Baby

Rolling: A Key Stage in Motor Development

By: Jacqueline Bodnar

As a parent, you’ve probably been told about developmental milestones on more than one occasion. Chances are, in fact, that you’ve probably heard enough about milestones to make you want to scream, “Enough already!” Don’t worry -- you’re not alone. Nowadays, many medical professionals are focusing less on developmental milestones and more on the development process as a whole.

Acclaimed author Dr. William Sears, for example, states that babies' motor milestones are as variable as their personalities. If you lined up ten 7-month-olds for a ‘race,’ you would notice a wide array of locomotor skills. Some would crawl, some would scoot, some would roll, but eventually they would all get across the finish line — each at his or her own pace. When it comes to a baby's motor skills, progression is more important than timing.

Making Progress

So what types of skills prove that your baby is “progressing?” At the top of the list is rolling. Not only does rolling allow a baby increased freedom of movement, but it’s also a key step towards sitting and walking. Interestingly enough, rolling also proves that a baby is developing muscle mass -- a critical aspect of child development, according to many experts. Rolling over shows that your baby is getting stronger and is becoming more coordinated. These muscles are key helping them learn to sit, crawl and do many other activities.

The act of rolling usually begins with gentle rocking movements. If you haven’t spent much time around infants, picture a turtle lying on its back. A turtle can move its head, arms, and legs (just like a baby) but it doesn’t have the ability to roll itself over. As a baby begins to gain strength, however, he or she will begin to raise both the head and chest on a regular basis. A baby will also begin to kick -- a necessary step to gaining the leg strength needed in a roll. Perhaps one of the most important factors in a baby gaining the ability to roll is the stomach muscles. The quicker that stomach muscles develop, the faster a baby will be able to roll.

Helping them Along

“Kids roll over sooner in life if they spend more time on their stomach,” says Dr. Dave Olson, pediatrician at Grand Traverse Children’s Clinic in Traverse City, Mich. “They have a wider group of muscles they can use and develop while in this prone position. On the back, in the supine position, they are a bit like turtles on their backs and can't really exercise the arms and legs against the force of the surface they are on.”

When can a parent expect their baby to start rolling over? It depends on a number of factors.

• Maturity - Babies born prematurely tend to be slightly behind their peers during the first year of their life. If the average baby begins to roll at seven or eight months, a baby born prematurely may not begin rolling until some time after that.

• Personality - According to Dr. Sears, babies with mellow personalities tend to be slightly slower in motor development than their more active counterparts.

• Body Size - Bigger babies start to roll, on average, later than leaner (or smaller) ones.

Because so many factors contribute to the onset of rolling, Dr. Olson states that parents don’t need to be overly consumed with specific timetables. He also explains that the new and important “on the back” sleep guidelines had lead to later rolling over. However, it has also saved thousands of lives and rolling over later is not a seriousness reason to not put a baby to sleep on its back.

“Infants used to roll over from front to back at about four months. It currently seems more common to see this at six months,” explains Dr. Olson. “There are no apparent consequences to this slight delay. If babies aren't rolling over by 12 months, this should prompt some additional attention from the pediatrician.” 

Development and Guidance

Professionals also state that different types of rolling can develop at different rates depending on some of the factors outlined above. Rolling from front to back, for example, usually occurs before rolling from back to front -- that’s not to say, however, that a baby is developing incorrectly if the opposite occurs first.

Parents can hasten the learning process by helping a baby simulate rolling movements. Since much of the early difficulties associated with rolling involve getting the arms and legs into the correct position (one arm and shoulder tucked under the body, the other arm and leg pushing) parents can gently guide their baby’s body through the motion to simulate a roll. It’s important that parents make it an enjoyable time and if the baby seems uncomfortable it should be stopped until another time. Another way to encourage babies to roll over is placing toys near them just out of their reach. Giving a baby tummy time each day is a great way to encourage them to roll over. This is what Ruby Thind, of Las Vegas, says helped her daughter, Mira learn to roll over.

“I don't remember waiting in anticipation for Mira to roll over,” shares Thind. “I do remember she did it way before she was supposed to though - probably because she has always been a wiggler and we gave her a lot of tummy time.”

Most importantly, be cautious. Once your baby does learn how to roll, you’re going to have to keep a close eye on everything he or she does. Babies can easily roll off a bed or changing table if they’re left unsupervised for more than a few moments. Be patient, use common sense, and enjoy the process -- before you know it, your little roller will be walking.

Author’s Bio:

Jacqueline Bodnar is a freelance writer that lives in Ormond Beach, Fla. with her husband and two children.