Not all parents know when a baby starts to roll over. Development of newborn children occurs very quickly. Before they are born, they are already curiously interested in the world around them and gradually begin to demonstrate their skills, including revolutions.
Norms and first coup attempts
Physical activity is, first of all, characterized by the ability to support the head, then by turning over. The ability to make movements is the main indicator by which it is assessed.
There is no consensus as to how many months a baby begins to roll over. The process is individual, and everything will depend on:
3 months: first attempts
In a month, the baby will be able to stand up while lying on his stomach, leaning on his arms.
The more often such exercises are carried out, the stronger the muscles will become.
You can find out at what months a child begins to sit, and at what time boys can be seated -
To strengthen the muscles on the legs, it is good to carry out regular exercises. You can buy a swimming ring and let your baby splash around to his heart's content before going to bed.
If you work with your child every day, he will quickly master the necessary motor skills. According to medical practice, regular exercises help quickly teach a child to roll over from his stomach to his back after just 14 days.
Bryzhik Mikhail Aleksaandrovich, massage therapist, Family Clinic, Moscow
Before performing health exercises, mothers must perform elements of massage for their baby. This will allow you to perform gymnastics without injury.
In this way, the baby is prepared for further procedures. You can do stroking from the feet to the hip joint and rubbing.
Movements should be smooth and easy.
To achieve a positive result, it is also important to follow some rules:
- by the time gymnastic exercises begin, the baby should be able to hold his head well while lying on his stomach;
- You should not carry out exercises when the baby is in a bad mood;
- all movements must be performed smoothly and accurately.
Classes must be conducted regularly. Preferably 2 times a day, 1 hour after feeding.
Exercises to help strengthen muscles
Many mothers have a question about how to teach a child to roll over onto his stomach with the help of exercises.
Learning to roll over on your stomach
One of the main exercises looks like this:
If mommy exercises and massages her baby every day, they will soon rejoice together at the baby’s new successes - put the child on his back;
- clasp your shins with both hands;
- to make a right turn, you need to hold your right leg and smoothly pull your left leg to the right;
- after turning over, the baby's hand will be in an uncomfortable position, you need to try to help him and make sure that the baby independently tries to pull it out from under him.
How to teach a child to roll over from his back - other exercises will help:
- The baby is placed on his back and his hand is placed in such a way that a grip is obtained. The second hand becomes a support for the heels. This position promotes easy movement of the coup.
- The baby is lying on its side. Mom stands behind for support. The toy is placed so that the child can see it. As a result, he will try to reach it and turn over.
Nadezhda Romanovna Pakhomova, neurologist, Avicenna Medical Center, Izhevsk
If parents suspect that their child is developmentally delayed, there is no need to panic. The main thing is to contact specialists in time, receive comprehensive treatment, massage, and drug therapy.
Many years of experience have shown that reflexology has increased efficiency. It helps reduce muscle tone, which allows children to restore developmental skills.
We teach you to roll over onto your back and side
In parallel with rolling onto his tummy, you need to teach the child to roll over onto his back. To do this, you can lightly push the shoulder, giving you the opportunity to independently return to the starting position.
Another effective exercise, which will help in how to teach a child to roll over on his side:
- put the baby on his back and try to attract his attention with some toy or melody;
- after that, move the item out of the accessibility zone;
- The baby will definitely try to stretch to the side where the sound will come from and will be able to roll over.
You can watch the video in detail on how to teach a child to roll over:
If the baby turns over only on one side, you need to consult a doctor. The specialist will tell you what exercises you can do so that the muscles are strengthened proportionally on both sides. Turning over in only one direction can cause curvature of the spine.
This is not only the first step in developing postural control, which is important for later development of fine motor skills such as writing. This is also significant because turning over uses the part of the brain responsible for coordinating the left and right sides of the body. This skill is important for the development of reading, writing and the development of higher motor skills.
At what months does a baby start to roll over?
Some babies are quickly ready to roll over, while others are in no hurry. Some babies roll as early as three months!
However, if your child takes much longer, this is completely normal. Most likely, the baby will roll over well at 4 - 7 months.
Regardless of when a baby begins to roll over, whether the baby chooses the fast or slow route to roll, his body begins to prepare for this before he rolls over that very first time.
1 month
At 1 month, the baby can lift his head momentarily and turn it to the sides while lying on his back.
2 months
After 2 months, the child can raise his head up to 45 degrees while lying on his tummy.
3 - 4 months - first transition
If you place your baby on his stomach after three months, he will be able to lift his head and shoulders off the floor using his arms. This mini push-up helps him strengthen the muscles he will use to roll over.
At this age, the baby will most likely begin to show signs of beginning to roll over. At this stage he will be able to push himself onto his shoulder while lying on his stomach. Pushing also helps increase the strength of the baby's moving muscles involved in the process of turning over. At one point, surprising both you and himself, the baby will make a full-fledged revolution from tummy to back.
For infants, you can create an additional incentive. When feeding, use a lying position. Place the baby on his back. Feeling the smell of milk and driven by a feeling of hunger, the baby will try to turn on its side.
5 – 7 months – more movements
Having reached the age of 5 months, the child becomes more active and wants to try other activities. At this stage, his turning over will improve.
By the time your baby begins to roll from back to side, he should be about 5.5 months old, and from back to stomach - between 5.5 and 7.5 months.
The baby can also rock on his stomach, kick his legs and make swimming movements with his arms.
All these movements strengthen his muscles. When your baby is around six months (or seven months), he will learn to roll in both directions.
You may find that your baby never rolls over. He may skip this stage and move forward to sitting and crawling. Or your baby may mistake rolling over as the best method for moving around the room. As long as your little one continues to acquire new skills and shows an interest in learning, there is no reason to worry.
Precautionary measures
Usually the baby begins to roll over without any notice. It is important to monitor closely when changing diapers or clothes while the baby is lying on the bed or changing table. Your baby may suddenly want to roll over while you are looking away and may fall from a height.
Thus, it is necessary to carefully monitor the baby during the changing process. You can also change clothes and diapers by placing your baby on the floor when he begins to show the first signs of rolling over.
Tips to help children learn to roll over
If your baby begins to feel comfortable on the floor and seems to want to move around, you need to help him turn over. The following steps will help teach your baby to move independently:
1. Allow your baby plenty of tummy time during the day. All basic motor abilities of the child develop in the tummy position.
Tummy time helps babies strengthen the neck and back muscles needed to arch against gravity and eventually roll over.
In general, babies lift their head fully on their tummy at 2 months, lift their chest between 2 and 4 months, and put their weight on their arms while on their tummy at 4 to 6 months.
As soon as your baby is able to lift his chest off the floor, you will find that he will begin to rock his body from side to side. This means that the baby is on track to begin his new skill of rolling over.
2. Minimize the time spent by the child in special children's equipment. This includes baby swings, walkers, car seats.
Although car seats should ALWAYS be used while the child is in the car.
The only way children develop new motor skills is through experience, practice, and trial and error. Therefore, every minute a child spends in children's equipment is a minute of lost experience.
3. Let your child play while lying on his side. You can use toys, mirrors, books or your own face to attract your baby. As your baby becomes more comfortable lying on his side, place necessary toys or objects out of his reach. The baby will begin to reach for objects and gradually learn to roll over and eventually crawl.
4. Allow your child to spend approximately equal amounts of time on all four sides of the body: stomach, back, left and right sides. This targets all rolling positions, strengthening the baby's neck, torso and arms. This is also good for preventing a lump from forming on the back of your head.
Try to change the baby's position every 15 to 20 minutes.
Safe sleep
In families with a newborn baby, parents often worry that the baby might roll over in the middle of the night, which increases the risk.
It is important to follow safe sleep rules. Most cases of SIDS occur before the age of 6 months, when the baby cannot yet or has just begun to roll over. Sleeping on the tummy is one risk factor, as are other factors such as parental smoking and unsafe sleep practices. For example, falling asleep with a child on the sofa or unsafe bedding - bulky pillows and blankets.
How to ensure safe sleep for your baby?
- Consider using a sleeping bag for infants as it may discourage rolling over;
- If you are using blankets rather than a sleeping bag, make sure the baby's feet touch the bottom of the cot to prevent the baby from getting tangled in the blanket;
- ensure that the child sleeps on a suitable, firm, flat mattress;
- Make sure the baby's face and head remain uncovered. Avoid sheepskin duvets, pillows, crib bumpers and stuffed animals.
What to expect after the baby turns over?
The muscles that help a child move are the same ones that help him crawl and sit.
Once the baby begins to roll over well, his neck, legs, arms and back will become stronger and the baby will learn to sit. First with support, and then without outside help.
A 5 month old baby does not roll over. This is problem?
Every child is different. Some develop quickly, while others may take time. The same thing happens with turning over.
Your baby may skip rolling over and go straight to sitting and crawling. As long as the baby continues to acquire new skills, he makes progress.
But if your baby is not rolling over by 6 months and has not progressed to other skills such as sitting or crawling, you should consult your doctor.
Also, if your baby is premature, he or she may reach these milestones later than usual.
Enjoy this skill and help your baby as much as possible, as rolling over is the first step of independence.
A newborn, starting from 3 months of age, gradually begins to master new stages of mental and physical development. One of these is the skill of turning over from your back to your tummy and vice versa. This sign of activity is one of the child’s very first skills and indicates his full and correct general physical development.
Many parents do not know when the baby begins to roll over, and sometimes worry without reason if their child does not show any signs physical activity. In some cases, indeed, such passive behavior may indicate problems in terms of deviations in the development of the muscular and nervous systems, the presence of chronic diseases and pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.
When do the first revolutions occur?
Most babies begin to roll over after they make their first attempts to hold their head and turn their neck. This is the next stage of physical development, which will be followed by the first attempts to independently assume a vertical position. This process is accompanied by great interest and curiosity in newborns, because they begin to look at the environment around them and the faces of their parents in a completely new way. For parents, the first turns of their beloved children onto their tummy and back onto their back also cause a lot of positive emotions and become one of the most memorable moments in life.
The first rollovers can only be called this conditionally, because they are more like rolling to the side from a lying position on your back. However, it was precisely with these clumsy movements that the child began to lay the foundation for the beginning of physical activity, which is a signal for parents about increased caution and attentiveness towards him.
The child truly begins to roll over only after all his muscles have become stronger, including the muscle fibers of the back, legs and arms, that is, closer to 4-5 months.
Most often, such actions, like other motor skills on the part of the child, can be motivated by the desire to take a better look at some object of interest, to reach out to a bright toy or to reach his mother, etc.
At 3 months of age, the baby begins to lift his shoulders and head for the first time when he is laid on his tummy. At the same time, he helps himself by leaning on his arms. This desire is caused by a reflexive fear of suffocation when the face and nose rest on the surface of the table or crib where it lies. With this first physical exercise in the child’s life, his muscles begin to strengthen, which will later be used when performing coups.
As for the older age, about 5-6 months, when infants can already hold their head quite well, turn their neck in the right direction, arch their back, leaning on their hands, push off with their legs and can even make movements reminiscent of swimming while bathing, then and range of motion increases. Here you can add confident rolling over from back to stomach and back, rocking from side to side, and soon crawling and trying to sit up. In this case, almost the same muscle groups are involved.
How parents can help their baby master movements
Parents can help their child, who has begun to become active, master new motor movements with their feasible participation. The best way to do this is in the form of a game.. As soon as the mother notices her child's first rollover, you can place an interesting bright toy on the side of him, motivating the child to repeat the movement. It is very appropriate to stimulate the child for any manifestation of activity in the form of affectionate words and praise, as well as with a smile, which at this age the child very clearly distinguishes and perceives.
Before you start doing the exercises, you should ventilate the room for enough time to create the most favorable temperature for the child, which is ideally 19 degrees.
For such activities, it is necessary to prepare a flat, hard surface. A changing table can serve as such a surface. In this case, it is very appropriate to combine exercises with air baths, for which you should remove all the clothes from the baby and leave him naked.
It is recommended to start classes with light stroking of the legs, arms and back. Then you can gently help the baby roll over to his side. In this position it is very good to carry out exercises for the arms and legs that are at the top. The leg can be easily bent at the knee. Place the handle carefully behind your shoulder. The baby can remain in this position for a couple of minutes. Then you need to turn it on the other side and repeat the same exercises with the second arm and leg.
When to sound the alarm
Many parents doubt how long it is necessary to wait for the baby's first physical activity.
If the baby has not started to roll over at the age of 6 months, parents need to be wary.
Be sure to discuss this situation with your pediatrician, as well as conduct a full medical examination of the baby.
Parents should be alerted to the fact that a child aged 3 months or older does not perform the following movements:
- lying on his back, does not respond by turning his head to familiar sounds, for example, his mother’s voice;
- does not try to raise his shoulders and fix his head, leaning on his arms, lying on his stomach;
- The baby's movements with his arms and legs still remain chaotic and uncoordinated.
It should be taken into account that each baby is individual and unique in his own way, which means that the stages of development in different children may not coincide. However, if you lag behind the norm, it is better to consult a doctor. In this way, caring parents will be able to avoid a number of problems with the child’s musculoskeletal system, which will only worsen with age, and raise him healthy and strong. Lying on his back, he does not react by turning his head to familiar sounds, for example, his mother’s voice;
Parents watch with interest the development of their baby, note his achievements and contribute to them in every possible way. When the baby holds his head confidently, the baby is ready to roll over from back to stomach. It is worth noting that each baby develops individually, however, many parents wonder when the baby begins to roll over.
The age at which a child begins to roll over without adult help from side to side or from back to stomach depends on:
- Child's weight;
- Activities;
- Heredity;
- Muscle hypertonicity;
- Consequences of birth injuries (if any).
An energetic and slender baby, endowed with natural curiosity, turns over on his side or even on his stomach within two months of birth. A plump and sedentary child is able to refrain from changing body position until six months of age. This does not in any way indicate a developmental delay or pathology of the motor functions of the latter. Doctors find it normal if the very first turn of the body occurs between the ages of 2 months and six months.
When does a baby start to roll over, at what months?
In most cases, the baby begins to roll over after he can confidently hold his head and turn his neck. These achievements will be followed by the first desire to independently rotate the body in a horizontal position.
These efforts are accompanied by great curiosity of the little ones, as they look at the surroundings and those around them in a completely new way. For mom and dad, when a baby begins to roll over onto his stomach (and back onto his back) it stimulates an abundance of positive feelings and becomes one of the most unforgettable moments.
At three months, the child, lying on his tummy, tries to raise his head and shoulders for the first time. At the same time, he actively supports himself, leaning on his hands. Such an effort is involuntary and is due to the baby’s interest in the world around him. This is his very first in life physical exercise. It gives strength to his muscles for meaningful revolutions.
The first rollovers can only be characterized in this way relatively, since they are more like rolling from side to side, from a lying position on the back. But directly with such awkward movements, the baby begins to set the basis for the beginning of physical activity. And this is a signal for relatives to increase their vigilance. Many babies can easily roll over onto their back when lying on their stomach at 3 months. In the opposite direction, the baby begins to roll over around 5-6 months. Just then the muscles of the back, neck, abdomen, and arms are strengthened in infants.
The baby will begin to roll over on his own as soon as his muscles, including his back, legs and arms, become strong. And this happens closer to 4-5 months. Most of all, these efforts, like other motor abilities of infants, are motivated by the desire to better examine this or that object, get a bright toy, or have their mother in sight.
Children at 5 or 6 months of age can hold their head perfectly, turn their neck in the right direction, arch their back, focusing on their arms, and know how to push off with their legs. The range of their movements is constantly growing. There are more rolls from back to tummy and back, rolls in both directions, and in the near future - crawling and attempts to sit down.
Exercises for child development
The question: “when does the baby start to roll over” should not worry parents much until the baby learns:
- Rise up on your arms while lying on your tummy;
- Raise your head in a horizontal position on your back;
- Keep your head on your stomach.
Before this, all efforts will be in vain, you may even harm the baby.
Gymnastics can help you master coups:
- When the baby is lying on his back, you need to hold his right shin with your right hand, and grab his left leg with your left hand so that it does not bend.
- We smoothly pull the right leg down, and bend the left leg and easily turn it to the side, where we want to make a revolution. As a result, the right leg should be under the left.
- Hold the rotation position for 10 seconds. The baby's arms remain under the body so that he tries to pull them out on his own.
We repeat these movements in the other direction. Conduct training up to 5 times during the day.
The order of performing the flip exercise:
- When working with your baby, do not rush and do not delay - extremely soft movements without jerking or twitching.
- It is necessary to make revolutions in each direction. Turning only through one side has a negative effect on the muscles of the back and neck and has a bad effect on the spine.
- To motivate coups, it is better to use bright toys.
- Be sure to praise and encourage your child if he makes a revolution without the help of others.
- Do not start training if the baby is unwell or in a bad mood.
- Remember that every baby develops individually. Do not demand from your child anything that he is not currently able to do.
- It is good to combine physical exercises with swimming and massage. Such training guarantees the good development of the child, strengthening the immune system, developing bones and muscle mass, has a positive effect on brain function.
- If the baby has rolled over from his back to his tummy, he will not be able to learn to roll back over without help. Be sure to help the baby roll over to its original position, that is, on its back.
- Conduct activities with your baby on a flat, smooth surface with restraints to prevent him from falling. These can be pads and sides.
- The child should receive only positive emotions from classes. Then he will love motor activity and will master the acquired skills well.
The doctor may also advise for physical development:
- Gymnastics, during which it is necessary to bring and spread the arms and legs, developing large joints;
- Massage, which includes stroking and patting;
All these procedures lead to increased activity of the musculoskeletal system. However, it happens that it is enough to simply stimulate the baby to roll over by getting him interested. For example, you can use spectacular and favorite toys. The baby will independently reach for the toy and roll over onto his side and stomach. If the baby cannot roll over on his own without assistance, you can lightly pull him by the hand in the right direction.
How to teach a child to roll over?
If you want to teach your child to roll over, then, first of all, you must understand the end goal, that is, why you will do it. If it is important for you that your baby meets the standards prescribed by someone, then you don’t have to worry too much, because each child develops according to his own individual plan. Parents also need to understand that rolling onto your back is not an essential skill. After all, turning over on the tummy allows the baby to study and experience everything that surrounds him. This skill also helps prepare for further crawling and perfectly strengthens the muscles. Therefore, if a six-month-old child turns over from his back onto his tummy without any problems, then his “maximum” program has been completed, and turning over onto his back will happen by itself over time. But those experts who talk about the key importance of turning onto your back are misleading you.
If you are seriously concerned about this issue, when the child begins to roll over from his tummy to his back, let the doctor offer you several effective methods to ensure that the baby begins to roll over from his tummy to his back.
