When does a child begin to sit up independently? At what age does a child begin to sit? When does a child begin to hold his back

After birth, a child goes through certain stages that are significant for its development. First, he begins to hold his head up, smile, roll over on his tummy, and later sits down and learns to stand. Parents are looking forward to new achievements from their baby.

After 5 months, some babies try to sit up. But they still don’t hold their back well and fall if you sit them down. When does a child begin to sit independently? How can I help him? What to do if one is already sitting and the other is not trying? The answers to these questions concern all young parents.

The baby is in a lying position from birth. As he grows and develops, he acquires new skills: holding his head, grabbing toys, turning on his side, and later from his back to his tummy and back, trying to crawl. At some point, the baby wants to change his position, trying to raise his head and take a sitting position. After all, this changes the viewing angle, many things are seen differently, and it becomes more interesting for the baby to explore the world around him.

Many children grab the sides of the crib or stroller and try to sit up. If you invite them to hold their fingers and give them a little help, they will take a “sitting” position for a few seconds. They cannot sit for a long time yet. They say that the child begins to sit down, that is, to sit down for a short time.

Some parents are in a hurry to cover the baby with pillows so that he sits longer, but this should not be done. Everything has its time. The child should sit up on his own when his spine is ready for this. At what age does a child begin to sit? Each child has his own pace of development. However, there are certain average statistical norms for when you can start sitting your baby down. According to statistics, babies go through the following stages:

• 6 months – sitting with support;
• 7 months – sitting without support;
• 8 months – sits up independently.

Some children begin to sit down earlier. However, sitting in a sitting position is not recommended for children under 6 months of age.

You can tell if your baby is ready to sit down by the following signs:

• The baby has learned to roll over onto his stomach and back onto his back;
• Raises the head from the “lying” state, holds it well;
• Tries to rise to his feet, holding onto support;
• Raises the body well, holding onto the parents' fingers.
• Can hold the backrest for some time in a sitting position.

If all these skills are observed in a child, then soon the baby will learn not only to sit himself, but also to take a sitting position on his own.

Is it possible to sit down? The dangers of untimely sitting down

At birth, the baby's spine is very flexible and soft, but is easily deformed. It is designed for lying position only. With age, the spine strengthens, the necessary curves appear, and a muscle corset is formed. Therefore, it is not recommended to sit children down early.

If a child does not hold his back well, rounds it too much, or falls to the side or forward, there is no need to cover him with something for support. Such a child is not ready to sit down. This can cause harm to a fragile spine. Most often, spinal deformation occurs in childhood and is associated with early sitting down, walking, and stress on the undeveloped muscular corset that supports the spine.

At how many months a child will begin to sit depends on the state of his muscle development.

The more actively a child tries to move, turn, change body position, the faster his back will strengthen, and he will begin to sit, stand, and walk earlier.

Therefore, it is useful to lay the child on his tummy so that he lifts and holds his head and body, leaning on his forearms, and then his hands, teach him to roll over, and do special gymnastics for babies.

Crawling is very useful for a child. If a child has learned to crawl, then it is very comfortable for him to sit down from this position. In addition, it helps relieve the load on the spine and strengthens all the baby’s muscles.

Stages of mastering the skill of sitting

Attempts to take a sitting position in a child appear quite early at 3-4 months. But mastering this skill is not easy for him. The baby learns to sit gradually, acquiring certain preparatory skills. The stages of mastering the ability to sit are not always the same. In most cases it happens like this:

1. 1. The child tries to raise his head and upper body, trying to sit down. If you give him some fingers, he grabs it and rises for a few seconds. This stage occurs in children at different times around 3-5 months.

1. 1. A baby at 4-6 months clings to a support, kneels, and tries to sit up, but for now he cannot hold on, he falls on his side or backwards;

1. 1. At 5-6 months the child sits up with the help of a parent, holds his back for several minutes, can turn on his side and try to sit up, leaning on his hand;

1. 1. At the age of 6-8 months sits confidently, holds his back well, but often still uses the help of an adult to sit down, although some can sit down independently;

1. 7-10 months – sits up independently from any position, can turn to the side, plays with toys while sitting, easily changes position: stands up, lies down, gets on all fours and back.

In some cases, the child first turns over on his tummy, gets on all fours and sits down from this position. Children often start crawling and then learn to sit up on their own.

Some children are able to sit up to 6 months, but experts do not recommend spending a lot of time sitting at this age. It is better if the baby sits for 10-15 minutes several times a day. Gradually the time can be increased.

Other children, on the contrary, cannot learn to sit down or sit confidently for a long time. It happens that they develop such a skill only at 9-11 months. This is also the norm. There is no need to rush the baby.

If a child is healthy and has no physical or neurological pathologies, then he will definitely learn to sit earlier or later than his peers.

What to do if your baby doesn't want to sit

Some mothers begin to worry if at a certain age their child still does not know how to sit, while his peers have long acquired this skill. Parents are wondering what to do and how to teach their child to sit? However, there is no need to worry ahead of time. If the baby has sufficiently mastered other motor skills, rolls over, gets on all fours, crawls, tries to get up, then you don’t have to worry until 11 months. It is better to encourage the child to crawl. This will help strengthen the muscles, and he will learn to sit down sooner.

When to worry

You should be worried if the baby lags behind in development from the first months. Most likely, the doctor will notice this and refer the parents to a neurologist.

If at the age of 6-8 months he cannot roll over onto his tummy and back, does not try to crawl, sit down, or stand up, then he clearly has neurological problems and should be shown to a specialist.

If there are no problems, then most likely it will be enough to undergo a course of special massage and gymnastics. However, this must be decided by a specialist.

How to teach sitting? Exercises

What can parents do to help their baby learn to sit? For this, gymnastics, massage, swimming in a bath or pool are best suited. Such activities will help develop the back muscles and correctly form the muscular corset of the spine.

From the age of three months you can perform the following exercises with your child:

1. 1. Position of the baby lying on his back. The mother extends her index fingers to him, the child grabs them and tries to rise to a 40-degree backrest angle. Stay in this position for 3-5 seconds and lower the baby. Run several times.

Gradually, the lifting angle and holding time can be increased.

1. 1. From 6 months you can make the first exercise more difficult by lifting the child with only one arm. The second he tries to hold on and lean on his own.

1. 1. The child is supported under the chest and under the stomach, the back is up, the legs rest against the adult’s stomach. Raise the child's torso and lower it. The baby's head is raised up. Muscles are tense. Hold for a few seconds and lower.

1. 1. Place the baby on its side so that it turns over onto its stomach, then back again.. You can attract toys so that the baby reaches for them.

1. Rocking the child on a fitball also helps a lot.. Holding the child lying on the ball, we rock the ball up and down, either bending the child’s legs or touching the surface with his hands. You can swing the ball left and right.

Massaging the muscles of the arms, back, and legs helps a lot. Hand movements are kneading and stroking; light patting is acceptable. The movements are directed from the bottom up from the fingers to the shoulders.

For children older than 6-8 months, if they do not crawl, then gymnastics is aimed at acquiring this skill. Then the baby will learn to sit up on his own.

Swimming has a very beneficial effect on all the child’s muscles, strengthening them without putting strain on the spine. If it is not possible to visit the pool with your baby, then you can limit yourself to swimming in a full bath.

All the baby’s skills are interconnected, so it is important not to miss the moment when it is worth helping the baby - doing massage, gymnastics. The next skill after the ability to sit down is crawling, read in our next material.

Kids grow up quickly, and you won’t even notice when the time comes to introduce discipline and punctuality to your little fidget. in a playful way - read our link.

Boys and girls

You can often hear rather contradictory opinions about whether boys or girls develop faster and sit down earlier. There is information that girls begin to try to sit up earlier, but master this skill later than boys. In addition, some people think that girls' spines are more fragile than boys'. Therefore, they should sit down later. However, there is no reliable evidence for such claims. Everything depends on the individual development of the child. The only thing that is clear is that it is not worth sitting a child down before he sits down himself, regardless of his gender.

There is no need to compare your baby with other children. Each child is unique and has its own biological rhythm. Rejoice in every skill your baby has, help him develop correctly, but don’t rush him. A healthy child will definitely master all the necessary skills, including sitting.

A newborn baby cannot hold his head up on his own until 2-3 months of age. He should start holding his back even later - closer to 5 months. The musculoskeletal system of infants in the first months of life is very imperfect, but such a neurological indicator as the child’s ability to hold his head up is very significant for assessing his development. When a baby cannot hold his head up after three months, although by this age he should already be able to do this, it is worth showing the child to a neurologist to rule out various pathologies.

A child does not hold his head up by the due date if he:

• was born with severe injuries and pathologies;
• has decreased muscle tone;
• suffers from neurological disorders and other developmental disabilities.

Remember that premature babies and babies born by caesarean section may be slightly delayed in development until they are one year old. Throughout this period, they must be regularly shown to a pediatrician and neurologist in order to monitor their level of development.

Another important indicator is when does the child begin to hold his back? This usually occurs closer to 6 months, but minor deviations from the norm are quite acceptable. Sometimes a newborn lags behind in development in these values ​​only because parents do little to develop it, mistakenly believing that small children only need nutrition and hygienic care.

How to strengthen the back and neck muscles of a newborn?

A newborn child has a great interest in life, but he is defenseless and helpless. The parents' task is to help him realize his enormous potential. The baby needs love and affection, attention and communication. Don’t think that he doesn’t understand anything and that he only needs to eat and sleep! As you talk to him, you will soon begin to notice his intelligent gaze directed at your mouth with a desire to figure out where these new sounds are coming from.

By stretching his fingers, you will feel that he is squeezing them diligently and even smiling at the same time. In order for the child to develop correctly, hold his back and head in time, pronounce the first words and take independent steps, it is necessary to work with him. This is parental work, constant work and it should be carried out not occasionally, but constantly.

The neck muscles are generally quite difficult to train, especially in childhood. But if you place your baby on his stomach at least twice a day, then by 2-3 months he will develop a shoulder girdle and be able to hold his head up on his own. But at the same time, still fix his body in two places - in the neck and back, since children are able to sharply lean back, which is fraught with injuries.

Regularly massage your child's back, feet and neck-collar area after bathing, when applying baby cream. Movements should be gentle, but intense and warming. This way you will increase blood flow to the head, develop muscles and correct muscle tone.

If you notice any deviations from the norm in your baby, be sure to visit a pediatrician, surgeon or neurologist. Many pathologies can be easily treated before the first year of life if the diseases are identified in time and all measures are taken to eliminate them. So be careful.

Signs of normal child development
from 1 to 12 months

By the middle of the 1st month, and sometimes earlier, children begin to “meaningfully” look around, fixing their gaze longer and longer on objects that interest them. The first “objects” of increased attention are the faces of the closest people - mom, dad and those caring for the child. By the end of the 1st month, the child begins to quite consciously smile at the sight of loved ones, turn his head towards the source of sound, and briefly follow a moving object.

A newborn spends most of the day sleeping. However, those who believe that a sleeping child does not perceive the sounds of the surrounding world are mistaken. The baby reacts to sharp, loud sounds by turning his head towards the source of the sound and closing his eyes. And if they were closed, then the child closes his eyelids even more tightly, wrinkles his forehead, an expression of fear or displeasure appears on his face, his breathing quickens, and the baby begins to cry. In families where parents constantly talk in a raised voice, children's sleep is disturbed, irritability appears, and their appetite worsens. A lullaby sung by the mother, on the contrary, will help the child fall asleep peacefully, and the affectionate, friendly tone adopted in the family creates a sense of security and confidence in the baby in future adult life.

At the 2nd month, the child's tone in the flexor muscles of the limbs significantly decreases and the tone in the extensor muscles increases. The baby's movements become more varied - he raises his arms, spreads them to the sides, stretches, holds a toy placed in his hand and pulls it into his mouth.

The baby begins to become interested in bright, beautiful toys, looks at them for a long time, touches and pushes them with his hands, but is still unable to grasp them with his palm. Lying on his stomach, and then in an upright position, the child raises his head - this is the first conscious movement that he has mastered. Soon, being in his mother’s arms, he confidently looks around, and at first his attention is attracted by stationary objects located at a great distance. This is due to the structural features of the visual apparatus. Then the baby begins to look at closer objects, turn his head and follow the moving toy with his eyes. During this period, positive emotions predominate in children - smiling, motor animation, humming at the sight of their mother's face, in response to affectionate treatment.

At the 3rd month, the child becomes even more active, begins to roll over first from his back to his side, and then onto his stomach, holding his head confidently. The baby really likes to lie on his stomach, while he leans on his forearms, raises his head and upper body, carefully examines the objects and toys around him, and tries to reach them. Hand movements are varied. Lying on his back, the child quickly and accurately grabs an object placed in his palm and pulls it into his mouth. He already has his own preferences - some toys please him more than others, as a rule, these are small rattles that he can independently hold in his hand. He distinguishes faces and voices of his own and others, understands intonation.

At 4 months, the baby improves in the ability to turn from back to stomach and from stomach to back, and sits down with support from the hand. The infant's grasping reflex completely disappears, and is replaced by voluntary grasping of objects. At first, when trying to pick up and hold a toy, the baby misses, grabs it with both hands, makes many unnecessary movements and even opens his mouth, but soon the movements become more and more precise and clear. In addition to toys, a four-month-old baby begins to feel with his hands the blanket, diapers, his body and especially his hands, which he then carefully examines, holding in his field of vision for a long time. The significance of this action - looking at the hands - is that the child is forced to hold them in one position for a long time, which is impossible without prolonged contraction of individual muscle groups and requires a certain degree of maturity of the nervous system, visual analyzer and muscular system. The baby begins to compare his tactile sensations and visually perceived images, thereby expanding his ideas about the world around him.

By 5-6 months, the baby confidently takes and holds various objects within his reach. Everything that falls into the hands of a child at this age, after feeling and examining, inexorably ends up in the mouth. This worries and even upsets some parents, as it seems to them that the baby is developing bad habits that will then be difficult to wean. But the fact is that an infant exploring the world, in addition to the sight, hearing and smell familiar to an adult, actively uses touch and taste, the importance of which for the process of cognition at this age is difficult to overestimate. Therefore, in no case should one interfere with the child’s research interest, which strives to “test everything.” However, parents should ensure that there are no small or sharp objects nearby that are dangerous to the baby.

When communicating with adults, a 4-5 month old child develops a revival complex, which includes emotional, motor and speech reactions - smiling, energetic movements, prolonged humming with many vowel sounds.

The child turns over on his side and, leaning on his hand, sits down. Lying on his back, he quickly and accurately reaches out for the toy and confidently grabs it. Speech is actively developing, the baby pronounces consonants, the syllables “ba”, “ma”, “da”, babbles, and begins to react differently to mom, dad, relatives and strangers.

At 7-8 months, as balance reactions develop, the baby begins to sit up independently, without support, from a position on his back and on his stomach with the help of his hands. Lying on his stomach, he rests on his forearms, his head is raised, his gaze is directed forward - this is the most optimal position for crawling, which is still carried out only with the help of his hands, on which the child is pulled forward, his legs do not participate in the movement. With support, the baby gets to his feet and stands for a short time, and at first he can lean on his toes, and then on his full foot. Sitting, he plays for a long time with rattles and cubes, examines them, transferring them from one hand to another, changing places.

A child of this age gradually tries to attract the attention of adults, clearly distinguishes all family members, reaches out to them, imitates their gestures, and begins to understand the meaning of the words addressed to him. In babbling, the intonations of pleasure and displeasure are clearly distinguished. The first reaction to strangers is often negative.

By 9-10 months of age crawling on the stomach is replaced by crawling on all fours, when the crossed arm and leg move simultaneously - this requires good coordination of movements. The baby moves around the apartment at such a speed that it is difficult to follow him; he grabs and pulls into his mouth everything that catches his eye, including the wires of electrical appliances and equipment buttons. Given the capabilities of this age, parents need to ensure the safety of the ubiquitous baby in advance. By 10 months, the child gets up from a position on all fours, pushing strongly from the floor with his hands, stands and steps with his feet, holding onto the support with both hands. The child happily imitates the movements of adults, waves his hand, takes out scattered toys from a box or collects scattered toys, takes small objects with two fingers, knows the name of his favorite toys, finds them at the request of his parents, plays “okay”, “magpie”, “hide and seek”. He repeats syllables for a long time, copies various speech intonations, expresses emotions in his voice, fulfills some of the demands of adults, understands prohibitions, pronounces individual words - “mom,” “dad,” “baba.”

At 11 and 12 months Children begin to stand and walk independently. The baby steps his feet, holding onto the furniture or railing with one hand, crouches, takes a toy, and stands up again. Then he releases his hand from the barrier and begins to walk alone. At first, he walks with his torso bent forward, on his legs widely spaced and half bent at the hip and knee joints. As his coordination response improves, his gait becomes more and more confident; while walking, he stops, turns, bends over a toy, while maintaining balance.

The baby gets to know the parts of the body and learns to show them at the request of adults, holds a spoon in his hand and tries to eat on his own, drinks from a cup, supporting it with both hands, nods his head as a sign of affirmation or denial, happily carries out simple instructions from his parents: find a toy, call his grandmother , bring your shoes.

His vocabulary, as a rule, already contains several words. However, you should not be upset if your baby still does not pronounce individual words, since speech is one of the most complex higher mental functions and its development is very individual. Boys usually begin to speak several months later than girls, which is due to the peculiarities of the formation and maturation of their nervous system. Speech delay is often observed in children whose parents belong to different language groups and each communicate with the child in their own language. Members of such families are recommended, in the interests of the child, to choose a single language of communication until the child fully masters it, and only then teach him a second one. Most children develop speech in short phrases between one and two years of age, and then it becomes more complex and improved.

Babies grow and develop very quickly. It seemed that a couple of days ago the baby was just eating and sleeping, but now the baby is already holding his head, then begins to roll over onto his tummy and tries to crawl.

An important stage in a baby's growing up is mastering a skill such as sitting.

When (at what age) should a child begin to sit independently, is there a difference in the timing for boys and girls? How to understand that the baby is ready to sit, how to help the child master this skill without causing harm? Is it worth it to sit the kids down? We will sort out all the issues!

At what months does a baby start trying to sit?

You come to the pediatrician for your next examination, and your soul is tormented by vague doubts. My friend’s is already crawling with all his might, but mine is not going anywhere. A neighbor’s baby is 7 months old, I saw myself how he sits in the sandbox, but you can’t get mine to sit down - he immediately falls over on his side...

And you ask the doctor: “When will my child start crawling and sitting?” And the doctor answers you: “I don’t know.” And it's not a matter of qualifications. Not a single doctor knows what time each individual child will crawl or sit up.

Age boundaries are so vague and illusory that you can’t compare your baby with your neighbor’s children. Even brothers and sisters sit down at different times, and this is not at all a matter of gender difference.

The child will definitely sit up between 6 and 9 months of his life.

The baby’s sitting skill develops due to a number of growth and maturation factors:

• Skeletal development– the baby cannot sit on the “jelly” bones; they must absorb enough calcium and become stronger.
• Development of skeletal muscles. Do you know how many muscle groups are involved in the process of sitting? Go to the gym 2 days in a row for an intensive workout on all muscle groups. In the morning you will feel everything yourself. While the muscles of the back, neck and legs are not sufficiently developed, the baby is physically unable to sit - the muscles are simply unable to fix the body in the desired position.
• Psycho-emotional development. The child does everything when he needs and wants it. Children sit down out of curiosity - to increase their view, look at new things, and see more while walking. There is no such need yet - there is no need for him to sit down.
• Development of the nervous system. In order for a child to sit down, the brain must give an order to the body; under the influence of a nerve impulse, strictly defined muscles must tense, which will subsequently hold the body in a sitting position. This is natural for you, but the baby’s body is just learning all this.

At what months should each individual child begin to sit independently is the business of each individual child, and the baby does not owe anything to anyone.

Important! Many orthopedists claim that the later a child sits and walks, that is, the later his body acquires a vertical position, the fewer problems there will be with posture in adolescence. Also, early sitting, and especially walking, is associated with causeless acute pain in the lumbar region in people over 45 years of age. In this regard, orthopedists advocate that the child should not be seated until he sits down himself, and should not be led by the hands before the baby walks, holding onto the furniture.

Did you know? Some teachers argue that the best period for this is when he can already sit down on his own. A sitting child feels a little more independent, and during this period it is much easier to wean him from motion sickness.

Do I need to sit my baby down?

Dear mothers, especially young and ambitious ones! If you need a reason to be proud, be proud that you have a child, because many only dream of such happiness. A sedentary baby is not a reason to be proud if you sit him down at the cost of future scoliosis or pelvic deformation! It is strictly forbidden to sit down a child before 6 months. The child will decide for himself when he can and should sit.

The only thing that is allowed is to massage the back and legs, perform children's gymnastics, swim in the bath or pool and eat well, which will strengthen the skeleton and muscles, and the baby will sit up on his own. Your maximum is to sit the child when feeding or walking, leaning on the back of the stroller or placing pillows so that the child is tilted 30-40°. There is also no need to hold the baby in your arms - his back should always lean against your arm or stomach at an angle of about 45°.

Important! If your child is active and sat down on his own before six months, make sure that the baby does not sit for a long time, no more than 60 minutes a day.

How does a child learn to sit?

The baby learns everything gradually. The average child tries to sit independently at 6 months, and questions about how to teach him to do this usually do not arise. The process occurs in stages:

• The baby confidently rolls over from back to tummy and back.
• The child begins to crawl, gradually moving to the “on all fours” position.

• From the “on all fours” position, the baby falls on his side, leans on both arms, arches his back and sits down, legs spread wide.
• When sitting, the child rests on the butt, sides of the legs, two or one hand, with the chin close to the chest.

• When this position becomes familiar, the baby finally straightens his back, stops leaning on his little arms, and sits proudly with his legs apart. Some children tuck their legs under them, sitting almost cross-legged.
• Each time the baby sits down more and more confidently, sits longer, easily takes a sitting position from lying down and on all fours, and easily changes it back.

Did you know? When the baby has learned to sit, it’s quite possible to try. Later he will be able to escape from this very pot, so don’t miss your chance.

The child does not want to sit: what to do?

We found out at how many months does an ordinary baby begin to sit on his own, but now he is 6, then 7, 8, finally 9 months, and the child still doesn’t sit, what’s the matter?

There may be several reasons:

• you started to sit your child down and he is too lazy to sit down himself;
• the child’s back muscles are poorly developed and he cannot physically do this;
• there is a pathology of the development of the musculoskeletal system, or a nervous pathology.

In the first case, stop sitting the baby down and wait until he himself is worthy of this action. You can leave the baby in the crib, hanging toys so that the baby must sit down to grab them.

If a child’s muscles are poorly developed, you can try to “pump up” them. Massages (but only from an experienced specialist!), swimming in a children's pool (these are available in big cities) or a large home bath and a number of simple exercises will help:

• An airplane is flying. Take the baby under the chest and under the hips with both hands. The baby's legs rest against your chest. The back and butt are tense. We do this exercise for 7-10 seconds, a couple or three times a day.
• We reach for the toy on our belly. The baby is on his tummy, put a toy in front of him and let him reach for it and crawl.

• We reach for the toy on our back. You hang toys above the crib so that the baby can reach them only by stretching out his little arm well. Let him try and play at the same time.
• Let's pump up the press. The baby lies on his back, you give him your fingers to grab, lift him to an angle of 30°, hold him in this position for a second and lower him onto his back.

If you have a fitball, you can perform a set of exercises using this huge ball:

Also, do not forget to do gymnastics for infants, massage the baby’s back and legs. During the winter, vitamin D should be consumed if the pediatrician has not found any contraindications for it, for example, consuming a mixture that already contains the vitamin.

If you suspect a developmental pathology, you should immediately contact a pediatrician or pediatric neurologist.

Only qualified specialists can answer what’s going on here, establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment. If you turn to knowledgeable specialists in a timely manner, all problems can be solved with little cost and without complications.

How to teach a child to sit - video

In this video, a mother explains when a child should start sitting. If a child sits up at 8-9 months, this is quite normal, and there is no need to rush the baby.

In this video, Dr. Komarovsky tells whether it is worthwhile to sit children down, and whether it is necessary to help them sit down and stand up.

This video shows exercises to develop the back muscles. These exercises will help your baby sit confidently.

It doesn’t matter at what age your child sits – at 4 months (there are such babies), at 6 or at 9. The main thing is that the child does it on his own and when the time comes. Encourage your baby to crawl, develop his muscles with children's gymnastics, and don't look back at your friends and neighbors.

Each child is individual, and the approach to him must be appropriate. Don't rush your baby, and he will definitely succeed!

At what age did your baby sit up? Did you help him or did he do it himself? Did the child crawl or sit down first? What do you think: should the children be seated, or is it better not to rush? If you know interesting and useful exercises for the development of a baby’s skeletal muscles, share them with us in the comments!

When a child begins to sit, many mothers worry. There is no clear answer. Pediatricians believe that the degree of development of the skeletal and muscular systems determines how long it will take for the baby to sit up on his own.

The “earliest” children sit down at 4-5 months, perhaps a little earlier. But for now only with support - you need to put the baby on a slightly raised surface - on your lap, in a hammock for children, in a cradle. On average, at 5-6 months the baby makes confident attempts to assume a vertical position - as soon as he learns to roll over and pull himself up with his hands.

At 6-6.5 months, the child begins to lean on his arms, after which he can turn on his side and sit on his butt. At 7 months – holds his back. At 8 months, the baby is confidently held in a sitting position.

Please note that these are average figures. No one knows how long your child will need. Only a pediatrician can roughly say, but it’s still not certain. Moreover, a healthy child, according to pediatricians, can sit down by one year, and this is normal.

Is it possible to specifically seat a child?

Many people have seen photographs on the Internet of very young children sitting surrounded by pillows. That is, the baby was placed in such a photo on purpose to take a photo. Some mothers, wanting their baby to start sitting up as soon as possible and to show off his “successes” to their friends, cover their children with pillows in the same way so that they do not fall over on their sides.

Is it possible to do this? No you can not. Up to 6 months, forcibly holding a child in a sitting position is unnatural. This threatens poor posture and early development of scoliosis. Until the baby’s body is ready, he will not sit up on his own.

If a child begins to sit up before 6 months, it means that his muscles have become sufficiently strong. But it is still undesirable for the baby to be in a sitting position for more than 1 hour a day.

Child development is individual. Therefore, the baby may not sit even at 8 months. Usually, large or, conversely, premature babies with low weight take the longest to sit down. Let the child be seen by a pediatrician

What exercises will help strengthen your child's muscles?

If the back muscles are too weak, the child's back will be round. If the abdominal press is weak, it will roll backward; if the lateral muscles are weak, it will roll to the side. Special exercises and light massage will help tone your muscles. Exercises should only be done with a well-fed and well-rested child.

1. Exercise 1. Place the baby on his back. Take his right hand with your right, and his left hand with your left - you can take them “crosswise”. Secure your legs. Pull your baby up, encouraging him to sit up. But very young children should not be imprisoned yet - they are not ready yet.
2. Exercise 2. On the lateral abdominal muscles. Place your baby in a seat and secure his legs with one hand. Take the baby's hand with your other hand: place your thumb in your palm, and use your other fingers to secure the hand. Rock the child left and right, back and forth.
3. Exercise 3. On the back muscles. Place your baby's feet on the table facing you. Grasp the legs with one hand and support the baby under the stomach with the other. Press down on the back, tilting the baby forward. Gently push under your stomach to straighten it out.

How many times to repeat the exercises depends on the child’s mood, his physical development and your internal feelings.

Stimulating the child's interest in making him sit down

The baby can be stimulated so that he wants to sit down on his own. Start by briefly sitting him on your lap with his back to you and letting him look around. Support the baby's back with your hands and stomach. You can place the wheelchair on a pillow - the permissible tilt is no more than 30 degrees, the emphasis is on the pillow.

When the child begins to turn on his side or pull himself up with his arms, his musculoskeletal corset is ready to sit down. But until 13-14 months, the baby will still help himself with his hands - this is normal. When the muscles of the pelvis, abdomen and hips are strengthened enough, he will sit down only with the help of them. How much time he will need for this is purely individual.

How to know when it's time to sit down

If the baby calmly lifts his chest, rolls over and tries to pull himself up while lying on his back, the muscles have become strong enough to hold the body upright with additional support. It is very likely that you will soon see that the child has learned to sit down on his own.

What not to do if the child does not sit down on his own

If the child does not sit down on his own, you should not do the following:

• Place the child in pillows.
• Carry while sitting in a stroller.
• Use carriers for children where the baby is in a sitting position - for example, “Kangaroo”.
• To sit on your hands - for now only on your knees and in a semi-lying position.

Who sits down first - boys or girls?

Some people think they are boys. In fact, it depends little on gender. It is harmful to start planting before six months in both cases.

There is only a small note for girls - if the baby is not yet ready to sit down, take your time. Otherwise, there will be pelvic deformation and problems with the female genital organs. But if the girl herself begins to try to sit up before six months, she should not be prevented.