Children are different!
Parents often tend to compare their children with others, and as soon as they notice such a “lag,” they begin to worry. The main mistake of these fathers and mothers is that they forget or ignore the fact that all children are different, the dynamics of their growth and development cannot be the same.
As a result, parents are in a hurry to “sit down” their baby, following the recommendations of one part of pediatricians. For example, they line it with pillows, propping it up so that the child sits without falling. It happens that mothers and fathers, noticing that the child is pulling his head to his chest, think that this is an attempt to sit up, lift him by the arms, rushing things a little.
Other children's doctors, on the contrary, do not advise doing this. They put forward as a fairly reasonable argument that at this age children usually master either crawling or sitting, and it is impossible to solve two completely different tasks at the same time. In addition, it has been noticed that many babies, having learned to crawl, begin to sit up on their own from a position on all fours. Therefore, when a baby is not sitting at 6 months, many experts encourage parents to be patient and take their time. Which one is right?
Advice from a neurologist
At a routine examination by a neurologist at six months, the doctor will evaluate the baby’s physical skills. In fact, examinations by a neurologist must be done regularly: at 1 month, at 3 months, then at six months. At each appointment, an experienced specialist examines the baby for possible abnormalities that could lead to problems with sitting and crawling skills.
Pay close attention if:
- by 3 months the child cannot hold his head up for 1 minute;
- by 5 months cannot lift the body, leaning on the forearm, has difficulty turning from the stomach to the back;
- at 5 months he does not hold his head well if he is lifted by his arms from a position lying on his back;
- At 5 months there are no grasping skills.
If there is a slight deviation from the norm, the lag is no more than 2 weeks, then there is no need to worry. These are most likely individual developmental characteristics. In case of regular “lag” from the conditional norm, you should undergo a thorough examination. In this case, the mother should draw the doctor’s attention to the course of pregnancy and the process of childbirth itself, whether a CS was performed or the birth was natural, the presence of birth injuries, prematurity, etc.
In any case, parents must have information about the sequence in which their child’s development should occur. You should carefully monitor the baby, not to miss alarming symptoms, such as unilateral manipulations - movements of only one arm or leg, while the other is pressed to the body and moves slightly. Or the child does not like to lie on his stomach, which is accompanied by prolonged crying.
Important! To avoid bad consequences, you should come for examinations on time.
Regular exercises at home with a ball, evening swims in a large bath (you can add sea salt or pine extract there) will have a beneficial effect on the baby’s muscles and help him master all the necessary skills. It’s better not to even purchase walkers and other devices for the “development” of the baby. Why create a significant vertical load, which, due to the child’s own weight, negatively affects the muscles and ligaments and incorrectly shapes the foot?
Free movement is the best workout
The best way to train your baby is to give him more space to move, not to keep him in a crib or playpen: lay a blanket on the floor and let him out into the wild.
Don't rush your baby!
We can say that both are right in their own way. You just need a reasonable approach. This requires being careful and discerning. For parents whose child does not sit at 6 months, it is important to remember this principle: just as a plant grows on its own and it is impossible to pull it up, so the child’s ability to sit cannot be accelerated. If you sit down your baby when his body is not yet ready, then this can only cause harm. Is it worth it to provide assistance to “bear kangaroos”? They will also strain the child’s back excessively and will only bring harm. After all, if you sit down your baby, leaving him in a sitting position for a long time, this can lead to curvature of the spine due to unplanned load.
How to teach a child to sit
Complementary feeding cottage cheese for babies - how to make at home
You cannot force someone to sit. If your baby is unable to sit on his own, it means that the muscles have not yet become stronger. Forced loading will only cause harm and cause problems with the spine in the future. If the baby sits up on his own before reaching six months, it means he is ready, and it will not harm him. His sitting time will have to be limited - up to 1 hour per day is allowed.
If a boy and a girl are not sitting on their own at 6 months, it is strictly forbidden to:
- sit on soft pillows;
- move in a wheelchair;
- wear in carriers and slings in a sitting position;
- sit on your hands (allowed only in a reclining position on your knees).
Boys and girls can be taught to sit at the same age; the information that girls’ internal female organs do not form correctly due to early sitting is a myth.
A healthy child will learn to sit and stand on his own; parents only need to help him a little with this, says pediatrician E. Komarovsky.
that you can do at home yourself are very helpful
- The baby lies on a flat surface on his back. Mom holds out her index fingers to him and he tries to sit up to catch them. He should stay in this position for 5-7 seconds, then lie down on his back again. Repeat up to 10 times in one session.
- The child lies on his stomach. It is necessary to lift the child, hold him under the chest with one hand, and under the legs with the other. His legs should rest against his mother’s chest, while his buttocks and back should be tense. Stay in this position for 5 seconds.
How to teach a child to sit down correctly
Specialist help and exercises
It is important to find out the reason why a child does not sit at 6 months. To do this, it is best to consult a therapist. He may recommend special exercises to strengthen the child's back muscles. However, if you look closely at the baby’s movements, you will notice that he tends to spin, turning over from his back to his tummy and vice versa.
Also, when lying on its side, the child tries to lift the body. With these body movements, the child trains his back and other body muscles that help him sit. Indeed, the fact that a child does not sit at 6 months does not mean that he will never learn to do so. And it is not at all necessary that this happen at the same time as other children. The main thing is to carefully help your baby in this training, and a specialist will tell you how best to do it.
Help in crawling
Each baby begins to crawl in its own way. Some pull themselves up on their arms and crawl forward on their stomachs, others push off with their hands and crawl back. All this can be called “creeping”, the initial stage. Children try to carry out such movements at 4-5 months, lying on their stomachs. Later, as the muscles of the back and arms strengthen, the stomach lifts off the floor, the weight is transferred to the arms, and an exciting journey on all fours begins.
The importance of crawling in development:
- independent movement of the baby and training of the muscles of the back, arms, abs, neck;
- correct posture is formed, so crawling is an important stage of physical development on the path to independent walking;
- the child’s activity and cognitive ability significantly increase;
- harmonious development of the brain, the left and right hemispheres work together for proper coordination.
What can cause diarrhea in a baby?
It is from the sixth month that the period of “crawling” begins - attempts to get on all fours, reach for the desired toy, crawling to the side or back.
Important! The ability to crawl is more important than the ability to sit. While sitting, the child gets tired quickly and cannot independently change his body position.
It is necessary to develop and strengthen muscles gradually, starting from birth. During the period of 1-2 months, the baby should learn to hold his head well; if this does not happen, you need to contact a neurologist for help. At 3 months, regularly do strengthening gymnastics that train the muscles of the back and neck; exercises on a fitball have proven to be very effective. At 4 months, the grasping skill is trained - offering toys, foam dumbbells and any other objects that a child’s hand can easily grasp. At 5 months it is necessary to learn to roll over on its side and spin around itself. Usually they take a child lying on his back by one arm and help him turn over, slightly pulling him to the side.
To answer the question why a child does not crawl at 6 months, it is necessary to correctly assess his physical readiness for this. If the baby does not have developmental delays, he should be encouraged to crawl. Place your favorite toy at a short distance from him and let him try to reach it. To help, you can create support for his feet with your hands, so it will be easier for him to push off. A very good way is based on imitation: lie down next to the baby on the floor and show how to crawl correctly. If the child is not crawling at 6 months, you can invite guests to the house with a small child who can already crawl. The baby will be given a visual demonstration of a crawling master class.
How to help crawl
When to see a doctor?
Of course, the attitude will be completely different if a child cannot sit by 8 months due to delayed psychomotor development. Then parents should immediately contact a neurologist. The following reasons could lead to the inability to sit at this age:
- early birth;
- hypoxia;
- anemia during pregnancy;
- fetal prematurity;
- intracranial pressure.
To summarize, we can say that if parents suddenly notice that the child is not sitting at 6 months, there is no need to sound the alarm. They can provide systematic assistance to the baby so that he can gradually learn to sit. In this case, this will be a natural and safe stage of development for the child.
What should a baby be able to do at six months?
A six-month-old baby is improving some old skills, and he can also do a lot of things that he couldn’t do before. It is important to notice his new abilities and strive to help the baby develop them.
Everything that a child should be able to do at 6 months can be divided into two areas of development:
- speech skills, expression of emotions and communication;
- skills related to body movements.
It's worth looking at this in more detail.
Communication skills and expression of emotions
A six-month-old baby already responds when he hears his name. He can also repeat some sounds he hears and “return” emotions. At this age, the child already understands some simple words, for example, “you can’t,” “eat,” “let’s go,” especially if the parents complement what was said with appropriate gestures.
And although the baby does not yet understand many words, the child is already able to store in his memory what he hears. This will play a role in his speech abilities in six months or a year. Musical recordings, songs and poems have a developmental effect. A child at six months old learns everything perfectly. The emotions he shows become more varied. Before this age, the state usually changed from “I’m happy” to “I’m crying.” Now a new palette of emotions has been added:
- discontent;
- sadness;
- pleasure;
- fear;
- wariness.
At this age, the sounds with which the baby calls to be picked up, looked at, or expresses his delight at something also become varied.
Body movement skills
At 6 months, the child’s muscle hypertonicity decreases, and it is easier for him to perform many body movements. For example, he can already roll over from his back to his tummy and in the opposite direction. Lying on his stomach, the baby can lean on one hand and take an object of interest with the other. Firmly grasping, for example, the fingers of an adult, a child, lying on his back, strives to pull himself up. Attempts to crawl become independent.
Starting from six months, the child, if he is not yet sitting, is actively trying to do so. If you support the baby by the armpits, he can firmly push off the surface with his legs. The child shows great interest in all kinds of objects, trying to pick them up, try them out, and throw them on the floor. The child is able to take a toy in each hand at the same time.
A six-month-old child, holding the edge of the crib with his hands, learns to stand without the help of others. If you hide an object under a blanket, the baby is able to find it and knows how to get it out of there.
Many parents have noted that, starting from 6 months, the child can play independently for a long time, about 15 minutes (this is a lot for this age). What can a child do with passion? For example, play activities such as putting small objects into a box or putting on the rings of a pyramid are quite within the capabilities of a 6-month-old child.
Physical development at 6 months
A six month old baby is very different from a newborn. What a long way in his development he has come, how many skills he has acquired! Now he is not a helpless baby who just lies and looks at his parents. He can now do a lot of things himself.
Motor skills at 6 months:
- sits independently, without support;
- rolls over from stomach to back;
- moves around, rearranging his arms, tries to crawl, sometimes even stand up;
- takes toys in both hands and plays with them independently, examines them.
An active baby can no longer be left alone unattended. If earlier, at 4-5 months, it was still possible to put him in the middle of the bed and walk away for a couple of minutes, now you need to keep an eye on the little one - he is rapidly improving his motor skills. Today he still couldn’t move, and tomorrow he crawled onto the edge of the bed and almost fell.
Attempts to crawl most often begin with sliding along the floor on the stomach in the backward direction, the child pushes off the floor with his hands and moves back as far as his hands can reach.
The fingers are becoming more and more obedient, and it is already possible to pick up cubes and transfer them from one hand to another.
Neuropsychic indicators of a child at 6 months:
- carefully examines surrounding objects and people;
- turns towards sound, voice;
- reacts to his name;
- learns to eat from a spoon, removes food with lips;
- begins to speak: babbles, pronounces individual syllables.
Now, if a stranger, a stranger, takes the baby in his arms, most often the baby expresses his dissatisfaction quite clearly - he begins to whine and asks to be held back in his mother’s arms. It is at this age that the baby requires close attention and tries not to let his parents get away from him.
Often at this time the first baby teeth appear, which means it’s time to introduce complementary foods. You should start with microscopic portions - a sixth of a teaspoon of fruit puree or milk porridge. When teething, all toys are pulled into the mouth, so it is better to remove all soft, fragile toys from the baby’s reach. Leave them rubberized, durable and impossible to bite through.
