My Baby Does Not Like to Roll

“My baby LOVES to sit, but still isn’t really good at rolling.
She can only do it every once in awhile and often gets really frustrated on her belly.
Is this bad?”

Answer:
I love to break questions like this down by first touching on natural development. The easiest way for me to think about development and motor milestone acquisition is to think of it like a pyramid.

The lower level, earlier skills truly lay the foundation for higher level skills to happen, AND for them to happy without compensations - meaning in the way we would expect them to.

That being said, rolling belly to back (typically around 3-5 months), and back to belly (typically around 4-6) months, definitely precede and lay the foundation for independent sitting (expected around 6 months).

Often times when a child is placed in sitting early, OR before they are comfortable, confident rollers, what can happen is a preference for sitting, rather than being on the floor. One of the big reasons I think this occurs is because sitting is SUCH a motivating position! It is the first time they see and can engage with their world in a new, exciting way, and if they’re unable to move and explore as well on the floor, it can definitely lead to a preference towards the sit position.

The other side of it is that rolling truly preps the muscles on the front and back of the body for sitting balance and postural control.

When a baby learns to roll from belly to back, they are activating and strengthening the muscles along their back. In turn, when they roll from back to belly, they are activating and strengthening the muscles along the front of their body. These two large muscle groups working in combination is what allows a child to successfully sustain a sitting position without falling forward or backward, AND allows them to prepare to use the THIRD big, crucial muscle group in sitting- the trunk rotators.

Using the trunk rotators leads to the ability to transition into/out of sitting, and eventually transition into/out of the crawling position, which leads to crawling, which leads to crawling to an item and pulling to stand, which leads to cruising, which leads to walking! OOF!

My point is- the expectations of motor milestones are truly laid in a pyramid fashion for a reason. They build on each other and allow higher level motor skills to be acquired, with the ultimate goal of your little one being able to independently explore their environment to the best of their ability.

If you’re in a similar position to the question asker, my biggest recommendation is to take them back down to the floor. It’s never too late to work on those floor skills and encourage mastery. Go to your little one’s tolerance and start with short spurts, moving them once they’re frustrated. It’ll all come together, I promise - you’ve got this!⠀

WANT MORE?

For developmental questions, tips and guidance related to milestones about tummy time, rolling & sitting, crawling and walking, check out KC’s developmental Masterclasses linked here.

KC is a pediatric doctor of physical therapy, wife and mom of two (soon to be three)! She has spent her career working with children and young adults of all ability levels, and currently specializes in birth to three years.