Rolling

[wobblyknicks]

DD - almost 5 months - has just started rolling over on one side but doesn't know how to roll back again yet. If she stays on her front for any length of time she gets really upset. I don't want to stop her from being on her front to learn how to roll back etc but also don't want her getting frustrated, so how long should I leave it each time before rolling her onto her back again?

I used to leave dd on her front until she got upset - as long as you are there she will be OK. When she is on her front is she pushing up with her arms and lifting her head? If so you might want to put some toys just in front of her face. You could encourage her to learn to roll back by putting her on her front on a towel or blanket on the bed, and then gently pulling it out from the side to roll her over onto her back. DD used to love that.

I'm with Prufrock; just leave 'em on their front until they complain. If you think that's a demanding task because they constantly compulsively roll at this age... Be glad they aren't old enough to be climbing up chairs and getting into the drawer containing all the sharp knives, yet!

thanks, she is pushing up a lot and lifitng her head, and desperately pedalling her legs as if she wants to crawl already!!! I'll try that trick with the towel. How long is it usually until they learn to turn back by themselves?

My son learnt to crawl (just after 6 months old) long time before he could roll back (I think he could walk (9 months) before he could roll tummy-to-back!).
DD was a champ roller, could go all direx, by 6 months -- I think that's why she was later at crawling (7.5 months)..... I know children who couldn't roll at all, though, until 10-11 months. So my guess is that 6-8 months is average for rolling tummy to back, but huge individual variability is entirely normal.

thanks zebra, they're just all so different so I've got no idea what to expect!! What's cheesing me off most at the moment though is that dd puts everything in her mouth (has for ages) but every time she does it someone says (very knowingly) "oh she's teething, look at her!!". Oooh, drives me mental, isn't she allowed to just be a baby and shove stuff in her gob without having to pass some milestone at the same time???

Shes doing well to be rolling already. My ds1 never rolled, I thought there might be something wrong with him (as you do) until he started walking at 9 months. I think he was too fat to roll. Come to think of it I've never seen him roll, hes 3!

I understood that the reason babies put things in their mouths (apart from teething) is that their mouths are more sensitive than their hands and they can feel the texture and shape of things better that way....??!!

bekki - lol, surely as long as they end up walking, it doesn't matter what they do in between!

Davros - that's exactly what she does, she loves trying things out with her mouth but everyone else seems to think she's teething!! She doesn't even chew things, she just gives them sucky licks! Why can't people just realise that some things she does are just for fun!!!

Don't worry, mine never learnt to roll. She went straight to walking at around 14 months, but she was never an agile child, she never crawled or climbed or rolled. She's now 3 and although still not what you would call graceful or agile at all (clumsy but sturdy!), she can walk at least 2 miles with us so there's nothing wrong with her legs at all! Each child is different and they'll all develop at their own pace. I did used to worry when she didn't roll or attempt to crawl, but now I look back and realise that she simply had to find her own way of getting around, and just because others her age where cruising around on their bottoms, it didn't mean to say that she had to do that too!