How old does baby sit?
Sitting alone is a remarkable feat for babies, a step towards their future independence. After having managed to maintain his head alone, he now tackles the maintenance of his body.
How old is the baby sitting?
We indicate a benchmark and not a prescription!
As for many stages there is no typical age, it is the respect of the order of the stages which counts and not the date on which such or such progress is made. “Sitting only really comes after crawling.” It is the final step before walking that makes it “totally free and independent”. Most often, babies can sit up on their own between 6 and 8 months, when their neck and back muscles are strong enough to hold their head and torso upright, or at least almost straight. Indeed, the first attempts are not very successful: baby staggers and rocks fairly quickly on his stomach, back or side... Do not hesitate to prop him up with pillows or cushions to prevent him from falling. he does not hurt himself during his first attempts, but do not prolong this position for too long (no more than a few minutes).
Around the age of 8 months, the most babies manage to sit up without support!
Step 1: Baby sits on the parent’s lap
When baby grows and reaches the age of 3-4 months, parents tend to introduce him to the sitting position by putting him on their lap. Leaning against you, baby is thus comfortably seated and gradually discovers the world around him by opening his eyes wide. Be aware that this position is not the most beneficial for him, his bones are not strong enough for this practice.
Step 2: Baby sits with support
These are the beginnings of learning.
He is not yet able to maintain his torso and thus puts his two hands on the ground to support his body.
This is an important step for baby proud and happy to achieve new feats.
Step 3: Baby sits alone
Little by little, your baby manages to raise his upper body by leaning on one hand, to finally stand straight without any support. Very quickly he will learn to maintain his balance without help. Hands free, he is now able to grab toys and other things around him. This phase occurs on average between 7 and 8 months.
Babies and the sitting position
Too often parents get babies into a sitting position before they can do it themselves. But instead of making them "save time", it slows them down in their motor development.
We often think we are doing the right thing when we install a child in a seated position. This is the common practice of the majority of families and some professionals who are not yet informed. The arguments invoked to install the child in a sitting position are numerous. It would be out of fear that he would get bored, to get him used to it and help him grow, because we have always done and seen it done like that, because that way he has both hands free to play, because that he can see his surroundings better. It is also reassuring about its development, it is to see it grow and get closer to the vertical, it is to answer the doctor's question "does he sit up?" is to have fun, it is also to want to please him. Sometimes it's because he cries in a lying position, or even because we see him raise his head as if he wanted to sit down.
In fact, he acts then of a "non-physiological" movement which gives tensions and bad postures in all its musculature. The physiology of our joints and our muscles is designed for rotational movements around the axis of our spine. So when adults, we have back pain, we remember that the right movement consists in turning the head and the body to come and sit down.
What if baby doesn’t sit down?
It may very well happen that a baby of 8 months or more has still not been "tempted" by the sitting position. This is quite common in premature babies, who need more time to develop, and even in full-term babies. This hides nothing worrying in the vast majority of cases: each child evolves at his own pace. Don't try to force him to sit down: that won't help you. He must try on his own when he feels ready. However, as a precaution, if you see that around 11-12 months your baby is still not sitting up, talk to your pediatrician.
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