Tummy Time

Tummy time and rolling exercises for babies from 4 weeks, as playful everyday inspiration and in cases of mild motor delay. The program contains simple best-practice exercises that strengthen the muscles your baby needs to lie comfortably on their tummy and to roll.

Online-program by Maria Schultz Appelt
Prioritized, simple exercises
Designed for busy families
Illustrated with pictures & videos
Instant & perpetual access
Secure payment with QuickPay

on Trustpilot

Available languages

349,00 DKK

(inclusive of all taxes, VAT and fees)

Smiling baby lying on their tummy with head lifted, resting on the forearms. Exercises for tummy time and rolling.

Program description

Tummy time, or belly time as some parents call it, is important for your baby’s motor foundation. When a baby lies correctly on their tummy, with their arms on the floor so they can support themselves on them, their head lifted against gravity and equal weight on the right and left side, the muscles of the body gradually grow stronger for the many milestones that follow.

Some babies find it easy to lie on their tummy right from the start. You just place them on their tummy, and they push up on their arms and lift their head as if they had never done anything else. But it is just as common for tummy time to be hard to get started with, and for a baby not to want to lie on their tummy, especially at first. That can become a source of more or less frustration for both parents and baby. It helps to know that there doesn’t have to be a complex reason why it is hard. Tummy time is hard muscular work, and usually it is simply that your baby isn’t yet quite strong enough in the muscles needed to make it easy.

When you know how to help your baby find the right support points when lying on their tummy, and at the same time strengthen the muscles with simple tummy time exercises, lying on their tummy can gradually get easier, and your baby can stay there a little longer each time. Just like when we adults strengthen our muscles and so become stronger and build more endurance.

The program also contains exercises for rolling from back to tummy, that is, when your baby turns over from their back onto their tummy on their own. Rolling is the next big milestone after tummy time, and it is hard work, so it is often a good idea to give your baby a little help along the way. You can use the program until your baby rolls from back to tummy with ease, to both the right and the left.

In this program, you learn how to do the exercises with your baby easily, both as part of everyday play and through small, simple changes in the way you lift and carry your baby. All exercises are described in detail and shown in short video clips.

This program is one of three programs in the Tummy Time and Rolling category. They can all be used from around four weeks of age until your baby rolls from back to tummy with ease, to both the right and the left. Read about the differences here in the program overview. You’ll find answers to frequently asked questions below, and if you’re still unsure which program is the right one for your child, you’re very welcome to send an email to maria@develobaby.com.

Excellent coursed and scientifically sound IG content
I bought the tummy time course and followed her advice on crawling and floor time, couldn’t have loved it more. The content is easy to follow ans has no sound, which is in valuable for a nap trapped mum 😂
grace-ann, Trustpilot
Highly recommend!
As a first time mum, we purchased the Sleep and Tummy time programs and found them to be practical, fun and easy to use. … We also learnt a lot about our baby through these programs and can’t thank Maria enough!
KRYSTLE, Trustpilot
Easy to follow courses with great content
… the tummy time one has definitely helped with improving my baby’s neck strength and getting more tummy time in the day. … A lot of the exercises are different to the generic information you can find by googling …
Shellie, Trustpilot
Very happy with programs!
I purchased the baby rolling and tummy time programs because my baby was not yet rolling from back to tummy (but had figured out how to roll out of tummy time!), and nothing I was doing seemed to be working.
Tiffany, Trustpilot
Simple, effective, and budget-friendly
The exercises in all her programs are short and simple – you can learn to do them in a couple of seconds and practice them with your baby whenever you have a couple of minutes. No need for a lot of prep, long sessions or specialised tools.
Kristina, Trustpilot

Why are tummy time and rolling so important?

I can’t stress enough how important it is for babies to lie on their tummy! It is in tummy time that the foundation for good motor development is laid, and with it your child’s future joy and freedom of movement. On their tummy, your baby has to work against gravity with the body’s stabilizing muscles. It is hard work, but also absolutely essential strength training. Tummy time trains the sense of balance, shoulder strength, the core muscles and your baby’s ability to work across the midline of the body. Lying on the tummy is a prerequisite for the next milestone, which in turn is a prerequisite for the next one, and so on. Research has shown beyond doubt that tummy time is crucial for children’s motor development and even contributes to their cognitive development!

Once your baby has become good at lying on their tummy and at lifting their legs while lying on their back, the next big and important milestone is rolling from back to tummy, that is, when your baby turns over from their back onto their tummy on their own. When rolling, your baby really starts to use the body’s important rotation muscles, the muscles that turn the body. They form the foundation for all our combined movements, so we can move freely in every direction. Rolling is hard work, so it can often be a good idea to give your baby a little help along the way, so they learn to roll with good quality.

Frequently asked questions about Tummy Time

All three programs are built on the same exercises for tummy time and rolling. Choose Tummy Time if you simply want to support your baby’s motor foundation in general, Back Arching and Flat Head if your baby arches their back in tummy time instead of supporting themselves on their arms, and Preferred Side and Flat Head if your baby mostly turns their head to one side. If your baby has both a preferred side and back dominance, choose Preferred Side and Flat Head, because the first focus is on restoring symmetry. When the shape of the head comes from the way your baby lies, a head that is flat in the middle at the back goes with back dominance, and a head that is flat on one side goes with a preferred side.

As a rule, no. There is a lot of overlap between the programs, because they all support natural motor development at this stage. The programs Back Arching and Flat Head and Preferred Side and Flat Head contain the same exercises as Tummy Time, plus important additions and variations. So as a rule, choose only one program in this category for the same child.

Tummy time can start as early as the day after birth. At first, it is often tummy time on mom’s or dad’s tummy: you lie on your back, and your baby lies on their tummy on top of you, tummy to tummy, and if you both have a bare upper body, it becomes skin-to-skin time as well. The rule of thumb is 5 minutes a day for every week of your baby’s age. So a two-week-old baby should spend 5 × 2 = 10 minutes a day on their tummy. Those 10 minutes should be spread out over the whole day, though. A good habit is, for example, 1 to 2 minutes of tummy time after every diaper change, which you then gradually increase as your baby gets older. The quality of tummy time matters more than the amount: many short moments on the tummy are better than a few long ones where your baby is unhappy and not properly lying on their tummy.

There are many theories about why, sadly, we see far more babies struggling with tummy time today than before. For example, the Back to Sleep campaign of the 1990s, when parents began putting babies to sleep on their back, has had an effect. Sleeping on the back is good, because it lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but babies used to spend a large part of the day and night on their tummy, while today they spend far less time on their tummy on average. It makes complete sense that this affects how the muscles develop. The baby simply isn’t used to lying on their tummy, so the position can feel uncomfortable and maybe even frightening. Sadly, I also see a lack of focus on how important tummy time is. It should be shouted from the rooftops, so no one can be in any doubt. Baby seats, car seats, bouncers and the like are also used much more today, which can also play a part, and more babies today are born after complicated births. So there can be many reasons why tummy time is hard. That’s why it is good to focus on making it fun and easy for your baby and for you.

Usually it is because your baby isn’t yet quite strong enough in the muscles needed to make tummy time easy. You can help your baby with simple exercises that you do as part of everyday play and through small changes in the way you lift and carry your baby. That way, tummy time can gradually become easier and more fun for both of you.

No, there’s no need. On average, rolling from tummy to back doesn’t come until about 6 to 8 weeks after your baby has learned to roll from back to tummy, because it takes much more muscle strength. At the same time, it isn’t something babies do very often. Most babies are curious and would rather lie on their tummy, because from there they can turn their head more easily, explore and reach for things. Rolling from back to tummy is a basic skill for further motor development. Rolling from tummy to back is not, so you don’t need to worry about it.

Frequently asked questions about the exercise programs

You buy access to the program right here on the site. Once your payment has gone through, you’ll see an extra heading in the menu called “My Programs,” with links to all the programs you’ve bought access to. The whole thing takes less than 60 seconds.

No. You get online access to my programs here on the site, because the programs contain video clips, which of course can’t be played on paper or in a PDF. That’s also why there is no version you can download or have sent to you. You can actually print the programs you’ve bought from a computer, though, by pressing Ctrl+P on Windows or Command+P on macOS while you’re on the program page. The programs aren’t set up for printing, however, so they look much nicer and are easier to use directly on your phone, tablet or computer.

You have lifetime access. Once you’ve bought a program, you can always log in and use it again whenever you need it, without having to renew or pay for access.

No, that isn’t allowed. You buy access for yourself and the people who live in your household. If you buy as a grandparent, for example, you may of course share it with the person you bought it for. If you are the director of a daycare center, for example, and would like to buy one or more programs for your staff, just email me at maria@develobaby.com so we can work out an arrangement for multiple licenses. Read more in my Terms and Conditions.

As a rule, no. The exercise programs are digital products that you get access to right away, so the usual 14-day right of withdrawal doesn’t apply to them. If you bought the wrong program by mistake, or something else doesn’t fit your situation, just write to me at maria@develobaby.com. Then of course we’ll find a solution together. You can read more in my Terms and Conditions.

Unfortunately, I see this from time to time: the card issuer, that is, your bank, blocks the payment because it goes to Denmark, especially if you don’t usually shop in other countries or only do so rarely. In that case, there’s not much I can do. You can call your bank and ask them to authorize the payment manually. Or you can try one of the other payment methods at checkout, for example Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Yes, I’ve taken great care to explain every exercise in plain language so everyone can understand it. The exercises also come with pictures and videos where you can see them done with a real child.

As a rule, no. The exercises in my motor programs are ordinary strengthening exercises in the anatomically normal muscle pattern, and the exercises in my sleep and sensory programs are calm exercises that stimulate the senses. If your child gets tired or upset, take a break, and if you are unsure about your child’s health, talk to your healthcare provider or doctor.

No! In my exercise programs, I’ve put the exercises in order of priority. There are lots of exercises in each program, so in principle you could spend the whole day doing exercises if you enjoy it, but you can also choose to do, say, the top three or five, which are the most important ones, if you’re short on time. That way, the exercise programs are for everyone, no matter how much time and energy you have.

The exercises in my motor development programs are basically strength training, just like when you do exercises yourself to get stronger. They are designed so the child strengthens the muscles that matter at exactly the stage you bought the exercises for. That’s why they help make the child stronger on the way to the next milestone. Whether the child gets good-quality movement patterns at the next milestone with the exercises in the program naturally depends on how strong the muscles are to begin with, and on whether there are special circumstances that call for a more individually tailored approach. These could be, for example, congenital disabilities or neurological injuries. But helping your child toward a stronger body is never wasted effort.

Related programs

Note: when purchasing two or more programs, a 10% discount is automatically applied. ❤

Belly Crawling
Exercises for belly crawling in babies who can roll from back to tummy but don’t yet move forward on their tummy. The program contains simple best-practice exercises that support your baby on the way to strong belly crawling using both sides of the body. The exercises strengthen the motor foundation for the next milestones and can be used both as playful everyday inspiration and in cases of motor delay.
Preferred Side and Flat Head
Tummy time and rolling exercises for babies from 4 weeks, with a special focus and important additions for a preferred side, a flat head on one side and a banana shape. The program contains simple best-practice exercises that strengthen the muscles your baby needs to lie comfortably on their tummy and to roll.
Walking
Walking exercises for children who crawl on all fours, including children who already walk with support but don’t walk on their own yet. The program contains easy best-practice exercises that strengthen the body for strong, steady walking, and my best tips on how your child can find the courage to take those first steps without holding on. The exercises can be used both as playful everyday inspiration and in cases of motor delay.
Tarzan Crawling and Bottom Scooting
Walking exercises with a special focus and substantial additions for children who crawl with one foot planted on the floor (Tarzan crawling) or get around sitting on their bottom (bottom scooting), and who don’t walk without support yet. The program contains easy best-practice exercises that strengthen both sides of the body and the rotation muscles, so the body can become more symmetrically strong on the way to steady walking.
DeveloBaby Sleep
Exercises for babies and very young children from 4 weeks up to 2 years with motor restlessness or other sensory-seeking behavior that makes it hard to settle, give in to sleep, or stay asleep. You get a wide range of practical, regulating sensory exercises that are easy to fit into a busy daily routine, plus best-practice knowledge about baby sleep.
Back Arching and Flat Head
Tummy time and rolling exercises for babies from 4 weeks, with a special focus and important additions for back arching, a flat head and the skydiver position. The program contains simple best-practice exercises that strengthen the muscles your baby needs to lie comfortably on their tummy and to roll.
Sensory Integration
Sensory integration exercises for kids from 2 years to around 12 years who are sensory seeking and need a lot of sensory stimulation, or who are sensory avoiding and easily overwhelmed by loud noises, touch, or clothing. The program contains a wide range of practical sensory-stimulating exercises, plus sensorimotor games and activities that are easy to do at home.
Asymmetrical Belly Crawling
Crawling exercises with a special focus and important additions for babies with asymmetrical belly crawling, meaning they belly crawl with only one leg and the opposite arm, while the other leg barely joins in. The program contains easy best-practice exercises that strengthen the weaker side and coordination, so the body can become more symmetrically strong on the way to crawling.
Crawling on All Fours
Exercises for crawling on all fours for babies who belly crawl, either with ordinary cross-pattern belly crawling or with midline belly crawling. The program contains easy best-practice exercises that strengthen both sides of the body equally and support your baby on the way from belly crawling to crawling. The exercises can be used both as playful everyday inspiration and in cases of motor delay.