Planting correctly
Is it possible to seat a child at 4 months? A question that interests all young parents, regardless of the gender of their baby. The further state of the child’s health depends on the decision made. Therefore, in such a matter it is very important not to rush, but to adhere to the established deadlines.
Up to 4 months, the baby’s spine is not yet ready for stress. The optimal body position is considered to be horizontal. The spine under the age of 4 months is very fragile, because of this the cartilages can be easily damaged. And the most dangerous thing in such a situation is that the problem will not be immediately visible. Most likely, it will appear closer to 10 years.
As many years of experience have shown, it is better to start sitting down a child no earlier than six months of age. It is also worth considering that boys try to sit down much earlier than girls. But these are conditional statistics; in practice, everything depends on the individual characteristics and development of the baby.
Regular observations by parents of the baby’s achievements will help determine when it’s time to start sitting the baby down. Most often, they notice the baby’s first attempts to sit up on his own. This action shows that the child’s spine is already strong enough and can withstand the load.
This period most often occurs when the baby can already confidently hold his head up and roll over. Don't worry if this event has not yet happened to your baby. It is important to understand that each child is individual.
When can you start sitting your baby down?
According to statistics, six-month-old children are able to sit well with support. Seven-month-old babies no longer require support. At 8 months, children can sit up from a lying position and vice versa, take a horizontal position from a sitting position. But we must remember that children are individual in their development.
Stages of child development by month
Parents also play a big role: if you work with your child regularly, do massages, and special exercises, he will start sitting up earlier. The spine of young children is weakened. If sitting down early and incorrectly, this can lead to the development of scoliosis, stooping, dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system, and problems in the functioning of internal organs.
The optimal age to start sitting down is individual for each baby. It depends on the physical condition of the baby. On average, children begin to sit at 4-8 months. The optimal age is six months. You should not try to sit up babies until they are four months old: their back and abdominal muscles are very weak.
Signs that your baby is ready to sit down:
- the baby easily turns over from back to stomach and back, from one side to the other;
- the baby grabs the adult’s fingers and tries to take a sitting position;
- the child confidently holds his head, lifts it, lying on his stomach or back.
Komarovsky notes that if a child does not sit at 7-8 months, then this is not a pathology. As soon as the baby’s spine gets stronger and is ready for stress, the baby will sit up on his own. The doctor says that girls should be seated later than boys.
Early adoption of a vertical position for them can result in deformation of the pelvic bones and the appearance of problems with pregnancy and childbirth in the future. If a boy is allowed to start sitting down from 4-5 months of age, then for girls it is better to postpone this procedure until six months.
If a child begins to sit down independently before the age of six months, then he should be in this position for no more than an hour a day.
When to plant a girl
Gynecologists deny the idea that if a girl is born early, the proper development of her reproductive organs may be disrupted. The myth is associated with the fact that if you place a girl before 6 months, the uterus will bend. Moreover, this position of the organ is physiological for adolescents and most girls who have not yet given birth.
Therefore, the main reason focused on whether a girl can be placed at 4 months or not is due to the fact that the child’s spine is not yet strong at this age.
But it’s still better not to rush to drop off the girl. Wait until the baby makes her first attempts on her own.
When can you sit your baby down?
There are medical standards by which pediatricians evaluate a child's development.
According to them, the baby should begin to sit at 6-7 months. According to Komarovsky, these figures are conditional. Therefore, the well-known doctor does not recommend taking them into account. Each child is individual in his development. If he does not have any pathologies, then he will definitely sit down, perhaps after 6-7 months, when the back muscles become ready to take on such a load.
If you strengthen the spine by performing various gymnastic complexes and performing exercises on a fitball, then the baby will begin to try to sit up on his own earlier - from 4-5 months of age.
The baby will be ready to sit down when his spine is stronger. When determining the optimal time for teaching a baby, you need to pay attention to his behavior and physical capabilities.
It is easy to understand that the child is ready to sit down by the following signs:
- the baby confidently holds the head, lifts it while lying on the stomach or back;
- the baby easily turns over from back to stomach, from one side to the other;
- Lying on his back, the baby grabs the adult’s fingers and tries to rise.
Some children begin to sit up independently before they are six months old. There is no need to be afraid of this.
But we must remember that the child’s spine is not yet strong. Therefore, the child should not remain in a sitting position for long. There is an opinion that girls begin to talk earlier, and boys begin to sit down and walk earlier. But this doesn't always happen. Some girls develop at the same pace as boys or ahead of them. Experts do not recommend early sitting down of babies.
There is a theory that this can lead to deformation of the pelvic organs, causing problems with conception, pregnancy and childbirth in the future. Therefore, they try to sit down girls after 7 months. In boys, no specific risks are observed. Therefore, you can start working with them from 5-6 months of age.
Crawling strengthens your back well. Therefore, it is useful to motivate the baby to move on all fours. You can place a bright toy far from the baby in his field of vision and offer to reach for it.
What about the boys?
Mothers of male babies can breathe easy. You can plant a boy at 4 months if he is already trying to do it on his own. And most often, by 4–5 months the baby is already actively mastering this skill. Before this date, do not try to plant the baby.
If your child does not try to sit up on his own at the age of 5 months, then you should not force the baby to sit down. It is important to understand that if a child does not try, it means he is not ready yet.
If a boy stretches with all his might, then falls, and then rolls, then help him. Try to hold him by the lower back during such movements. With time and your help, attempts will be made more confidently, and soon the baby will learn to sit.
And remember, the baby will never harm himself. And he will make his attempts to master new skills solely on his own sensations inherent in nature.
What to consider
When deciding whether it is possible to place a child at 4 months, it is very important to take into account important nuances:
- You need to teach your child to sit very carefully and gradually. To get started, a few minutes a day will be enough. This way you will minimize the load on your spine.
- The first attempts should be made in the hands of an adult. And the baby’s body should be exclusively in a semi-sitting position. For the first time, 30–40 seconds will be enough.
- Do not start putting your child out if he does not yet know how to roll over on his own, does not stand on his legs with support and does not try to crawl.
- Help your child strengthen his spine and muscles. An excellent solution is exercise and a light massage.
It is necessary to teach a child at a time when he is in a good mood. If the baby screams, is capricious or cries, then the attempt should be postponed for a while.
And remember that there is a time for everything. Sometimes babies begin to crawl earlier, and only then master the sitting position. There's nothing wrong with that. The main thing is that your child feels confident and comfortable.
Rules for sitting down
Many parents are concerned about the question of how to properly sit down a child, because if this process is carried out illiterately, you can seriously harm the baby.
Professionals give the following advice:
- perform the first sit-ups from a reclining position;
- the transition between positions should be smooth and careful;
- you need to sit the baby down for the first time for no more than 1-2 minutes;
- For classes, you should choose soft surfaces.
There are certain differences between girls and boys in how to sit down a baby at 6 months.
Boys
Some parents practice sitting their son on their lap.
This is a fairly effective and safe method. The child must be seated so that his back touches the adult’s stomach. You should stay in this position for no more than 5 minutes. It is better to start the exercise from a minute, gradually increasing its duration. It is useful to strengthen your back muscles. Below are effective exercises:
- place the baby on your stomach. Raise it, holding it under the chest and legs. This exercise strengthens the spine and promotes faster formation of the skill of sitting independently;
- put the boy on his back. Let him grab onto your fingers. Gently lift and hold the position for 15 seconds. Then lower the baby, let it rest and repeat the exercise;
- gently sit the child down, holding his hand.
Experts also advise parents to conduct classes on a fitball.
Girls
To sit up girls, some parents buy jumpers or walkers. But experts do not recommend using these devices until the child learns to sit independently.
The fact is that in such structures the spine is poorly fixed and is not supported by anything. This creates the possibility of injury.
If the girl already knows how to sit, then you can use walkers and jumpers, but the time spent in them should not exceed 15 minutes a day. If the baby does not yet know how to sit independently, then it is worth using a chaise longue or a child car seat.
When using the last option, the girl will be in a semi-sitting position. This reduces the load on the pelvic organs. The girl will see her mother and will not cry when she goes about her business, but will remain in sight.
If the baby sits down, but falls over on her side and shows uncertainty, then you need to give her the opportunity to take an upright position on her own. This will help strengthen your back muscles. If a girl cannot take an even position, then you should help her.
Advice from pediatricians
Regarding whether it is possible to seat a child at 4 months or not, the baby must be seated gradually. At this age, pediatricians recommend using a semi-sitting position in the arms of an adult. The baby's legs should be bent. Such manipulations should not exceed more than 3 minutes.
Is it possible to place a child at 4 months if he does not show any desire?! Sometimes you may notice that your child does not want to sit on a chair, sofa or kangaroo, although he is already considered appropriate age for this activity. Therefore, if you see that the baby does not like this position and is capricious, then it is better to refuse planting until the moment when the child begins to do it on his own.
Sitting down early threatens rapid curvature of the spine and disturbances in the functioning of other organs. The baby is becoming more active every day. And it seems to parents that a child at 4 months is trying to sit up. This is not entirely true. The baby just tends to raise his head and shoulders, which is regarded as an attempt to sit up. There is no need to rush this process. The fact is that at birth, the baby’s spine does not have the physiological curves necessary for sitting or walking. These changes form smoothly and gradually throughout the year. The correct development of the musculoskeletal system has a direct connection with the early birth of babies. Therefore, the situation when a child sits at 4 months, covered with pillows, is unacceptable. Irreversible consequences in the development of the motor system will answer the question: is it possible to plant a boy or girl at 4 months? With early disembarkation, rapid curvature of the spine occurs. This process is rapid and difficult to eliminate in the future. Compression of internal organs can become a serious complication. This entails disturbances in the functioning of the respiratory apparatus and cardiovascular system.
If a child wants to sit up at 4 months, it is necessary to gradually strengthen the spine and muscles. To do this, you need to perform the following simple exercise: lift the baby lying on his back by the arms so that he can pull himself up slightly.
Thus, finding yourself in a reclining position. This state can be characterized as intermediate, between sitting and lying down. Over time, the baby will calmly and confidently begin to rise himself following the movements of the adult’s hands. Then you can sit the baby down for a few minutes, lightly holding him and letting him hold his back. A pediatrician will show you how to properly sit down a child at 4 months. Mom cannot do without this knowledge. After all, it is absolutely forbidden to sit a baby down at this age, but you can sit him down. Therefore, it is so important to distinguish between these actions.
As you know, the development of a baby is purely individual and depends on many factors, and therefore it is difficult to name the exact time when a baby can be placed. However, there is a certain age difference in the independent sitting of the baby, when he demonstrates his physiological readiness for a new position of the body.
This means that the baby’s muscles must become sufficiently strong to support the spine, which bears the main load when sitting, especially without support. Since each child is unique and develops differently, the relative norms for when a baby can sit up are in a fairly wide range - from 4 to 9 months. However, most babies can sit up on their own and stay in this position for several minutes, usually at the age of 5-7 months , and even more precisely by 6.
But the question of whether it is necessary to help the baby, sit him down in pillows, as our grandmothers did, modern pediatricians answer unequivocally - no, it’s not worth it. Komarovsky, for example, believes that the later the baby starts sitting and walking, the better for the future health of his spine.
The later the vertical load on the spine occurs, the smoother the back, the stronger the legs, the better. Therefore, with regard to sitting and standing, the main task of mom and dad is not to help.
Thus, a healthy baby can sit up on his own by 6-7 months , but if this big event happens later, you also fit into the “norm”. And in order for children's muscles to strengthen, crawling will help you. It makes sense to encourage a baby to crawl and it’s not difficult to do: lay the baby on his tummy, sit opposite his head in the direction where the baby will crawl, put a bright toy as a target that will attract him. By straining all muscle groups for such a difficult process of crawling, the baby thereby strengthens them.
Source: Burda Media
It is worth understanding that no exercise will speed up the process of transformation and strengthening of the spine, which occurs individually. And believe me, the baby also really wants to change the position of her body; lying down all the time is not at all interesting. And as soon as he is ready, he will bend one leg under himself, rest his arms and sit down, without any help from you.
As for sitting on pillows and in the mother’s arms, this is not useful for the baby and is not necessary, but if you can’t do without it, follow a few rules so as not to harm your child:
- Do not place your baby before 4 months
- Do not hold your child in a sitting position for more than a few minutes if he has not yet sat up.
- Do not sit the baby vertically, only tilted backwards (at an angle of 40-45 degrees) and always with support under the back
Source: Burda Media
When to potty train
Is there a suitable age to start training? Short answer: no. Many parents start too early or, conversely, too late. And it’s not a matter of age, but the readiness of the baby. At the same time, we must not forget that the formation of skills is an individual process and can begin earlier or later than the specified dates, without being a sign of developmental problems.
The first (and absolutely important) question parents should ask when it comes to planting is: How do I know if my baby is ready? If you start too early, it can be stressful for you and a complete failure for your baby. Start too late, and children will become so accustomed to peeing and pooping whenever and wherever they want that the potty will seem like an unnecessary thing.
Russian pediatricians and their foreign colleagues claim that most children are potty trained between the ages of one and a half to two years (18-20 months). The baby is ready both physically and psychologically. Therefore, the “training” stage is quick and easy for the whole family. For some, this process may be established later, at the age of 24-32 months.
