When the Child Begins to Sit Up
Contents:
- When do Children Sit Up
- When the Baby Starts to Sit Up?
- When Boys and Girls Should Sit Up?
- A 3-5 Months Old Baby Wants to Sit or Sits
- A 6-8 Months Baby Doesn’t Sit on His Own or Finds it Hard to Sit
- A 9-10 Months Baby Doesn’t Sit
- How to Teach Your Baby to Sit Up? Exercises
When do Children Sit Up
Each new skill of a baby is a great joy for the parents. All moms are looking forward for their babies to sit up on their own. A baby able to sit is perceived differently: he can sit while feeding in a special chair, go for a walk in a sitting stroller. Moreover, children find it exciting to sit and start playing on their own. However, it’s impossible to know for sure when your baby begins to sit up. Let’s consider the basic questions about the rules and deadlines that make moms anxious.
When the Baby Starts to Sit Up?
All children are very different and theoretically each of us knows it. However, moms always worry about whether their children are developing normally and grandma’s and friends’ advice often make them anxious. “He’s six months already and he can’t sit on his own? Make him sit!” “Girls shouldn’t sit until they are 8-9 months old!” – such comments make moms very preoccupied. Should you take such advice for serious?
In modern parents’ albums you are likely to find photos of babies seated surrounded by pillows. Pediatricians and orthopedists are unanimous to say: "Don’t do that!". Unfortunately, not all listen to them.
The older the baby is, the more individual the pace of his development is. Not only the nervous system is responsible for sitting, but also the degree of maturity of bone and muscular apparatus. That’s why it’s impossible to predict when the baby will sit up. Moreover, there’s no “musts” for such things. Don’t you really think that the baby will always lie on his tummy?
On average babies start sitting up when they are six months old. More precisely, by the six months the baby’s spine becomes strong enough for sitting. Many children sit on their own only when they’re 8 months and it’s perfectly normal!
According to the Russian pediatricians, babies start sitting at 5-8 months. These are terms to orientate for moms. Keep in mind that the baby will first sit very unstable and fall on the side or on the back. The baby starts sitting up confidently when he/she is 8-9 months old.
Usually babies sit like this: they fall on the side and resting on one hand, release the other. Feet are crossed in the form of V.
When Boys and Girls Should Sit Up?
Most disagreements on the self-sitting are caused by the differences between boys and girls. If we talk about the skill, on average, girls usually start sitting later than boys. However, typically, girls start making attempts to sit earlier than boys. As for helping your baby to sit, wait until he is able to sit up. It is very important for the proper development of the spine.
A 3-5 Months Old Baby Wants to Sit or Sits
Many moms of quickly developing children are tortured by doubts: "When the baby can sit up?" as they see their babies attempting to pull themselves with the help of mom’s arms and sit on their own. If your 3-4 months old baby pulls himself up when you hold his hands or when he lies in a slightly inclined position (for example in your arms or in a chaise longue), this doesn’t mean that the baby wants to sit or that his body is ready for sitting. Such attempts mean that your baby is developing normally and has a good muscle tone. Be patient, soon your baby will be trained enough to sit on his own. When this happens your doubts will vanish.
Some 5 months old babies are able to sit on their own and this is normally, too. However, it only applies to sitting on his own, not to “We helped him to sit. Look how awesome!” Making your life easier by making your baby sit, you put at risk the health of the baby’s spine.
A 6-8 Months Baby Doesn’t Sit on His Own or Finds it Hard to Sit
As we have already said, you don’t have to make your baby sit. Wait until his muscles and bones grow stronger. Not to sit until 8 months is perfectly normal. Some moms ask: "What to do if a baby can sit, but is unable to sit up on his own?” The answer is obvious – the baby’s spine isn’t ready, you should wait a bit. If you make your baby sit too early, you will see that his back is curved and he swings from side to side. These are signs that it’s too early for sitting. If you want to speed up your baby’s development – learn him/her to crawl.
This skill helps to strengthen the muscles and the skeleton, fosters the intellectual development as well as other skills such as sitting, standing and walking. You can find more about crawling in the article titled: When a baby starts crawling? Should I teach the baby to sit? Rather no, than yes. But you can help the baby stimulating sitting skills by massage, gymnastics and games.
A 9-10 Months Baby Doesn’t Sit
If your 9-10 months old baby doesn’t sit and makes no attempts to sit up, it’s no good. In this case, consult a pediatrician or a neurologist. They will say you what to do and how to help your baby to sit. If the child is able to roll over, tries to crawl, but still can’t sit, you will be most likely advised to make a special massage or exercise.
How to Teach Your Baby to Sit Up? Exercises
To help the baby to sit up, you should take measures aimed at his overall physical development:
- Massage – all moms know how it’s useful;
- Swimming trains the baby’s muscles;
- Simple gymnastics, including bending and stretching legs and arms.
Exercises that will help the baby to sit:
- Stretch your hands to the baby lying on the back on the hard surface; the baby will grab them. Gently pull him towards yourself. You can start exercising when the baby’s over 3 months and is able to hold his head up. Gradually increase the angle of ascent and the time during which you hold baby. This exercise strengthens abdominal muscles.
- Starting from the 7th month, give the baby only one hand. Support him with the other hand. This will help the baby to understand how to sit on his own.
- Swing the baby on a fitball bending and stretching his legs.
- Show your child how to get up on his fours and swing back and forth.
- Put a toy at a short distance from the baby, so he should make an effort to reach it. This contributes to the development of muscles and consequently accelerates sitting up process.
Do not hurry! The body of each baby develops at his own pace. If you see that his skills are improving with each day, you are most likely to be anxious in vain. Your baby will sit sooner or later than others, but after a while you will forget how worried you were about it.