Sitting position of the newborn: when it begins and what attention to pay
The first year of life is a year full of milestones to reach, including the newborn's sitting position.
In this article I will explain when your child should start sitting up on his own and what precautions to take to avoid forcing this moment.
What is meant by infant motor development?
Motor development refers to the process by which the child improves his muscle tone and coordination to reach the various motor milestones of the first year.
In fact, motor development begins in the first weeks and proceeds with the acquisition of gross motor and fine motor skills.
I recommend you read the dedicated article to learn more: “ Motor development: how to encourage it in newborns? ”.
Pre-session motor skill development
To fully understand the transition to sitting, it is essential to examine themotor developmental milestones that precede it. These milestones include:
lift your head and then your torso (gradually getting better),
roll,
rotate on themselves,
to crawl,
crawl.
Very often, these stages and motor skills overlap (just think of children who, at the same time, crawl and shuffle).
Furthermore, not all children reach all motor milestones in a predetermined manner: some children reach them very late or skip some completely.
The important thing, however, is to encourage this development by offering the right activities to the newborn as I explain in detail in the video course “ From Zero to Hero ”.
When does he learn to sit alone?
One of the milestones of the first year of life is reaching an independent sitting position .
But when does it happen?
Unfortunately, in the past there was a tendency to force the child to sit up at around 3-5 months by placing cushions to support him because it was a source of pride.
Today, thanks to greater information and awareness on the part of parents, this trend has greatly diminished.
In fact, it is important to allow the child to independently reach the variousstages , including the sitting position.
As noted by renowned pediatrician Emmi Pikler, doing this has two important benefits:
- It promotes correct postural development : forcing the child to sit causes stiffening of the spine;
- It promotes child safety : reaching motor milestones on their own allows the child to acquire greater confidence and autonomy.
From my experience as a Pediatric Osteopath in accompanying many children in their developmental path I can absolutely confirm all of this.
A well-developed baby should be able to sit up and stand around 7-9 months.
How to promote sitting
The only help you can give your child to acquire the sitting position is to encourage his motor and postural development with the correct activities.
The most important one from the first weeks is Tummy Time . In fact, the prone position allows the newborn to improve his muscle tone to be able to reach the main motor stages.
In fact, if you position the newborn sitting up with supports to prevent him from falling, you will make him love that position and you will have a hard time getting him to do Tummy Time again, slowing down the entire motor process.
From the prone position, the baby will be able to pivot (turn around himself), crawl and crawl. It is after this last phase or at the same time that the baby will be able to sit up with his own strength.
Sitting position of the newborn during self-weaning
But how can I get him to eat if I don't have to force him to sit down?
This question is correct because the baby begins weaning, self-weaning or, even better, complementary feeding on demand at around 6 months of age and we have said that during this period he still does not know how to sit up.
In fact, to start self-weaning it is not necessary for the baby to be able to sit up alone , but to be able to keep his back straight to start digestion correctly. The muscle tone of the newborn at 6 months ensures this ability.
The muscle tone that babies have at about six months is almost always sufficient to start complementary feeding and keep the baby sitting in the high chair for those 20-30 convivial minutes of mealtime. However, apart from mealtime, I do not recommend positioning the baby in a sitting position for a long time during the day.
Do not force the newborn to sit up
At six months, the child has difficulty sitting without support and, if we place him sitting alone on the mat, he tends to arch his back strongly forward or fall sideways.
Let's say we are about 70% in the development of her ability to sit independently. It is certainly not complete yet and we absolutely must not force her.
In fact, sitting requires little effort and little muscle activation because the child remains still.
In addition to meals, sitting can be used as a short break during the day, perhaps to read a story together with the child.
Consequences of overusing the sitting position
Forcing the sitting position risks compromising the correct postural development of the newborn . In fact, the little one who is not ready for this stage can end up developing some problems:
Limited development of muscle tone in the arms, torso, legs and coordination.
Stiffening of the spine : the baby will tend to lean forward and hunch his back;
Slowing or impediment of some motor stages : a child who is left in a sitting position for a long time tends to skip the crawling and creeping stages.