6 Month Old Not Rolling Over

I too had a little girl who just hated being on her tummy. She would scream everytime I left her on the floor on her tummy. At exactly 9 months old she rolled over on to her tummy and started crawling. This all happened in a week and she hasn't looked back since. She is now 4 years old with a 7 month old brother who just loves being on his tummy. All Children are different and as new Mum's we worry so much - they do get there in their own time.

Hi L.:

I'm a pediatric occupational therapist, and although I don't work with babies I know about development.

The new trend of sleeping on babies' back is cheating babies out of the important tummy time. Tummy time helps develop upper body and arm and head/neck strength and control! It's really crucial to development! Leads to crawling and creeping, too, also important for development.

At 6 months your baby girl is in the middle of the timeline for developing rolling and she's fine to be sitting now. So, don't worry for a few months re. rolling. I reread & read others ideas...it is true babies hit milestones at their own time. So, if other development is ok, you'll know when to really "worry" about it.

BUT, encourage her to enjoy tummy time! Get down there on your tummy, too, and entice her with facial expression, singing, toys she likes. Just keep up with it so she begins to enjoy it.

Rolling tummy to back kicks in between 4 - 6 mos. And back to tummy between 5 - 7 months. So take it easy and get you & your partner & her invested in very interactive fun tummy time. That can then lead to pushing up on her arms, extending her head & neck against gravity, developing her chest and tummy & back muscles, too.

Have fun, good luck, Jennifer H

My son refused to roll over until about 7.5-8mos and didn't crawl till about 9 months. Then at 12 months he was running. I wouldn't be concerned. Just keep trying tummy time, and it will happen when she's ready.

Don't stress over this ... my son also HATED tummy time, and he did not roll over until he was about 9 1/2 months old- however, he started crawling less than 2 weeks after that, and was walking by 11 months old. (He is now 4 yrs old, and his sister, 14 months his junior, was rolling over at 3 months old. It just goes to show you that every child is hits these milestones at their own pace.)

If your ped. thinks that there are no underlying issues and that the baby is in good health, just give it some time. You may need to try playing games with your daughter to help build the muscles required to roll over, and to let her know it's okay to do so. Rocking side to side until she has enough momentum to actually roll over was one of my son's favorite games- I incorporated peek-a-boo with it, and he thought it was sooo funny!

Best of luck!

Definitely do not worry. All babies progress at their own rate. My daughter is going to be 8 months next week and she still doesn't roll over. She sleeps on her side as if she's about to roll over so I know she can do it, she just doesn't want to. I do "rolling excercises" with her during the day. I put her on her tummy for a while then roll her over and just keep doing it down the floor so she can see that she's moved from one place to the next. Try doing that with your daughter. She'll eventually not mind her tummy as much and then she'll roll when she's ready.

Ever since the Back To Sleep campaign, babies have had much less experience of being on their tummies and so fight it at first. however, it is very important that they spend time on their tummies while awake so that they can develop a variety of muscles. Even if your sweetie hates it, she needs to spend time on her tummy. My sweetie hated it but my doc told me she had to have it. A friend had given me a flat soft toy and putting her on this seemed to make it a little easier. As the days went by, first with her doing 5 mins on tummy, then 10, then 15 until she got an hour in a day, she started to like it. It definitely motivated her to roll.

As long as your pediatrician isn't concerned at this point, then I wouldn't be. Each child goes at their own pace. As long as she does it within the "reasonable" time, I wouldn't worry. Just work with her. Put objects out of her reach, put her up on all fours and rock her back and forth (that helps them understand motion), put her on her tummy. Good luck.

I used to do early intervention physical therapy. Alot of the suggestions people have made are good things to do. At this point you do not need to worry, but with that said it is very important for babies to spend time on their tummies. This is when they develop and strengthen back muscles which they will need to progress to other developmental stages (crawling, walking). You can also try laying her on her tummy with elbows propped on your chest while your laying down. Sometimes, this increases their security in this position and then you can slowly transition her to the floor. Alot of times it is easier for babies (not always) to roll from their tummies to their back first so you might want to work on this way initially and if she does not like her tummy this might motivate her more. Good Luck! Before you know it your little one is going to be running around the house.

My 6 month 3 week old has only rolled over one time. She too hates tummy time so we never pushed it until now. We give her tummy time a few minutes a time several times a day. What is helping her is to have her favorite toys in front of her or even a special toy she only has during tummy time. We also sometimes put a mirror in front of her. Also, if you have a boppy you can lay your baby girl on that on her tummy. For rolling over we help her roll over so she gets the feeling down. She's trying to do it. Good luck!!

Hi L.,

I would not be concerned at all. My first didn't roll over until almost 8 months. She HATED tummy time. My second rolled over at 4 months - he didn't mind tummy time at all..they are both healthy and "normal" developmentally. I do see my second child doing a lot of things earlier than his sister did - probably because he has a role model in his big sister. Milestones are not in stone. Enjoy each stage as it is here -they fly by before you know it! Congrats!