Baby milestones - sitting

It might look effortless, but sitting comfortably takes a lot of practice.  It’s a fine balance of strength and skill that comes together as your baby begins to win control over their body.

Every baby is different, but many begin to sit with support by around five months, once they can hold their head up and keep their back straight.

They’ll rely on their hands for a while as they prop themselves up in a ‘tripod’ position, but most babies can sit unsupported somewhere between six and eight months.

Minor setbacks are inevitable, so be careful with hard surfaces – all too often babies think they’ve ‘got it’ before they’ve perfected the art, and reach for a toy only to topple over onto one side.

You can help your baby learn by:

  • Propping them up with cushions to encourage strength and balance.  Not for too long though as you don’t want to put too much pressure on their spine.
  • Give them ‘tummy time’ each day, to help them build strength as they learn to lift their head.
  • Make sure they have a soft landing for the inevitable nosedives.

More milestones

Rolling

Crawling

 

Comments

Submitted by lesleykane18 on Tue, 31/01/2012 - 10:47.
my baby boy is 5 months and is almost sitting up his self but he would rather stand obv supported is this okay ?xx
Submitted by Mimiandme on Tue, 01/11/2011 - 22:23.
Bit concerned from some posts regarding tummy time... The paediatrician at our local chiropractor college ( bubba went there for clicky shoulders) informed us that at 4 months babe should be doing 80 mins tummy time per day to build strength and avoid much later development issues. I had never done too much as bubba dint like it. Since being told ( at about 3 months ) we have persisted. 1st using a rolled up towel under chest and the results have been amazing... So much stronger and controlled. The 80 mins does include laying on your chest etc too...I wish my HV had told me about the importance of tummy time!! Have since found various articles on line. Now we are sitting almost, pushing up and rolling. She loves tummy time and sitting in her Bumbo ;-) I wish there wasn't so much conflicting or mis-information for us poor mums!! Lol
Submitted by Dizzypony on Tue, 18/10/2011 - 08:51.
My baby boy is 5 months old, very established in rolling over both ways and can hold his head up unsupported but no sign of sitting up unaided yet?? Is there anything I should be doing to try and encourage this? Thanks xx
Submitted by poole11 on Wed, 12/10/2011 - 15:35.
my baby boy is 18 weeks and is just getting used to tummy time as he gets frustrated after a while. he goes nursery and the staff have told me tht he has started to roll onto his stomach, ive only ever seeen him do it once. He does sit up,, only when hes leaning on myself or his dad. He loves sitting down in his walker and playing with his toys
Submitted by picacho on Tue, 11/10/2011 - 19:46.
My lo is 16 weeks & 3 days old and sits uo with the support of cushions or myself sitting behind him. He has been rolling over from his back onto his belly for about 3 weeks now we have done tummy time with him since he was 1 week old so he has really good neck support. However He is more Intrested In trying to stand up so won't really sit up if u try and pull him into a sitting posision he always manages to get on his feet I'm worried that he will miss out the crawling stage is this normal progress for a baby of his age.
Submitted by Friell on Thu, 22/09/2011 - 09:47.
My little one is 16wk he cant sit unaided as yet but lives sitting in his Snug and playing with toys and watching what mummy & daddy are doing.
Submitted by JenFALKNER on Thu, 22/09/2011 - 08:20.
My baby is sitting up and is 8 weeks old. Should I encourage this or try to get him to slow down
Submitted by DoubleHMommytoBe on Wed, 10/08/2011 - 09:00.
My lo is 19wks tomorrow. We try tummy time but he gets tired and frustrated. He holds his head up all the time and likes sitting up supported by us. Only times he's rolled over have been in his cot at night and he gets frustrated and cries as he can't roll back :(
Submitted by Dusta78 on Wed, 10/08/2011 - 08:15.
my little girl has been sitting up unaided from about 19 weeks but has never had tummy time (she gets too frustrated) Of course I'm happy she's sitting but now worry she's going to miss out the crawling stage because she's sitting! You always find something to worry about whe it comes to their development....
Submitted by amy188 on Wed, 27/07/2011 - 06:03.
My little girl is nearly 19 weeks, loves sitting up and looking around, not to sure of tummy time but we still have a try. Were trying to roll over but she gets on her side and then gives up and either stay on it or goes back on her back. She's started to try and copy other as well, like if I bang on the try of her bimbo she'll try to as well.
 

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