I need some advise. Cora is 7 months old and hates tummy time. Normally when I put her on her tummy she puts her head down and cries. It's still rare that she rolls over but she can do it herself. If she hates being on her tummy will she ever learn to crawl? What age does that usually start?

I would say I got less religious with tummy time with each kid. They all tolerated it briefly but it was never a favorite position. With my 10 month old, I'd say I mainly focused on it once a day: after bath/before bed.

In the end, they all crawled...although each of them later than the other. (Jack, the 10 month old, has only been crawling for a month.) Is the less tummy time related to later crawling? I can't say if that is really the reason or if it is just how they developed. My oldest rolled much sooner than my other two - at 3 months. My middle was 5+ months and Jack was close to 5 months.

I think the average crawling age is officially 6-10 months. My daughter didn't crawl until 15 months, but she was delayed in that area (still don't know why). She was never a fan of tummy time either.

I can give you some tips that helped Sarah quite a bit, though.

When she's sitting, try to sit her in a side position. Kind of the way Sarah's sitting in this picture:

http://images1.snapfish.com/3476589%3A9%7Ffp33%3A%3Enu%3D3233%3E66%3B%3E3%3C5% 3E232466%3B4%3B6377ot1lsi

except face both knees in the same direction (if I were to move Sarah to this position, I would just turn her left leg the opposite direction). That will help her learn to shift to the side in a crawl position. Sarah crawled from a sitting position much more easily than from her tummy for a while. She still prefers to get into a crawl from a seated position.

Also, if she wants a toy, encourage her any way you can to get it herself. If she's sitting in a side position, put the toys to her side because it will encourage her to shift her weight to the side into a crawl position and eventually she'll make the connection.

Oh, and one last tip, see if you can get her into the crawl position on your bed. For a good month or two, that was the ONLY way we could get Sarah to get on all fours.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. She will eventually crawl. Some kids move straight to pulling up and skip the crawling phase.

I don't think most kids these days get enough tummy time because everyone is taught to keep them on their back. So the few times they are on their tummy it's uncomfortable and they are using muscles they don't normally use.

I don't recall when my first two started crawling but they were both walking close to their 1st birthday and they didn't get lots of tummy time. My 10 month old (who was not held all the time and spent lots of time working out in a jumper swing) walked well at 10 months. In my opinion, it's not great to walk that early, just gives them more time to learn how to climb and get into stuff. Now she's 17 months and I can barely catch her she runs so fast.