week series
📍 Stork Ready, North Reading

Classes fill up fast.

Come for one or come for both.

Comment "GROUPS" and I'll send you the links to sign up. 💛

📊 Fun Facts FridayInfant massage has been studied for decades, and the research keeps landing in the same place: touch i...
08/08/2026

📊 Fun Facts Friday

Infant massage has been studied for decades, and the research keeps landing in the same place: touch is doing more than soothing a fussy baby.

Regular massage has been linked to better sleep, reduced crying and colic symptoms, improved digestion, and stronger parent-infant bonding. Some studies even show it lowers stress hormones in both baby and parent.

✨ The takeaway?
Infant massage isn't just a sweet bonding ritual (though it is that). It's a nervous-system regulator. Touch slows the heart rate, lowers stress hormones, and helps babies (and parents) settle into rest, together.

🩷 Want to learn the techniques yourself?

My Infant Massage series is back at Stork Ready in North Reading this August and September.

You'll leave knowing exactly how to use touch to support your baby's sleep, digestion, and sense of calm, and you'll have three weeks of hands-on practice to make it feel natural.

Comment "MASSAGE" and I'll send you the link!

Hi! I'm Karen, a pediatric physical therapist and the founder of Inchstones PT 💛

Every Friday, I share research-backed fun facts about child development, gross motor skills, and early movement — so parents and caregivers feel informed, confident, and supported.

Because knowledge really is power, and understanding the small building blocks of development helps kids reach their greatest potential.

Follow along Karen Tanso PT, DPT, PCS, CPST || Pediatric Physical Therapist for science-based tips, guidance, and a deeper look at how milestones are built… one inchstone at a time ✨

Tummy time doesn't have to feel stressful, lonely, or like another thing to "figure out" as a new parent 🤍This playgroup...
08/04/2026

Tummy time doesn't have to feel stressful, lonely, or like another thing to "figure out" as a new parent 🤍

This playgroup was created to give you a space to:

✨ learn how to make tummy time easier + more successful
✨ support your baby's motor development with guidance from a pediatric PT
✨ ask questions in real time
meet other local parents in the same season of life
✨ and honestly... just get out of the house with people who get it

Each week we'll work through play ideas, positioning, transitions, strengthening, milestone support, and simple ways to encourage development without overcomplicating it.

This is not a "sit and listen" class.
It's interactive, supportive, hands on, and baby led 🌿

✨ August Tummy Time Playgroup
📍 Stork Ready, North Reading, MA
🗓 Tuesdays: 8/11, 8/18, 8/25
⏰ 11:15am–12:00pm
👶 Ages 0–6 months
💛 $99 for the 3-week series

Spots are intentionally limited to keep the group small and supportive. Only 4 left!

Comment PLAYGROUP and I'll send you the link to grab your spot ✨

07/06/2026

Not all baby walkers are created equal… and some should honestly be illegal. 👀
As a pediatric physical therapist and a mom, this is one baby product I don’t recommend—and for good reason.
Some walkers can:
❌ Increase the risk of serious injuries
❌ Delay the development of important motor skills
❌ Give parents a false sense that they’re helping babies learn to walk
The good news? There are much better ways to support your baby’s journey to walking.
I break down:
✔️ Which walkers I’m talking about
✔️ Why they’re not recommended
✔️ What to use instead
✔️ How to actually help your baby learn to walk
Comment “WALK” below, and I’ll send you the link to my blog with everything you need to know. 👣

07/01/2026

Every pediatric PT has their own version of this. 😂
Mine? Wearing a suction spinner on my forehead.
Because here’s the thing… babies don’t care that we’re trying to work on crawling, pulling to stand, or sit-to-stands.
They care about what’s fun.
The best pediatric PT sessions don’t feel like “doing exercises.” They feel like playing, exploring, laughing, and giving babies a reason to move.
So yes, I’ll happily wear a toy on my forehead if it helps a baby build strength, confidence, and new skills.
And honestly… I wouldn’t trade this job for anything. 💛
👇 Pediatric PTs (or parents!), what’s the silliest thing you’ve done to get a baby moving?

06/30/2026

I built my practice around coming to you — not the other way around.

Different neighborhood every day. A bagel eaten outside between houses. Streets I never would have found otherwise. That’s my office and I genuinely love it.

Because the alternative means timing everything around nap schedules, loading up the car anyway, and dragging the siblings along for the hundredth time when they’d rather be literally anywhere else.

I sit in the traffic. You stay home.

That’s why I built it this way.

These babies and their families are everything. 🚗💛

newmom toddlermom pediatrics

06/24/2026

“Crawling isn’t important anymore.”

Maybe you’ve heard that from a friend, your pediatrician, or even another therapist since the CDC removed crawling from their milestone checklist.

But here’s what I wish every parent knew:

The CDC didn’t remove crawling because it isn’t important.

They removed it because they changed their milestone criteria from skills that 50% of children achieve by a certain age to skills that 75% of children achieve by a certain age.

And with crawling, we simply don’t have enough data to confidently identify an age when 75% of babies have achieved the milestone.

Why?

Because crawling looks different for different babies.

Some army crawl.
Some creep on hands and knees.
Some scoot.
Some use a combination of all three.

There’s a lot of variation in how babies move and how crawling is reported.

So yes, crawling was removed from the checklist.

But no, that does not mean crawling isn’t important.

Crawling helps babies develop bilateral coordination, strength, balance, motor planning, and body awareness—all skills that support future movement and play.

If your baby is learning to crawl, or you’re wondering how to encourage crawling at home, I’ve put together a guide with my favorite tips, activities, and strategies.

Comment CRAWL and I’ll send you the guide.

And it costs less than a latte. ☕️😉

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217 Main St
North Reading, MA
01864

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