Having a baby is one of the happiest moments in the life of every couple. When a baby appears in a family, young parents always look forward to the development of more and more new skills in their crumbs.
First, the child learns to hold the head, then roll over from the back to the stomach, then lie on his stomach. The next important stage in the development of the baby is the child’s ability to sit down and crawl independently.
When does a child sit on its own?
The ability to sit down independently is an important indicator of the development of each baby. At the age of 5 months, parents immediately ask themselves how to teach their child to sit independently at 6 months. But do not rush the crumbs. Each child is individual, and different skills are developed individually in toddlers, too.
For most children, the desire to rise and see the world around them from a new angle appears from 6 months. Someone studies this earlier, someone later. And there are kids who first begin to crawl, and then sit down.
Stages of the child’s self-preparation for sitting
The following points may be a signal that the child wants to sit down for parents.
- The kid begins, lying on his back, pulling his neck forward, as if he wants to get up and sit down.
- Lying on its side and resting on its hand, the baby tries to lift the body.
Having noticed such movements, parents should be prepared for the fact that their child can start to sit down at any moment. But each parent needs to remember the following: the child begins to sit on his own only when he is ready for this and his body will be sufficiently developed for this.
No need to rush the baby! The process of mastering self-sitting can stretch up to 9 months.
Can I have a baby?
Many parents, seeing clear signs that the child is trying to sit down on their own, try to speed up this process and plant the baby, cushioning it with pillows. These actions are fundamentally wrong. Do not worry and ask how to properly teach your child to sit. If the child does not make confident attempts to lift himself or falls sideways, then he is not physically ready for this yet. Do not overload an unprepared children's spine, because this can lead to a violation of posture in the future. Pillows are best used to protect the child from hitting the sharp corners of walls and furniture.
There is an opinion that boys can be seated as early as three months old, and girls as young as six, in order to avoid problems associated with reproductive function in the future. However, this is a myth that has been refuted by qualified doctors. Both boys and girls are not recommended to sit down until the moment when the child himself is ready for this psychologically and physically. From parents it is only required to carry the child in their arms correctly, in accordance with his age; entice the baby with conversations and interesting toys, thereby stimulating his presence on his stomach; engage in special gymnastics with the baby, which will be described below.
Stages of mastering sitting skills
If many parents have reconciled to the fact that at 6 months the baby still cannot sit on their own, then a month later they will surely have the question: how to teach the baby to sit at 7 months? But the age of 7 months is also not an obligatory milestone. After all, the sitting skill is such a stage in the development of the baby, which, in turn, also has its own stages.
- At 6 months, a very small percentage of children are sitting on their own. Lying on his stomach, the child raises his chest, and can also keep his head on a par with the body. Most often it collapses on its side without support, because the crumb muscles are still underdeveloped. At this age, the child can be pulled for a short time by the handles.
- At 7 months, the baby is already sitting for a longer time, confidently. The child is able to sit down from a prone position, pushing with his hands.
- At 8 months, most children already know how to sit on their own, quickly rising from a prone position on their side.
- At 9 months, the child sits without support, tries to get on all fours and even tries to get up and stand on its feet.
When to start worrying?
Do not worry if your baby does not fit into the generally accepted norms of the stages of physical development. We repeat that each child is unique, and the stages of development for each pass in their own way. But if by 11 months the baby does not start to sit on its own, then you should seek help from a specialist. Until this time, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. The task of parents during this period is to do gymnastics with the child every day and wear it correctly on their hands so that the back muscles of the crumbs get stronger. In addition, it is often enough to lay the baby on his stomach and stimulate his interest in movement, laying out toys in front of the baby so that he can reach them.
Parents should also know that a delay in psychomotor development may also be the cause of the child’s inability to sit on their own. If the baby at the age of 8 months has not yet mastered this skill, you should seek help from a neurologist. Such problems can be the result of premature birth, anemia during pregnancy, fetal hypoxia, intracranial pressure, prematurity. In such cases, often the inability to sit is not the only problem of the development of crumbs.
How to help your child learn to sit independently?
Parents should assist the baby in physical development from birth. A course of restorative massage helps very well in this. In the absence of professional skills in parents, a specialist should conduct such a massage. A restorative massage gives the necessary impetus to the physical development of the crumbs, and its results are immediately visible.
There are many exercises that each parent with his baby can perform at home independently.
Before performing various exercises, parents need to pay attention to the following:
- It is advisable that the baby does without clothes. This contributes to greater skin-to-skin contact with the parent and does not cause the child any discomfort.
- Accompany classes should be rhymes, songs and nursery rhymes.
- You need to perform the exercises when the child is in a good mood, not sick and not hungry.
- It should be done at least half an hour after a meal.
- If the parent sees that the child is in any kind of discomfort, they should be stopped immediately.
Almost all exercises to teach a child to sit are divided into 2 types: gymnastic exercises and fitball exercises (fitness ball).
Gymnastic exercises
- Pulling the handles. When the child is lying on the back, you need to give him thumbs so that he grabbed hold of them tightly. Then slowly raise the baby about 30 °, without sitting down. Carefully lower back. With the help of this exercise, the muscles of the arms and abs are trained.
- Flip back and forth. From the “supine” position, the child needs to be helped roll over onto the stomach and back. It is best for this to interest the baby with a bright rattle. This exercise helps to train your back muscles.
- "Airplane." From the “lying on his stomach” position, you need to raise the child for several seconds, placing his hands under the stomach and under the chest, so that the baby's legs rest against the parent. The child's head should be raised, and the muscles of the back and buttocks are tense.
Fitball Exercises
To perform the exercises, you should take a smooth fitball of large diameter, without ears. At first, it is necessary to deal with the child for no more than 5 minutes, gradually increasing the time of classes. All exercises must be performed both on the stomach and on the back.
- Swing back and forth. Holding the baby by the back and ankle, gently rock it, gradually increasing the angle of inclination. Subsequently, with an increase in amplitude, you can put a toy in front of the baby on the floor, so that when he swings, he reaches for it.
- Wiggle left and right. The flow chart is the same as in the first exercise. At the same time, it is worthwhile to carefully monitor so that the child does not slip sideways.
- Swing in a circle, first in one direction, then in the other.
- Spring. Holding the baby by the back and ankle, you need to perform soft springing exercises. When performing this exercise on the back, you should act carefully and do not give the baby too much on the tummy.
With regular daily exercises, along with massage (by lightly stroking the baby) and water procedures, the baby will learn to sit on its own.
Memo for parents
- For the full physical development of the baby, it is necessary to do exercises, gymnastic exercises with him daily, walk, and also arrange him with air and water baths.
- You should not push the child to master new skills, because all children are different, and their developmental stages are also different.
- No need to listen to those who teach how the child should develop. Authoritative should be the opinion of qualified professionals.
- You always need to rejoice in the success of the crumbs and maintain it at every stage of development.