5 Tips on How to Get Your Baby to Roll Over

Parents often worry about the development of their child. If they are "behind" by a week, they get paranoid.

Depending the baby, most infants begin to roll over at 5 months. Some babies will learn to roll over on their own. Others require a little bit of help. If you think your baby needs a little bit of help in rolling over, try these few tips to encourage him.

1. Give him lots of tummy time. Start off with just a minute or two. And gradually increase the time he is on his tummy. This will strengthen his muscles so they learn to push up, roll over, and pull themselves up. You can lie him on a blanket on the floor, put his tummy on your belly, or use a boppy.

2. Once he is comfortable with being on his tummy for a few minutes, try to get him to lift up his head. Leave his favorite toy in front of him so he can try to get it. Or you can lie on your own tummy in front of him and talk or sing to him. He'll look at you.

3. Once he's able to lift his head, try to get him to turn his head. Alternate between his right left so he's turning his head. This will strengthen his neck and shoulder muscles.

4. Once your baby has mastered lifting his head and is able to move it back and forth, you might want to consider standing farther back or place his toy farther away. This will force him to look up higher or reach further.

5. Eventually, he will turn his head far enough or he will reach far enough that he will just "topple" over.

The first few times may scare him a bit, but after a few times, he will learn this new trick. Sometimes, it might require a little push to get him to turn over, but in time, he'll learn to like the new view of the world and will want to roll over on his own.

J. Dunbar is a columnist for http://gagazine.com - a parenting tips website and is an expert in speech development in infants. More of J. Dunbar's articles can be found at http://www.gagazine.com

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