At what age can you start to sit down a child?

The development of physical skills in infants is one of the most acute for parents, especially the timeliness of the appearance of this or that skill. Very often, mothers of babies begin to sound the alarm due to the fact that their baby does not sit at the age of six months, while the neighbor's child already copes with it quite tolerably. Is it worth worrying and at what age you can start planting small children, we will tell you in this material.

When and how does the baby start to sit?

The question of when a child should start sitting on his own sounds somewhat incorrect, because all children are different, and therefore the timing of development for each baby is purely individual. However, the average statistical standards exist, but they should be treated solely as approximate guidelines, and not as the ultimate truth.

It is believed that a healthy baby should begin to sit down at the age of six months, by 7 months he should master sitting with support, and without such a child should sit freely at the age of 9-10 months.

Confident sitting is usually preceded by a long preparatory stage, which begins from the neonatal period. To sit down, your baby needs to have well-developed muscles in the neck, back, arms and abdomen. They will help the spine withstand a new type of load in the form of the baby's own weight while sitting. In addition, the child still needs to learn how to keep balance.

If you notice that the baby has learned to roll over and does it quite often and actively, then you can be calm - he will soon sit down. Babies begin to sit down in different ways. But for everyone, the first stage is short-term, that is, the child takes a sitting position on the priest, but cannot hold the load, so he again falls on his back or side.

About a month after the start of the first attempts, the child learns to sit with support, and after another month and a half without it. At about 8 months, a child can spend a long time sitting, playing, some even try to get on all fours and start crawling.

It can be very difficult for parents to be in standby mode, and they constantly try to interfere with natural processes and help the child to sit up faster.

There is no need to rush the baby, he develops in accordance with his own program, the interference in which can harm his physical development and health.

Influencing factors

If nature dictates its own conditions, then why are these conditions different for different children: one child begins to sit down on his own only after 9 months, and the other tries to sit at five? The point is in the factors of influence that leave their mark on the speed of mastering new skills and abilities.

Let's take a closer look at them.

Health status. Babies who appeared on time and have no history of birth trauma, hypoxia, ischemia, hip dysplasia and congenital diseases traditionally sit down earlier. Weakened and often ill children in physical development may lag behind their stronger peers. Neurological disorders, even minor ones, also reduce the rate of learning new skills. The strongest of these factors is prematurity. This does not mean that weakened or premature babies lag behind in development, they just need a little more time to adapt to the outside world and for the development of their musculoskeletal system.
Child's weight. Chubby kids look cute, but being overweight hasn't helped anyone to withstand physical activity more easily. This also applies to babies. Normal weight babies and skinny babies (term babies) usually sit up and crawl earlier than their plump peers.
Temperament. The fetus's own character traits appear even during pregnancy, and after birth, you can easily determine who is who. Phlegmatic and melancholy-minded children sit down later due to some laziness and slowness inherent in them. But choleric and sanguine people tend to move more and, as a result, learn new skills earlier.
Environment and motivation. This factor is the only one that depends on the parents, and then only partially. So, a child who is given freedom, without constantly limiting him to the playpen or the limits of the crib, begins to sit down earlier. If the baby does not have an urgent need and desire to sit down, he will not rush. Therefore, parents are quite capable of creating such motivation, for example, by hanging a toy so that it can only be reached while sitting.
Heredity also affects. If mum and dad in their childhood were also "late" children, then it is at least wrong to count on Stakhanov's advance of all conceivable and inconceivable terms by their own children.

About sexual characteristics

It is believed that girls develop earlier, that they are less lazy and learn new movements faster. At the same time, it is believed that boys can be put down earlier, since in girls the reproductive system is designed in such a way that sitting down for up to 7 months can lead to subsequent infertility in adulthood. Both statements are untrue.

Bone and muscular systems, as well as articular and cartilaginous tissues, develop regardless of a person's gender. And the question of the slowness of the boys is rather controversial. There is no medical evidence that girls develop faster. In the period preceding puberty, and during puberty, there really is a difference, but it is due to different sex hormones. Children of the first year of life develop in the same way.

It is not recommended to sit down both boys and girls for up to six months. Many pediatricians generally do not recommend dropping children off until they sit on their own.

If the baby does this early - at 5 months, for example, there is no need to interfere with the child. But you cannot force a child to sit if he cannot.

About sitting down

Speaking of sitting down, you need to clearly understand what it is. The people mistakenly call sitting down and planting the child between the pillows, and verticalization in the arms of the mother.

It is correct to call sitting down relative verticalization, in which the child's spine is not at right angles to the pelvis. In other words, holding the baby vertically in your arms, holding your back against you, is an option for correct sitting down. Putting the child in the stroller and raising the bottom of the stroller by about 45 degrees is also correct.

But both are recommended to be done no earlier than the child himself begins to show the desire to sit, that is, at the preparatory stage of mastering the skill (on average, from 4-6 months).

It is not difficult to understand that the baby is "ripe" for sitting down: the toddler will start spinning and puffing while lying in the crib or stroller, trying to rise on his elbows. Mom must remember that while the child is not ready to sit, it is necessary to hold it vertically with obligatory support under the butt with the palm of the hand.

If they put the baby on their knees, the adult should not sit up straight, but recline. And then the load on the spine will be significantly reduced.

Unfortunately, mothers do not often delve into the nuances of word formation, and by the concept of "sitting down" they mean forced verticalization of the child, landing. Doctors do not recommend doing this at all. On a fragile spine, joints, muscles, a disproportionate load falls on them. The consequences can be impaired posture, scoliosis, dislocations, subluxations and fractures of the hip joints, trauma to the pelvic bones (especially dangerous for the reproductive function and general health of girls), deformity of the extremities, improper positioning of the feet in the future, the occurrence of compression changes in the vertebrae, intervertebral hernias.

Therefore, to sit down in the sense of “planting a child” can not be earlier than he learns to sit.

Prohibited actions

To keep the child safe, many doctors, including the famous doctor Yevgeny Komarovsky, recommend that parents leave the child alone. He will sit down when he himself is ready for this, when he himself can.

If desired, you can do gymnastics, including exercises to develop the back, neck, arms and abdomen. Massages and walks, bathing and hardening, lack of compulsion in eating are useful.

Those who recommend that the child sit down, regardless of his readiness, should be sent to the clinic for experiments, even if it is a certified doctor, your district pediatrician, says Dr. Komarovsky.

Parents should know that it is very dangerous to start verticalization using jumpers or walkers. These devices force the child to be in a position that cannot be considered natural for his age, and therefore the vertical load will be very significant. No matter how bright and tempting the jumpers in the children's store may be, remember that they are not just harmful, they are potentially dangerous to your child's health.

If the child begins to sit down, at the stage of short-term sitting, he should be protected from impacts when falling. It will be necessary for the baby to fall, and therefore it is necessary to overlay it with pillows or ottomans, as well as to constantly be nearby in order to exclude emergency situations, for example, mechanical asphyxia, which can happen if the fallen baby gets stuck between the pillows.

What to look for

The child's posture when trying to sit can be any. Some kids rest on their palm, others on two hands, others on their elbows, and the fourth sit down only after they take a pose on all fours. Do not try to fix the child's way of achieving the goal - he does it in the way that suits him.
When the child starts to sit, notice his posture. A round back with lowered shoulders indicates that the baby's neck and back muscles are weak. If the baby falls back, you need to start strengthening the abdominal muscles, abs. If it falls on its side, it is necessary to strengthen the abdominal muscles and oblique lateral muscles. Parents will be helped by exercise complexes for each individual muscle group. The child should not be allowed to sit on his knees with an everted outward. The W-shaped fit injures the hip joints.
If a child at 9 months does not even have attempts to sit down on his own, be sure to show it to a neurologist, orthopedist and pediatrician.