HOW TO HELP BABY LEARN TO ROLL | Encouraging gross motor development & milestone achievements

Your baby rolling over is the first milestone in mobility (seriously, they grow too fast)! Your baby will soon be on the go and unstoppable. Make sure your house is baby-proof because I’m going to help you learn how to teach your baby how to roll over!

Between two and five months old, your baby is going to learn to roll from tummy to back. And then, between five and eight months old, they will learn to roll from back to belly. Now, these are just averages of when babies learn how to roll. So do not worry if your child is six months old and still hasn’t rolled from tummy to back.

Here are five top tips for you to help encourage your baby’s natural development.

Avoid all the big fancy equipment such as the Activity Walker, Jumperoo, or Baby Bouncer. Your baby should really only be in those for a very small portion of time. Sure, they may be fun but you want to make sure that you are giving your baby the space to practice and try these new skills without any gear.

Your baby needs to have plenty of tummy time in order to build their muscles, especially their neck muscles so that they can learn to look side to side. In fact, a lot of the time babies learn to completely roll over during tummy time. I remember when my kids were babies, they only learned to roll from belly to back because their heads were so heavy. So, make sure that you are investing time into helping your baby to practice tummy time at different intervals of the day.

Encourage stimulation by putting your baby under one of those baby gyms or playmats, you know, the ones that have toys hanging for them to grab. These baby gyms are great for keeping your baby occupied and engaged, and getting them interested in what they’re looking at in the world around them. Remember, what they can see right in front of their face is what the world looks like to them. So, try to make it interesting.

Roll your baby onto his or her side and have some quality face-to-face time. This way, they know that it’s not just the back or belly. They can roll over to their sides too! A little bit of quality time on their sides can help them strengthen other muscles. Have some conversations, or get some little mirrors out and show them their reflection.

Scatter a circumference of toys around your baby so that they have something to reach for. They will lean, and then topple on their sides, and eventually roll over!

With all of those being said, babies develop at their own pace and you must not force any skill. Instead, encourage and support your child to learn these skills as they grow and develop. And don’t forget, you’re just having fun with your baby, and try to make these practice sessions a special bonding time together.

It is so fulfilling to see your baby learn new things and to see them thrive. However, when babies are learning new skills, whether that’s crawling, standing, sitting, or rolling, they may experience a sleep regression. This is quite common. If you need some help with that, click the link here and grab my baby sleep guide. It is loaded full of information on healthy sleep habits.

Keep blooming,

Missy