9 months: features of child development. Crawling and sitting

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How to teach a child to sit independently is a question that every parent faces. In this article we will tell you how to understand that your baby is physically ready for this, and we will also offer interesting and effective exercises for training the muscles necessary in the process of sitting down. We will look at common mistakes parents make during the learning process and tell you how to avoid them.

It is important to remember that if you try to teach a child to sit before his back is stronger, this will put a lot of stress on the body and can develop into serious health problems in the future. This will scare the pediatrician, but in this article we take it as a constant that the back is already stronger, and the baby is ready for a new exciting stage in his development.

Forming the ability of a baby to sit up, and even more so to crawl and walk without the help of an adult, is a painstaking and energy-consuming process that requires patience from parents. Simple algorithms are not yet available to a child; he masters them for the first time and does it gradually.

How can you tell when your baby is ready to sit?

Child development is a purely individual concept; it depends on many different factors. Therefore, there is no common moment for all children when they are ready to sit down on their own.

Children gradually come to this skill, going through the following stages:

5-6 months:

At the age of 5-6 months, the baby can sit up, independently grasping the crib rails or with the help of parents. Most often, the child will sit with support on his arms, one or both. When he tries to get into a sitting position, you can let him grab your fingers and very slowly and carefully sit up. The purpose of this procedure is training, and the duration should not exceed 1-2 minutes.

7 months:

At the age of 7 months, the baby sits more confidently, gradually removing support from his arms. You can begin to teach him to sit down from a lying position, briefly assuming a vertical back position.

8 months:

By eight months, the baby is usually ready to demonstrate to the parent the ability to sit up from any position. Despite the increasing mobility, you should not let your baby sit for more than an hour, since this process still puts a lot of stress on the spine.

In order for your baby to sit safely, his muscles must be ready for the load. This is easy to determine even for an inexperienced parent:

• the child can keep his head and shoulders raised for more than a couple of minutes (for example, when he leans on his outstretched arms while lying on his stomach);
• lying on his back, the baby can raise his head and shoulders;
• The child easily spins in different directions, turns over independently and leans on his elbow.

Pay attention to the baby's posture: correct body position will minimize the load and the baby will get less tired. Ideally, the baby's head is slightly tilted, the upper part of the spine is extended, the arms are between the widely spaced legs, and support is given to them. The lower back is bent, the hip joints are bent and slightly tilted forward, and the legs are turned outward, resting on the lateral surface of the legs.

Age norms - when does a child begin to crawl and sit?

The timeframe recommended by scientists and doctors for when a child should start crawling is average. The development of motor activity is influenced by many factors that slow it down or speed it up. Some babies are ready to crawl already at 5 months, while other “sloths” do not want to do this even at 7 months. Delayed development of crawling skills is facilitated by heredity and anomalies of intrauterine development, oddly enough, by the parents themselves and society.

Today, the industry produces many devices to help a child learn to walk - playpens, walkers. Young mothers boast that their child started walking right away, “skipping” the crawling stage. The disruption of the development of crawling was also facilitated by the fact that at the end of the twentieth century. Doctors recommended placing the baby on its back to sleep to prevent sudden infant death syndrome. Mortality decreased by 50%, but babies began to crawl later and sit down and stand up independently. After all, it is from the position on the stomach that the child makes the movements necessary for crawling.

According to age development standards, children in:

• 5 months - lying on their stomach, leaning on their hands and holding this position for a long time, actively turning over in the crib, reacting to a voice or movement;
• 6 months – independently rolls over from stomach to back, begins to crawl, learns to sit up;
• 7 months – sits independently, leaning on his hands, crawls on his stomach, tries to get on all fours, quickly rolls over from his stomach to his back and back;
• 8 months – increasingly gets on all fours, crawls quickly, leaning on his arms and legs;
• 9 months – crawls quickly and confidently, manages to grab something along the way, begins to stand up, move around the perimeter of the crib, holding onto a support.

Crawling is a very important skill for a child. If a baby at 6 months does not want to sit down on his own, then you should not force him, but crawling should be encouraged in every possible way. The child does not know the standards; if there are no serious deviations in health, then he himself will start crawling when he wants to.

Doctors at the Manual Medicine Clinic “Galia Ignatieva MD” claim that if a baby at 6,7,8 months does not want to sit and crawl, then parents need to wait, but at the same time train and strengthen the muscles, harden, stimulate the baby’s interest, and perform special exercises. The main thing is to do this without fanaticism, otherwise you can get a backlash from the stubborn little one.

The main mistakes parents make during the learning process

Your baby is just learning to sit on his own, and it is important for parents to help him in this difficult task. Don't make classic mistakes!

Avoid strollers that have a straight back. Pediatricians recommend walking in a lying or half-raised position.

Also, you should not carry your child in carriers in which he will be in an upright position. There is no need to sit your baby on your lap if he is not yet sitting on his own!

In general, doctors recommend not starting sitting before six months of age. The better the body gets stronger, the safer the period will pass during which the child begins to sit up independently.

And some general rules: to prevent postural distortion in the future, do not forget that the baby’s bed should not be too soft, and in the first months of life it is better to avoid pillows; physical activity should be given in moderation; The baby should sit only on a special children's chair, the height of which will correspond to the table.

Physical skills of a seven month old baby

At seven months of age, children can:

1. Sit and crawl. Some babies sit on their own, while others need support. Babies also crawl in different ways. Many children move on all fours or crawl, lying on their stomachs, or backing away.
2. Hold various objects in your hands, taste them, throw them, close them, open them.
3. Bring the spoon to your mouth and drink from the cup.
4. Stand, begin to take the first steps, leaning on a solid object. Stand up, reaching for the fingers of adults.
5. Recognize adult speech. At the request of their parents, children show individual parts of the body and familiar objects. They pronounce many new syllables meaningfully.

Important! The ligaments and muscles of babies are at the stage of formation, it is necessary to ensure the most careful attitude towards the baby’s body. If a child does not sit down at 7 months, forced sitting can lead to curvature of the spine and impaired development of the pelvic bones. The baby, who is not ready for the load, does not support his back, breathing problems and chest deformation are observed.

Exercises to teach your baby to sit

Do you feel like your baby is about to sit up? Help him gently strengthen his muscles. Do a light exercise: the baby lies on his stomach, and you hold him with one hand under the chest and with the other - by the legs. Make sure that his back is constantly tense. You should hold your baby in this position for about thirty seconds. A good idea would be to hang a couple of rings over the crib. The baby will try to grab onto them and sit down, pulling his body in his arms. Keep these games under control!

Conduct exercises with your baby on a fitball. They come in different types and sizes, and for practicing with a baby, a smooth ball with a diameter of no more than 65-70 cm is better suited. It will be more convenient to practice on such a ball, especially if you have not encountered exercises on a fitball before. Later, when the baby grows up, the selected diameter of the ball will remain comfortable.

When does a child learn to sit on his own?

Gymnastics for a 4 month old baby

Based on innate and hereditary skills, children independently assume a vertical position at 4.5 months or refuse to sit until they are one year old. Girls usually sit down earlier than boys. Active and slender children cope faster than their plump peers, but there are exceptions.

Norm

According to standards, children begin to sit or stand up by 10 months. It is worth seeking medical help if the baby does not roll over from stomach to back or does not show a desire to sit up by nine months. If children at 3-4 months persistently take a sitting position, you should not support this decision. The baby's spine is not strong; a vertical position at an early age will cause harm. It is better to place the baby in a cradle-chaise longue - the “reclining” position will increase visibility without harming the spine.

The baby moves independently

Signs that your baby is ready to sit down

The following indicators indicate the readiness of the child’s body for stress:

• the baby raises his head on his own – the neck muscles have become sufficiently strong;
• lying on his stomach, the baby is held in his arms - the chest becomes stronger;
• rises, lying on his back, if the parent offers his hands, pulls himself up - an indicator of strong abdominal muscles.

An additional factor confirming the child’s readiness to sit in the seventh month is reluctance to lie down. Half-sitting, the baby becomes quiet, is actively interested in the surrounding environment, and when trying to put the baby in a crib or stroller, whims and loud protests begin. Several similar cases indicate the need to move on to the next stage of development.

Why doesn't a baby sit at 7 months?

What can cause diarrhea in a baby?

If by the age of seven months the baby has not learned to tuck his legs independently or attempt to sit up with support, the prognosis may be disappointing. Delayed development of children is not uncommon, and the situation is influenced by various factors.

If a child does not sit, deviations are caused by a number of reasons:

• difficult pregnancy (toxicosis, threatened miscarriage, Rh conflict, intrauterine infections, fetal hypoxia, anemia, prematurity);
• rapid or induced labor, using forceps, birth injuries to the child;
• pathologies of the baby (weak muscle corset, genetic disorders: Down syndrome, impaired central nervous system, rickets, hip dysplasia, muscular dystrophy, obesity).

Diseases interfere with the proper development of muscle and bone mass and disrupt physical development. Lack of sitting skills provokes more serious developmental delays. Sometimes the cause cannot be determined by doctors. For example, a 7-month-old child does not sit independently due to hidden psychological trauma received in a fall, accompanied by severe fright. Fear prevents the desire to sit down. Parents should be patient and seek advice from a pediatric neurologist.

We solve the problem comprehensively

Doesn't your 7 month old baby sit? No problem. A warm bath prepares the muscles very well. Fill the bath with warm water, there should be enough of it so that the baby can freely kick his feet in the water. Do not forget the safety precautions: the child must have a safety ring around his neck, and your attention is entirely focused on the baby. Active movements of the legs and arms in the water are a good exercise for the muscles.

A massage warms up the muscles well. When performing it, do not touch the spine under any circumstances; only the longitudinal muscles can be massaged. You need to start and end it with a soothing stroke.

The massage consists of circular and vibrating movements, as well as rubbing. For the muscles of the arms and legs, this is flexion and extension; for the back, lifting from a lying position on the tummy or on the back. Each exercise is done 3 to 5 times. If you regularly massage a 7-month-old child, “he’s not sitting”, which you plaintively uttered to doctors and friends, will no longer come out of your mouth.

Place the baby on his back, take his legs in your hands and smoothly begin to alternately raise and lower his right and left legs. Make sure that they do not bend at the knees and form a right angle with the body. Repeat five times. Hold the child’s feet with your right hand, fix them, place your left hand behind the baby’s lower back and slightly lift his back. The child should bend over, focusing on his feet and head. Repeat no more than three times. Relax your abdominal muscles with circular massage movements in a clockwise direction. Place your baby on it, wrap your hands around his calf muscles and encourage him to roll over from his tummy to his back, and then vice versa. Repeat no more than four times.

Relax your back muscles with massaging movements. Turn the baby over onto it, hold him by the hands and carefully lift him, bringing him to a sitting position, and then carefully to a lying position. This exercise is repeated up to five times.

From a sitting position, spread your child's arms to the sides and bring them together in front of him. Repeat eight times. For a sitting baby, lift your arms up and gently lower them down to their original position. As with the previous exercise, repeat eight times.

Invite a sitting child to reach for a toy that can be raised just above his head. Do this exercise at least six times. You can move the same toy to the side, trying to get the child to take it in his hand, while turning to the right and left alternately. Repeat the exercise four times.