At what age does baby sit and sit?

Each new step we acquire in baby's motor skills is a small feat in itself, and sitting (and sitting!), That innocuous act that we are able to do on a daily basis without even thinking about it, is one of it. This means that he has developed the muscles in his back and neck enough to support his entire upper body. He discovers a new balance in his whole body, a new use of his arms, a new vision of what surrounds him … On an adult scale, it is a little as if a person practicing yoga managed to do a pear tree and hold it. It doesn't happen overnight and takes practice and patience.

How is this development in children? Should we be concerned about a possible motor “retardation” if a child seems to be taking too long to sit up? How to stimulate him in this learning? Here are some tips for getting to this important step!

At what age does baby sit?

It is usually around the age of 6-7 months that babies begin to explore this new position and then experiment with it for several weeks before finally adopting it by maintaining it over time. But this is only an estimate taken from an average. It is very important to keep in mind that each child is different and advances at their own pace. Forget the concepts of precocity and delay and instead focus on baby's balance so that he is involved in his own psychomotor development and that this happens without skipping steps, because each is crucial.

A seated baby should not become an objective, an absolute checkbox, but should be seen as a natural passage in the learning of motor skills and autonomy. To do this, you still have to watch your development and make sure that he has the right cards to move forward on his own, without focusing on his age.

What baby needs before sitting down

Before sitting up independently and being able to stand in this position, baby will first need to develop and strengthen the muscles in his neck and neck. They are the ones who will allow him to carry his head, very heavy in proportion to the rest of his body and a source of imbalance. This skill is learned in the first few months, with head movements to each side and a little later, with the prone position.

Indeed, while it is recommended to lie newborns on their backs to avoid the risk of suffocation, it is also advisable to place them on their stomachs early enough, in a secure space (bed, mattress, carpet, etc. ) and always in the continuous presence of a parent. For very short periods to start and then longer and longer and up to 1.5 hours per day around the age of 3-4 months. In this position, he will try to move his head in order to expand his field of vision and find comfort, but he will also gradually understand that he can lift his upper body with the support of his arms. A baby version of pumps! By lifting himself up in this way, baby will strengthen his neck, neck, shoulders, arms and back. These muscles will be essential for him to sit afterwards.

Flat on his stomach, the child discovers a new perspective, new sensations and enriches his mobility experience by realizing that, through his gestures and thanks to his whole body, he can move in one direction. He will memorize this position and its advantages and learn to adopt it on his own. To do this, he will go through a major step in the acquisition of autonomy: turning around. At first, attempts to roll will surely be unsuccessful, because of his arm, but eventually he will tip completely.

Sit, sit and sit

You have to distinguish between these 3 steps and positions because being put on the seat by the parents, getting into it alone and standing on your buttocks without tipping over do not mobilize the same muscles, reflexes and sensations in children.
In the first case, when the baby manages to hold his head better, the parents can sit him, either facing them, on their knees, or perpendicular to them, on one of their thigh, still holding the back of the baby. body, or against them, leaning against it with its legs crossed. A whole world opens up to him thanks to this new perspective which helps to awaken him. However, if he discovers the position, it is not associated with movement and above all, his musculature and bones do not yet allow him to adopt it on his own, let alone maintain it.

It is only after understanding the mechanism of the rollover, mastering more mobility in his body and grasping the first principles of all fours that he will start to stand up, use his legs and arms to push himself more and allow a rocker on its buttocks, its base of stability and security. Although he has developed his neck and back, his head is still quite heavy at first and causes a forward imbalance that will force him to use his hands and arms for support. He will hold the position for a while, but it requires a lot of effort and agility, and he will eventually recover, on his own or not, in a lying position.

Little by little, once on his new base, the child will stand up using his hands, straighten his whole back and finally stand on his buttocks by himself. With his hands free, he will be able to grab objects and toys around him and have fun in this position.

How can you help baby sit up?

Although the biggest work is entirely up to him, the child can obviously benefit from a helping hand to develop the musculature of his neck and back, better understand and understand the positions and movements of which he is capable as well as to master the balance that will allow him to remain seated. Without intervening in the actual learning of motor skills, parents can therefore stimulate baby to become aware of the range of possibilities in terms of mobility. This can involve a simple installation in a deckchair or seat where he will be in a half-lying, half-sitting position, with the torso raised and a more horizontal perspective that he will want to find when he sits down later.

The prone position is also a great help because it will allow him to practice raising his head, to do this, to use his hands and forearms and therefore develop the necessary muscles. You can then reinforce the benefits of this exercise by getting him to look up to lift his head and then his chest, and to the sides by mobilizing his neck and arms. You can get his attention simply by your presence, your face, or by using a toy, preferably colorful and sonorous, so that he can easily spot it.

This same type of toy can then be useful when sitting down. By being placed close to the front or to the sides, without being too out of reach, it will encourage baby to grab hold of it by releasing a hand that it used to keep balance. Parents can once again encourage him to look up even more to cause his back to straighten and encourage him to lift his hands off the ground.

Even though children may not be able to master all of their movements right away, they instinctively fear falling when they are discovering their motor skills. It is therefore essential to provide them with a space for play, awakening and development on the ground where they can move and move around freely, but in complete safety and under surveillance.

Beware of forced seating!

Because it cannot be said enough, it is the baby who will decide when he is ready to sit up, regardless of his age. If you can gently stimulate its development, you should in no case artificially force this position. Placing a child in a seat when they are unable to do so can put pressure on their spine and strain on their legs and upper body as they try their best to balance. In the long term, they can create bad postures and motor problems because it is not the good muscles that will have been requested, and in a way too brutal, what is more! Baby cannot learn to be mobile if he is not in motion, and it is not by being held, by his parents' hands or by cushions, that he will learn to use his muscles and make progress. . Even if your child, at 8 months, has not started the sitting stage, you must respect his pace and development.

Sitting on all fours

While it was just one step away from getting onto her butt, the crawl position will quickly appeal to baby again! He will find that by rocking on his hands and leaning on his knees he can move even more and move forward. With a "step" first and then when he has assimilated the coordination of all his limbs, meters and meters. This new mobility will be accompanied by increased curiosity and surveillance will have to be stepped up. The four-legged stage may follow sitting very closely, but babies take several months to fully master it. This gives you some time to secure everything in your home.

It does not usually take long either for the child from this position to realize that he can, with his feet on the ground, lift his whole body upwards and stand up.

What is "free motor skills"?

Around you, among other mothers and more particularly among early childhood specialists, the term “free motor skills” is surely recurrent. But what does it consist of? This concept was developed in the 1960s by the Hungarian pediatrician Emmi Pikler who devoted her entire career to it. According to his principles, children are able to learn motor skills and go through all the stages of their motor development on their own, without adult help. In a suitable space (on a mat to cushion falls, but without obstacles that could hinder his progress) and, of course, secure, he must be allowed to experiment and discover for himself the gestures that allow him to move, to change of positions and quite simply to evolve. Too much intervention by a parent risks disrupting this natural development.

When should you worry about a delay?

Each baby has their own rhythm and some like to take their time. If the main steps are taken later than the "average", this should not be a cause for concern for parents. However, if the delays persist, especially in essential things like holding your head, talk to your pediatrician who can either detect whether it is a simple delay or a deeper neurological disorder. A doctor can also tell you about small exercises you can do with your baby to stimulate the development of his muscles, joints and bones.

Read also :
> At what age does a baby walk?
> Baby starts to walk, 5 mistakes to avoid
> What is free motor skills?