How to teach a child to sit independently?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The birth of a child is one of the happiest moments in the life of every couple. When a baby appears in the family, young parents always look forward to developing more and more new skills and abilities in their crumbs.

First, the child learns to hold the head, then roll over from the back to the stomach, then lie on the stomach. The next important stage in the development of the baby is the ability of the child to sit down and crawl on his own.

When does a child sit up on their own?

The ability to sit up independently is an important indicator of the development of every baby. At the age of 5 months, parents immediately ask themselves how to teach a child to sit independently at 6 months. But do not rush the crumbs. Each child is different, and different skills develop in babies too.

For most children, the desire to get up and see the world around them from a new angle appears from 6 months. Some learn it earlier, some later. And there are babies who first start to crawl, and then sit down.

Stages of self-preparation of the child forseat

Signal that the child wants to sit down, for parents may be the following points.

1. The baby starts, lying on his back, pulling his neck forward, as if he wants to get up and sit down.
2. Lying on its side and leaning on the hand, the baby tries to raise the body.

Noticing such movements, parents should be prepared for the fact that their child at any time can begin to sit down on their own. But every parent needs to remember the following: the child will start to sit up on his own only when he is ready for this and his body is sufficiently developed for this.

No need to rush the baby! The process of mastering self-sitting can take up to 9 months.

Can I sit my baby down?

Many parents, seeing clear signs that the child is trying to sit up on his own, try to speed up this process and plant the baby, wrapping him with pillows. These actions are fundamentally wrong. Do not worry and ask how to properly teach a child to sit. If the child does not make confident attempts to rise or falls on his side, then he is not yet physically ready for this. You should not overload the unprepared children's spine too much, 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 implanted as early as three months, and girls - only from six, in order to avoid problems associated with childbearing function in the future. However, this is a myth that has been debunked.qualified physicians. Both boys and girls are not recommended to sit down until the child himself is ready for this psychologically and physically. Parents are only required to carry the child in their arms correctly, in accordance with his age; lure the baby with conversations and interesting toys, thereby stimulating him to be on his stomach; do special gymnastics with your baby, which will be discussed below.

Steps in mastering the skill of sitting

If many parents put up with the fact that at 6 months the child still does not know how to sit on his own, then a month later they will definitely have a question: how to teach a child to sit at 7 months? But the age of 7 months is also not a mandatory milestone. After all, the skill of sitting 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 babies sit up on their own. Lying on the stomach, the baby raises the chest, and can also keep the head in line with the body. Most often, it falls on its side without support, because the muscles of the crumbs are not yet sufficiently developed. At this age, the child can be briefly pulled up by the handles.
• At 7 months, the baby is already sitting for a longer time, confidently. The child is able to sit up from a prone position, pushing off with his hands.
• At 8 months, most babies can sit up on their own, rising quickly from a side lying position.
• At 9 months baby sits unsupported, tries to get on all fours and even tries to get up and stand on his feet.

WhenShould I 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 begin to sit on his own, then you should seek help from a specialist. Until then, 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 necessary to lay the baby on his stomach often enough and stimulate his interest in movement, laying out toys in front of the baby so that he can reach them.

Parents should also be aware that psychomotor retardation can also be the cause of a child's inability to sit up on their own. If the baby has not yet mastered this skill at 8 months, 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 in the development of crumbs.

How can I help my baby learn to sit up on his own?

Parents should help the baby in physical development from birth. A course of restorative massage helps a lot with this. In the absence of professional skills from parents, such a massage should be carried out by a specialist. General strengthening massage gives the necessary impetus tothe physical development of the crumbs, and its results are visible immediately.

There are also many exercises that every parent with their baby can do at home on their own.

Before doing various exercises, parents should pay attention to the following:

• It is desirable that the baby is engaged without clothes. This promotes more skin-to-skin contact with the parent and does not create discomfort for the baby.
• Classes should be accompanied by poems, songs and nursery rhymes.
• Exercise should be done when the child is in a good mood, not sick or hungry.
• You should exercise at least half an hour after eating.
• If a parent sees that the activity is causing any discomfort to the child, they should stop immediately.

Almost all exercises to teach a child to sit are divided into 2 types: gymnastic exercises and exercises on a fitball (fitness ball).

Gymnastic exercises

1. Pulling up the handles. When the child lies on the back, you need to give him the thumbs so that he grabs them tightly. Then slowly raise the baby by about 30 ° without sitting down. Lower back carefully. With this exercise, the muscles of the arms and the press are trained.
2. Flip to back and back. From the “lying on his back” position, the child needs to be helped to roll over on his stomach and back. It is best to interest the baby with a bright rattle for this. This exercise helps to train the back muscles.



3. "Airplane". From the “lying on the stomach” position, you need to raise the child for a few seconds, placing your hands under the stomach and under the chest, so that the baby’s legs rest against the parent. The baby's head should be up and the muscles in the back and butt should be tense.

Fitball exercises

To perform the exercises, you should take a smooth fitball of large diameter, without ears. At first, it is necessary to engage with the child for no more than 5 minutes, gradually increasing the time of classes. All exercises should be performed both on the stomach and on the back.

1. 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 on the floor in front of the baby so that when he sways, he reaches for it.
2. Swing left and right. The execution scheme is the same as in the first exercise. At the same time, you should carefully monitor so that the child does not slip to the side.
3. Swinging in a circle, first in one direction, then in the other.
4. Spring. Holding the baby by the back and ankle, you need to perform soft springy exercises. When doing this exercise on the back, you should be careful not to put too much on the baby's tummy.

With regular daily activities, along with massage (by lightly stroking the baby) and water procedures, the baby will learn to sit on his own.

Memo for parents

For a full physicaldevelopment of the baby with him, it is necessary to do daily exercises, gymnastic exercises, walk, and also arrange air and water baths for him

• You shouldn't force your child to learn new skills, because all children are different, and their stages of development are also different.
• Don't listen to those who teach how a child should develop. The opinion of qualified specialists should be authoritative.
• You should always rejoice in the success of the crumbs and support him at every stage of development.