At what point can a baby be placed on his butt? How and when to sit down boys

Your baby is growing by leaps and bounds. It often happens that new parents themselves strive to speed up the development process of their beloved child, but this must be done wisely. Many tasks require detailed study and careful approach. “When can I sit my baby down?” - one of the most popular and controversial issues in the process of natural physical development of a baby.

First of all, it should be noted that you should not force a child to sit down. When his body is mentally and physically ready for such a process, he will want to rise on his own. For girls, these events are generally strictly contraindicated. "When can a boy be imprisoned?" - you ask.

Doctors believe that it is absolutely not worth doing this until five to six months. This is due to possible serious consequences for the child’s fragile body. Most often, such early development can lead to curvature of the spine. By the way, parents should know that this problem does not appear immediately, but only after a couple of years. Among other things, kids very quickly get used to everything new and surprising. After sitting your child down a couple of times, you will quickly see that he will cry and hysterically demand repetition.

There are many opinions on the issue of when a boy can be imprisoned. The optimal situation is when the child begins to sit up on his own. This can happen at nine months, or even closer to a year. You shouldn’t worry or think that your beloved child is delayed in development, because every baby is individual. You can help your child get stronger faster and start sitting by doing regular gymnastic exercises or going to the pool. In any case, young parents need to be aware that the baby’s development is determined genetically.

In Soviet times, our parents answered the question: “When can a boy be imprisoned?” - they answered simply: “The sooner, the better!” It was believed that in this way the child develops faster, since he sees the world around him more fully than from a lying position.

In reality, everything is completely different. the child coincides with the mental and psychological state. Not every baby at three or four months is ready to perceive huge amounts of new information. Thus, new events and the inability to independently master the world around you can lead to an “identity crisis” for your son.

Today the question is quite relevant: “At what age do boys start to be placed in a special carrier, a kangaroo?” This can be done a little earlier, due to the fact that the child’s spine will be tightly fixed with a special hard back. This device will perfectly allow the baby to actively get acquainted with the outside world without harm to health.

You shouldn’t ask yourself the question of when you can imprison your boy ahead of schedule. Be wise and patient. Love your child and know that each baby is individual, you should not compare him with others and try to deceive nature. Sooner or later, your baby will delight you both by sitting up on his own and by walking or talking.

As soon as a newborn child begins to do at least something on his own, mothers rush to boast to each other of his achievements, sometimes engaging in a meaningless competition called “who is first.” One of the main indicators of child development, in their opinion, is the age when the baby begins to sit. The vast majority of mothers themselves sit their child down as soon as he tries to do this. We will tell mothers in our article what the dangers of early sitting down of boys are, and from what time this can be done.

When can I sit my baby down?

The transformation of an infant into an adult occurs in stages and no one stage can be ahead of the other. The physiological development of the average child allows him to begin sitting at six months. It is not recommended to do this earlier due to the heavy load on the spine. Infants under 6 months should not be seated:

in the pillows,
on the parents' laps,
in a stroller
in car seats,
in walkers/jumpers,
in a kangaroo backpack.

Sitting down early risks curvature of the spine, deformation of the chest and pelvic bones. All this can affect the functioning of internal organs. Girls may develop abnormalities in the genital organs in the future.

What time can boys be seated?

It is generally accepted that boys can be imprisoned much earlier than girls. But the time when a boy can be seated is influenced not so much by gender as by the baby’s readiness. It is determined by the following factors:

Physical development and activity of the child. You can briefly sit the baby down, who confidently raises his head, rolls over onto his stomach and back, and tries to pull himself up and sit down.
Temperament. Phlegmatic children begin to sit up, crawl and walk later than their peers.
Body type. Thinner children sit earlier. In plump babies, the load on the spine is greater and it is more difficult for them to sit.

This means that thin, active, mobile babies can start sitting at 5 months. Physically undeveloped, phlegmatic fatties - at 7, 8 or 9. There are many options between these extremes. Children born prematurely are seated later.

Doctor speaking! Dr. Komarovsky believes that sitting is not beneficial for a small child at all. The later the vertical load on the spinal column begins, the stronger it will be in the future. The time when the baby will be able to sit varies, he will sit when he is ready. Mom and Dad's job is not to help.

How to sit a boy down correctly

The best answer to the question - when do they start to sit a boy down - can be answered by parents who do physical exercises with their child. At any age, a muscle corset becomes a good protection and support for the spine. You need to help your baby develop it by doing gymnastics:

Lift the baby by the arms from a lying position,
Do bends with it
“Fly” when one adult’s hand holds the child under the tummy, the second - under the shins,
Turn onto your stomach and back, holding your legs,
Roll on a fitball or just a large ball on your back and tummy,
Hold your armpits so that your baby can move his legs,
Encourage crawling in every possible way.

Ideally, a child should first learn to crawl, and then begin to sit up. Most often, children are seated as soon as they try to sit up on their own. Pediatricians also do not advise rushing because the baby may get scared and not want to sit down. The first times they sit down only for a few minutes. The best place for this is mom’s soft knees. By sitting your child close to you, you can create additional support for the armpits and ease the load on the spine. You also need to make sure that the back is level. Covering ourselves with pillows, which our grandmothers love, is considered harmful, since the baby cannot change position when he gets bored or tired.

The child spends some time after birth exclusively in a horizontal position, which is most favorable for its proper development. Around the middle of the first year of life, most babies become more active and strive to explore the world, trying to grab their mother's hands or crib rails and sit down. Many parents stop these attempts for fear of harming the health of the baby, especially if it is a girl. The question of sitting down male babies often remains open. At what months can boys be placed without causing harm to their health? Let's try to figure it out.

Stages of spine formation

The newborn's spine is a straight line. Natural curves characteristic of the posture of an adult are formed in several stages:

At 3-4 months, when the child begins to hold his head in a position lying on his stomach, cervical lordosis appears - a physiological forward bending of several upper vertebrae.
By six months, as a result of gaining the ability to sit, thoracic kyphosis is formed: the middle part of the spine gradually bends backward under the influence of gravity.
At about 9-10 months, when the baby learns to stand on its feet and takes its first steps, lumbar lordosis forms.

However, the age of the baby is not the determining factor for achieving certain skills: each organism is unique and can change at its own pace. Therefore, experts do not give an exact answer as to how many months boys can be started. Most orthopedists recommend adhering to generally accepted standards of physical development, adjusted for the characteristics of a particular child, his health, physique and temperament.

The boy is ready to sit down

How to determine a baby’s physiological readiness for a new skill? You can start sitting a boy down without fear if he:

knows how to easily roll over from back to stomach and back;
holds his head well and raises his upper chest when lying on his stomach;
willingly crawls on all fours, reaches for toys;
Grasping the adult’s fingers, he pulls himself up with his arms and tries to sit on his butt on his own.

A healthy and active child who is not overweight usually makes his first attempts at mastering a new skill by six months. Phlegmatic large boys most often begin to sit a little later - at 7-8 months. You should not be persistent if the baby does not want to change position or is capricious. In this case, orthopedists recommend encouraging active crawling on all fours for as long as possible to strengthen the muscle corset.

How to sit your baby down correctly

Having found out when it is possible to sit down boys, let’s try to understand the question of how this should be done correctly. The ability to sit, like any other skill, must be developed gradually so that the baby’s spine has time to get used to the increasing load. During classes with a child it is prohibited:

use artificial support in the form of pillows, rolled blankets and other devices;
leave the baby in a sitting position for a long time;
putting the boy in a jumper, walker or swing;
Continue sitting down if the baby’s back bends too much back when changing position.

Physical exercises with a baby should be carried out when he is full, alert and in a good mood. You can sit your baby down in different ways:

On the lap of an adult in a reclining position, with the baby sitting facing you or leaning his back against his stomach.
Lying on your back on a hard surface (floor, crib, sofa, changing table). To do this, you need the baby to grab his mother’s thumbs with his hands. While lightly holding your son's wrists, you should carefully lift him by the arms and return him to his original position.
Some babies prefer to sit up on their own from a standing position on all fours, leaning on their outstretched arms and moving them along the floor. In this case, you need to lightly hold the baby by the back so that he does not fall on his side and hit himself.

The first sit-ups should be regular and short-term: no more than 15-30 seconds per approach. Gradually, the time the baby spends in the new position can be increased. To make it easier for a fragile spine to adapt to stress, it is recommended to install the back of the stroller, car seat and chaise lounge in which the baby is located at an angle of 45°. You can place a boy in any of the devices with a straight back, starting from 8-9 months, when he learns to sit well on his own.

The danger of sitting down early

Most parents want their child to learn to roll over, sit up and walk before others. However, you should not rush things, as early sitting down can cause serious complications, such as:

curvature of the pelvic bones and lower extremities;
spinal deformity;
diseases of the genitourinary system;
compression of internal organs, leading to disruption of their functioning.

The child begins to sit up independently when his spine and muscles are ready for this. But some kids are in such a hurry to explore the world that they strive to change their usual position long before the deadlines set by specialists. From how many months can boys start sitting down and should they prevent them from learning a new skill?

Most experts agree that the gradual adoption of a vertical body position should be carried out no earlier than 5 months. You should not force the baby to lie on his back or stomach; it is best to distract him with a bright toy or switch his attention in any other way. To prevent premature attempts to sit up, you do not need to help the baby and place him away from the sides of the crib or changing table, making it impossible for him to grab onto them.

What to do if the child does not want to sit down

If the child does not begin to sit up on time, it is necessary to contact a neurologist and orthopedist to rule out possible disorders. In the absence of diseases and developmental abnormalities, it is necessary to stimulate the baby’s physical activity using any of the following methods:

swimming;
carried on hands in a vertical position;
crawling on all fours;
physical exercises (flips, turns from side to side, “bicycle”, active swings of arms and legs with the help of an adult).

It should be remembered that premature and weak babies develop, on average, with a delay of 2-3 months compared to infants born on time. In this case, sitting down must begin later, paying attention to the proper development of the muscle corset and strengthening the spine.

Having taken their baby from the maternity hospital, parents surround their precious child with all the best and sincerely rejoice at every achievement, even the most trivial one at first glance. Young mothers who spend a lot of time not only with their beloved child, but also with other mothers and their little ones, cannot always wean themselves from the habit of comparing their own child with others.

Being one-on-one with her son or daughter, it is unlikely that a parent will be very worried about the fact that her child turned over a week or two later than expected, or, conversely, sat up a little earlier than is customary for children of a certain age . However, after listening to friends and “colleagues,” mothers often begin to push their child to take certain actions, ahead of natural development.

Stimulation of physiological processes is only good under the strict supervision of a pediatrician, because in many cases it is strictly prohibited. First of all, this concerns sitting; many people are perplexed: why can’t girls be seated until they are 6 months old? What’s wrong with that? The answer to this, as well as many other questions, can be read in the article.

Changing position

In order not to force particularly zealous readers to nervously scour in search of the necessary information, we will make a reservation right away: you can change the baby’s position from lying to sitting before she celebrates her first half-year, but only if she herself is ready for this.

When do girls sit down? There is a huge difference between sitting and sitting down. It’s one thing to cover a four-month-old baby with down pillows and sit her in this “nest”; it’s quite another thing to help the baby realize that she must learn to control her body.

The training process assumes that a specially trained person (patronage nurse, massage therapist, neurologist) or mother, after consulting a specialist, will engage in developmental gymnastics, health massage and special exercises that help children strengthen their skeletal and muscular systems. Mastering new skills, the child gradually learns to stand up on his arms, roll over, crawl, sit down, and then rise to his feet and walk. Each stage of this long path must go one after another; you cannot skip “steps” so as not to cause irreparable harm to a delicate and fragile body in a hurry.

Everything has its time

Why can’t girls be kept until 6 months and when can the baby be allowed to see the world from a different angle? The parents' desire to show their princess the whole world is quite understandable and justified. It’s simply difficult for them to understand everything that a little person will have to go through, because they have already gone through their path of growing up a long time ago and have forgotten what it was like.

However, children are designed in such a wonderful way that before young mothers and fathers have time to look back, their little one will be running away from them not only throughout the apartment, but all over the yard; they just need to give him the opportunity to get there on his own. After all, the problem of why girls cannot be imprisoned before 6 months is more likely to concern not the baby herself, but her parents.

At the moment when she is ready for this, both physically and psychologically, she will rise herself, without asking permission or advice. It is important for mom and dad to prepare her for this, but not to rush her. Theoretically, it is already possible to sit children at six months, but since everyone has their own pace of development, for some babies this can happen at five months, for others at seven months.

If you hurry, you'll hurt the girl.

There are many myths regarding why girls should not be imprisoned before 6 months. The most common theory is that in the case of early sitting down, the baby will certainly face related female problems in the future. Orthopedists and gynecologists refuted this legend a long time ago; medical science claims that this pathology does not depend on when the child began to sit down or when he sat down on his own. The bend can occur as a kind of congenital anomaly or be acquired, the cause of which is various kinds of infectious diseases.

But in fact, pediatricians tell you why you can’t start a child early, without secrets or circumstance. A fragile spine, which is not supported by a developed muscular corset, bends in a completely unnatural way as a result of irrational load. If a mother does not want her daughter’s back to be arched in the future, it is better not to rush into a sitting position.

Shall we sit?

Frightened by recommendations and warnings, parents often resist the natural course of events. That is, the situation looks exactly the opposite: the baby is not even six months old, she is already pulling herself up by the bars of the crib or the wall of the playpen and sits as straight as a post. Seeing such a picture, parents place the baby on their shoulder blades and try to keep them in this position with jokes and jokes, because they know that when they sit girls down at such a young age, this is fraught with health problems.

We hasten to reassure worried parents: if the child is ready to sit, he himself not only wants, but makes his desire come true, then so be it. Doctors recommend not putting too much strain on the little back and trying to change the girl’s position, but not by laying her down, but by stimulating her to crawl, stand on all fours, and then rock. All these exercises help strengthen the back and spine and contribute to the harmonious and smooth development of the body.

Physiology of a girl up to six months

In six months of her life, the little lady has come a long way. Immediately after being discharged from the hospital, she could only lie on the crib and move her arms and legs chaotically. With each passing month, the parents watched as their princess grew stronger, at first she improved and realized that she could control not only her parents, but also her own limbs.

By turning the baby onto his tummy, the mother changes the baby’s world; after just a few weeks, the girl can hold her head up for a few minutes and look at the world around her. It is quite natural that after another couple of weeks she wants to spin from one barrel to another, and then roll over onto her tummy and back onto her back, without waiting for mercy from her parents.

The older a girl gets, the more intense her development occurs. Girls at 6 months can almost always sit, they have learned to crawl on their bellies. They play with their favorite toys with pleasure, independently take them, put them down or throw them. Parents should encourage their baby to move in every possible way, play tricks by placing objects dear to her heart aside, then she will have an incentive to crawl and turn. In addition, the list of acceptable physical exercises is significantly expanded. You can add fitball exercises to swimming and developmental gymnastics.

Required skills

At this stage, parents often ask doctors: what should a girl be able to do at 6 months?

A child of six months is very active, in order to satisfy his thirst for knowledge, he must be able to turn his head and turn his whole body, sit, roll over, get on all fours, try to crawl, take objects with his hands and put them back.
Fine motor skills are developing, and you can help with this by letting your baby feel objects of different texture, temperature, strength and size. These can be educational toys bought in children's stores or made with their own hands; it really doesn't matter for kids what to play with, as long as there is variety.
Children at 6 months are quite developed intellectually and emotionally. They already know their surroundings, they know how to show grief, joy, anxiety, and delight. They develop gastronomic preferences and taste preferences.
The child can focus his eyes very well on moving objects and loves playing with a ball, a car, he likes toys that have something to pull and have rotating and moving elements.

So what?

Someone, after reading these lines, will be happy for their baby, someone may be alarmed. What if the baby does not know how to perform certain actions, is he really behind in development? It is not at all necessary - any lag or problems with the statokinetic, physical or psychological state of the babies is a question that must be confirmed or denied by the doctor.

If, in your opinion, the time has come when it’s time to sit the girls down, but your baby still doesn’t want to please her parents, you shouldn’t force her to sit down, it’s better to turn to specialists.

A pediatrician can identify primary problems and assess the degree of lag from certain standards in a comprehensive manner. It is important to take into account the presence of concomitant diseases, whether the child was born full-term, with normal weight and height, or whether they were insufficient, whether he had problems with muscle tone or other neurological symptoms.

If you forcefully try to sit the child down, and do this often and for a long time, problems with the baby’s back will not be avoided in the future. With a curvature of the spine, not only will the musculoskeletal system suffer (which in itself is very bad), but internal organs may also develop abnormally due to the displacement.

First steps: help or harm?

In the context of this problem, another question regarding such a device as walkers will be relevant: can they be used for girls or not? Definitely no, if the baby is not yet sitting on her own. And their further use is a matter of developing walking skills.

The manufacturers of this accessory claim that it does not cause any harm. A number of pediatricians also do not see a problem with using walkers. The other half of children's doctors, including pediatricians, physiotherapists, and orthopedists, argue that the mechanism for moving babies in walkers has nothing to do with normal walking. Often children do not want to learn to walk on their own, because to do this they need to learn how to place their feet correctly, maintain balance, and sometimes fall.

Of course, even those babies who run around in walkers for up to a year or longer will eventually say goodbye to this thing and walk on their own, the question is different: is it worth delaying this moment for the sake of short-term relief for parents?

Princess potty

Another great place that children use as a seat is the potty. Very often, young mothers are attacked with urgent recommendations by experienced grandmothers; with all their hearts, they advise to potty train their child as early as possible. When will this age come? Child psychologists unanimously claim that a child will finally and irrevocably understand why he needs this personal hygiene item after a year. Until this time, he can be introduced to the potty, starting with demonstrative plantings (but not earlier than 6 months), which will last literally a couple of minutes (no more than five!).

Due to the fact that it is impossible to sit on such a “throne” for a long time, pediatricians do not recommend purchasing a potty with built-in toys, music, steering wheel, buttons and other devices. A potty is not a developmental or entertainment complex, but just a vessel for relieving oneself.

The body of a newborn child develops intensively. Some processes go faster than expected.

But there is no need to rush things if the child’s development does not occur as it is written in encyclopedias.

Physiologically, the child needs a sitting position at the age of 6 months. He needs it to play, eat, and communicate with people around him.

If the time has come for the child, and he has not yet done this, then he is not yet ready for this and you cannot force him to sit down. Doing various exercises can only harm the body.

With normal development, by 6 months the child has sufficiently developed muscles that are needed for sitting, namely:

pectoral muscles
abdominal muscles
muscles of the spinal column

If the above muscles are sufficiently developed, then the sitting process will be natural and will not cause discomfort. At this age, the baby's back is straight and does not need to be supported.

At the age of six months, if the child does not sit, you can begin to help him. If he is only 4-5 months old, then this is not worth doing. This applies to both boys and girls.

If a child does not try to sit up independently after six months, then he needs to be shown to an observing pediatrician.

There is an opinion that a boy can be prepared for a sitting position a little earlier than, about a month. A boy can begin to sit as early as 6 months; it is advisable not to let a girl do this until 7 months.

If a child’s muscles have not yet strengthened, deformation of the joints of the spine may develop and at school age he may encounter problems such as:

scoliosis
lordosis
other spinal curvatures
curvature of the pelvis (for girls it is fraught with problematic childbirth in the future)

Pre-sitting factors

Before the child sits down, he should already be able to perform several

operations. The baby must have sufficiently formed bone and muscle tissue. Before sitting down, the child must be able to hold his head up confidently.

If a child tries to sit up at 5 months, then there is no need to interfere with him, it means his body is already ready. But you need to constantly be nearby and make sure that he doesn’t sit for too long.

It should be taken into account that the child will not sit up straight immediately. At first he will lean on the handles, he may fall on his side or on his back. This is a natural process. Gradually, the baby will become more confident, the muscles will get used to the new physical activity. There is no need to interfere with the child; he himself will feel what is best for him. There is no need to be afraid that he will get injured and cover him with pillows, keeping him in a sitting position.

To teach a child to sit, the teaching area must be safe and preferably uneven. You can specifically provide him with “uncomfortable” conditions so that he tries to roll over on his own and take a comfortable position.

How to teach a child to sit?

To make it easier for the child and help him cope with the new function faster, his muscle corset can be gradually prepared. Regular exercises and massages will help for this.

For a few minutes, from the age of 2 months, you can lift the baby so that he holds on to the parents’ fingers. The baby will tighten up a little and thus the muscle corset will become stronger. The exercise is performed with a gradual increase in load. At first, the angle of inclination of the body will be very small, gradually increasing.

Some exercises will help your child sit up faster:

The first pull-up exercise. The child lies on his back, the parent extends his hands to him, and the baby, in turn, grabs his thumbs. He will try to get as close to mom or dad as possible. You can help him stretch slightly. The arm muscles at this age are also not yet strong enough, so you only need to do the exercise a few times.
The next one is push-ups. The baby should be placed on a soft surface on his stomach. He will try to lift his chest off the surface, while leaning on his hands. This cannot be called full push-ups, but the back muscles will undoubtedly be strengthened.

After a short rest, you can perform another exercise that

There are special exercises to make your child more assiduous.

aimed at strengthening the muscles of the back and neck. The child is laid on a soft surface, his favorite things and toys are laid out around him. The baby will try to reach them, will reach for them, crawl, all muscle groups will be involved, which will be useful for sitting in the future. The exercise should be performed several times a day for 3 minutes, no more.

The child needs to remember the sitting position so that he knows what he needs to strive for in the future. The baby sits in the parent's arms; mom and dad should hold him tightly so that the muscles are not overloaded. Up to 5 months, the exercise is carried out for 2-3 minutes, after six months you can sit like this for 20 minutes. Every day the child will sit more confidently, and gradually the parent will be able to let go of his hands.

To make the child more assiduous, you need to prepare a hard surface and place the baby on it. The baby's legs are secured with one hand, and the parent's thumb should be held with the other. In this position, the child needs to be rocked very slightly in different directions. They will train the muscles, abs, oblique abdominal muscles, and vestibular apparatus. This should be done for no more than 3 minutes.

Bends will help prepare your muscles for sitting. The child should be placed with his back to himself, one hand of the parent fixes the knees, the other above the chest. The tilt is carried out to a horizontal position. Do no more than 10 repetitions.

The optimal age at which a child can sit independently is 6-7 months. You can start preparing your baby earlier, at about 3 months, by doing gymnastics and massage.

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