The baby between 4 and 6 months should already be able to turn from side to side, and can lie on his stomach. Usually he learns to turn that way when he already controls his head well and just before he learns to sit alone.
Some babies can do this movement at 3 or 4 months of age and there is no problem with it developing faster, however, there is no need to force the baby to be able to perform this movement before 5 months.
It is normal for the baby to learn to turn to one side and prefer to always turn to the same side, but gradually it will strengthen its muscles and it will be easier to turn to the other side as well.
How to encourage baby to turn alone
A good strategy to teach the baby to turn around is to lay him on his back and place a toy that he is interested in beside him, so that he has to move his hands to reach the toy. If he is unable to turn, you can place one of your hands on the baby's thigh or hip, giving a small stimulus for him to roll.
These and other techniques to help the baby's development can be seen in the following video with the physiotherapist Marcelle Pinheiro:
From the moment the baby learns to turn, he cannot be alone on the bed because he is in danger of falling and hitting his head. In addition, it can be safer to always hold your baby during diaper changes so he doesn't fall.
Baby's motor development can be stimulated, but each baby has its own pace. The important thing is for the baby to be able to crawl, sit, walk and talk without help, but it doesn't matter much how many months he reaches these milestones of development. However, if the baby is almost 1 year old and still cannot crawl, it is possible that he has a developmental delay and needs to have psychomotor sessions with a physical therapist.
