Is it possible to sit a child at 4 months - when is the child ready to sit?

All caring parents want their baby to develop correctly and learn new skills in a timely manner.

Not all young mothers understand what it means to sit down a child and whether it is necessary to do it. This procedure must be carried out competently, in compliance with a number of rules.

Is it possible or not?

When asked by parents whether it is possible to sit a baby at 4 months, pediatricians categorically answer no. Some mothers begin to sit their children down as early as 3-4 months, despite doctors’ prohibitions.

There is a difference between the concepts of planting and planting.

Sitting means allowing a child to sit independently in an upright position without the support of a parent.
To sit down - to seat a child, when he does not sit down on his own, in an upright position or at an angle, holding him by the hands or covering him with pillows.

Sitting a baby in an upright position at 4 months is strictly prohibited!

Even if his parents are holding his hands at this moment. A straight back position at this age creates excessive stress on the spine.

Some children are full of energy from birth and are constantly on the move. If a baby by the age of four months is able to pull himself up, holding onto the fingers of his mother or father, then his musculoskeletal system is already sufficiently prepared to cope with such a load.

You can do special exercises with your child to strengthen muscles, which will be described below. This will help the spine adapt to future loads and make the process of getting used to sitting on your own easier.

But under no circumstances should you leave your baby in a sitting position alone at four months!

Even if a 5-month-old baby tries to sit down on his own and succeeds, you should not leave him in a sitting position for more than 1 hour during the day. This applies to a child being in a baby carrier, car seat, playpen, while playing with parents, etc.

What are the dangers of premature sitting?

How can you tell if your baby is not ready to sit? If, when trying to sit him down, he begins to fall onto his side and his back noticeably rounds, it’s worth waiting. You should not cover your baby with pillows and blankets. Artificial support for a child's fragile back will result in scoliosis and deformities of the pelvic bones.

“Orthopedists are confident that the longer the baby maintains a horizontal position, the healthier the spine will be.”

It is useful for the baby to lie on a hard surface for most of his waking time, where he can practice turning over, rise on his hands, stand on all fours and crawl. By forcing parents to sit down, they harm the child’s body and “exclude” him from motor development.

In addition, when a child cannot sit independently, pediatricians do not recommend:

carry him in a stroller if the backrest angle does not drop to 45 degrees;

use a kangaroo-type device for carrying;

sit the baby on your lap;
Be careful with muscle strengthening exercises for up to 1-2 months.

Why can't you start a baby at 4 months?

Some parents strive to quickly teach their baby new ways of moving and show the poses in which his body can be.

They begin to sit the child down at four months, even when he himself is not yet ready for such loads.

Some cover the child with pillows or look for other support for the back, giving him a vertical position, others pull the baby up themselves, holding his hands from a lying position, the most desperate ones put the child in a stroller and walk with him in this way for a long time.

It is important to remember that placing a child at the age of four months is dangerous, as this can lead to serious health problems for a tiny organism that is not prepared for such stress.

The baby’s spine at this age is not yet strong enough. The high load that occurs when fixing a baby in a sitting position can lead to problems with the spine that will be difficult to correct in the future (scoliosis, lordosis, osteochondrosis, curvature).
Due to the fact that the muscles surrounding and supporting the spinal column from compression are still poorly developed, internal organs may suffer from compression. As a result, serious problems with the respiratory and cardiovascular systems are very likely to occur.
It is dangerous to plant girls too early, as the pelvic bones may be damaged. As an adult, a girl who was imprisoned at such an early age is likely to experience severe pain during menstruation, and her pregnancy and childbirth are likely to be complicated.

At what age can a child be seated?

Doctors recommend starting to sit children at 6 months of age. At this age, the baby’s skeleton already contains a decent amount of calcium and is quite strong; the back muscles, chest and abdominal muscles are usually quite developed.

Six months after birth, the child:

the grasping reflex is well formed;
it can roll over;
moves arms and legs;
navigates in space;
feels his body and its position quite well.

Usually by this age the baby is already trying to lift his body and bring his body into an upright sitting position.

Attempting to do this does not cause him any inconvenience or pain. He likes to play while sitting and observe the world around him, using a new body position from which he can see everything much better.

However, you should not start sitting your baby before 6 months if he is quite calm and does not like to move too much.

You can try to sit up the most active babies after 5 months, if they themselves are ready to change their body position to a vertical one and try to sit up on their own. In this case, you can sit the child down for a few minutes. In this case, at first it is better to support the baby under the back, gradually increasing the time spent in the new position. Later, you can let him try to hold his back on his own.

Most children sit confidently on a curved surface (in a chaise longue, car seat, on their parents' laps) for about six months. There are times when babies themselves try to take a sitting position while on the listed surfaces, but there is no need to rush.

The child sits independently

You can often hear that boys can be imprisoned earlier than girls. However, doctors recommend looking at how the baby develops, as well as the physical characteristics of his body. If a small man moves little from birth, does not like it when his position is changed, turned over in the crib, and is slow, then attempts to help with sitting down should be left until the child is 6 months old. Active children who have a craving for revolutions can be placed at 5 months.

The same applies to boys with different body types. Slender babies can begin to be helped to sit down, holding their parents' hands, as early as 5 months. But for plump people it is better not to sit down before six months, since a large body weight puts more pressure on the spine and easily deforms it. To prepare for sitting down, my son needs help strengthening his muscle frame. Gymnastics, swimming and massage can help with this.

There is an opinion that it is better to imprison girls later than boys. With normal development, at 6 months the little princess is already able to sit with the help of her parents, and at 7 months she can already hold her back upright. Don’t worry if the baby still doesn’t try to sit up at six months; fluctuations of 1-1.5 months are normal.

If a girl tries to sit up on her own at 4-5 months, you can sit her on her knees, where her tailbone will not rest against a hard surface and her back will be fixed. You can sit in this way for just a few seconds. If you let your baby sit for a long time, this can lead to deformation of the pelvic bones, so there is no need to rush when it comes to your daughter’s health.

Development of the skeletal and muscular system

Strengthening the skeletal system of the baby contributes to the development of the muscle corset. With normal development at 3-4 months, the baby can already hold his head in any position for a long time, roll over in the crib, and grab objects.

The baby sits confidently

By 6 months, the child can usually hold a toy and transfer it from one hand to another, and by this time attempts to sit down appear. It is easy for observant parents to notice when this process begins.

When the baby lies on his back, he tries to raise his head to look at the world around him. Let him grab your fingers at this moment - he will immediately sit down. This means that the baby’s muscular frame is already strong enough and ready for such loads.

To understand the readiness to sit down and ensure the safety of this process, you need to prepare the child for it.

From two months onwards, you can let the baby grab onto the parent’s fingers and let him lift himself up, holding on to them. Use a small incline at first and gradually increase it. This pull-up will strengthen the muscles and bones, preparing the child for sitting.
It’s good to do dynamic gymnastics with your baby, bending in different directions, bending arms and legs, turns and flips.
A special massage for babies will help tone the muscles.
Starting from three months, you can place the baby half-sitting during feeding; for this, special highchairs, deck chairs, infant carriers, etc. are usually used.
Swimming is a very good way to prepare for sitting, as it perfectly develops the skeleton and muscles. In water, the load on the spine is minimal, which eliminates the negative consequences that may arise when repeating exercises on land.

How to help your baby sit up on his own.

In the first few months, children spend a lot of effort to master the basic skills that correspond to each stage of development. Trying to sit a baby down on purpose can harm the baby. But it is still possible to help his muscles get stronger and train children’s coordination and spatial orientation. No matter how many months a small child begins to sit, you can begin to help his muscles strengthen and develop from the first days of life.

Massage. A great way to help normalize the condition of your baby’s muscles. Due to the gradual development, some muscle groups of the newborn are in strong tone, while others, on the contrary, are in hypotonicity.
Gymnastics. From about 3 months of age, pediatricians can prescribe therapeutic exercises.
By five months, babies can be gently helped to roll over onto their back from a prone position. Toys and rattles perfectly stimulate children's interest in this.
Balance training. The following exercise will help you maintain balance and learn to feel your body in space: take the child on your knees, half-sitting, and offer him both your hands, palms up. Intuitively, the baby will begin to rest his hands on your hands.
Give your baby your index fingers so he can grab them. Help your baby rise a little so that his head and back form one straight line. So it should “hang” for several seconds.

Exercise “swimmer” or “airplane”. Raise the child, who is lying on his stomach, holding him under the chest with one hand, and with the other, fix his legs so that he rests them on your stomach. In this position, the child will work absolutely all the back muscles.

All babies need time to learn a new skill as they develop. If you have doubts or concerns about your baby’s condition, be sure to seek advice from a specialist.

Optimal conditions for learning to sit

The process of learning to sit should be as natural as possible. If the child, when he tries to sit down, is constantly surrounded by pillows, is held by his parents, or is immediately placed in a chaise longue or walker, this will lengthen and complicate the process of the baby independently learning to sit down.

The baby himself must learn to navigate in space, maintain balance and control his body.

Baby learns to sit

The child's first attempts to sit down often end in a fall; he falls on his side, grabs nearby objects, and leans on his hands.

If parents want their child to sit down earlier and for his body to adapt to the new position as efficiently as possible, they should not interfere with this process.

The main thing is to ensure the safety of the surrounding area in which the child makes his first attempts to sit.

There should be no objects around him that he could hit and injure himself on. By collapsing and falling, the child accumulates experience, thanks to which in the future his attempts to sit up become more and more successful.

You also need to sit correctly

Depending on how the baby’s body parts are located while sitting, it is clear how ready the baby is for this skill:

the head is slightly tilted forward;
the neck is straightened;
the upper parts of the spine are relaxed;
the arms rest and are positioned in front of the baby;
lumbar spine flexed;
the legs are spread apart and turned outward, the emphasis is on the lateral surface.

Otherwise, the child will get tired quickly.

When there is hypertonicity of the hip extensors or leg flexors, children rest on the gluteal muscles, placing their heels on the floor. This situation is incorrect.