Related Articles
Most babies can sit at about 9 months and may be able to get in and out of a sitting posture with a little support. Learn about child development milestones
Most babies can sit without assistance at about 9 months and may be able to get in and out of a sitting posture with a little support. Below are the milestones your baby may reach, although each child is different and my develop at different rates:
- 4 months: Your baby may be able to hold their up without assistance
- 6 months: They can sit with a little support
- 9 months: They can sit on their own without support
- 12 months: They can sit up without support
Development milestones are like checkpoints for a child where you can observe their ability to learn new skills such as smiling, talking, sitting, crawling, and walking. Milestones also serve as markers that help you determine whether your child is developing at a healthy rate. If there are delays, proper care and treatment can be prescribed.
How do you make a baby sit?
Because every child is different, their ability to sit may develop at varying rates. Tips for helping your baby sit include the following:
- Tummy time: Tummy time is critical for strengthening your body’s neck and upper body muscles. As soon as your baby can hold their head up, which usually occurs between 1-3 months of age, place them on their tummy and lay them down on your stomach at first. As they get stronger, move them to a safe surface so they can practice tummy time.
- Back time: Back time is just as crucial for strengthening your baby's abdominal muscles, chest, and trunk. Make your baby lie down on their back and give them a toy to play with. They will soon begin to roll over.
- Hold your baby upright: Holding your baby in your lap helps your baby develop muscle strength and balance that will eventually support them when sitting.
- Use toys: Toys help grab your baby’s attention and help them sit for longer periods.
What are the 4 types of developmental milestones?
Holistic child development is complex because children learn multiple things simultaneously. For better understanding and assessment, child development is divided into the following milestones:
- Motor skill milestones:
- Gross motor skills where large muscles are involved such as sitting, standing, and walking
- Fine motor skills that include writing and painting, which require precise movement of finger muscles
- Sensory skill milestones: Development of all five senses: vision, taste, hearing, touch, and smell
- Communication skill milestones: Comprehension of words and speech development
- Cognitive skill milestones: Problem-solving skills and the ability to assess good and bad
What are the developmental milestones from infancy to 1 year?
Developmental milestones of a child from birth to one year of age are as follows:
Stage 1: 0-2 months
- Motor skills: Breathing, sucking milk, swallowing, and curling fingers
- Communication skills: Recognition of familiar faces, like those of mom and dad
- Cognitive skills: Reactions to sound and response to massage and acts of comfort
Stage 2: 2-4 months
- Motor skills: Lifts head, rolls the body, and stretches legs
- Communication skills: Coos, gurgles, and cries
- Cognitive skills: Understands smiling and smiles back, turns head toward sounds, shows boredom, and cries
Stage 3: 4-6 months
- Motor skills: Sits with support, holds up the head with more strength, rolls back and front, points to objects, and holds small objects
- Communication skills: Mimics sounds, shows attention-seeking behavior by babbling, smiles, and makes sounds when looking at the mirror
- Cognitive skills: Eyes follow moving objects and learns attention-seeking behavior and sounds
Stage 4: 6-8 months
- Motor skills: Sits without support, shows pre-crawling signs, lifts knees, and transfers object from one hand to the other
- Communication skills: Starts using vowels and consonants, says words such as “dada,” and learns how to move the tongue to generate sounds
- Cognitive skills: Locates hidden fallen objects and starts exploring by putting objects in the mouth
Stage 5: 8-10 months
- Motor skills: Starts crawling, uses support to try standing, and bangs objects
- Communication skills: Continues making new sounds and starts observing mouth movements of others
- Cognitive skills: Starts learning objects and images and understands how near or far objects are
Stage 6: 10-12 months
- Motor skills: Starts crawling, sits for longer periods, starts standing up, learns to take steps, and points at objects with fingers
- Communication skills: Starts saying “mama” and “dada” and tries to imitate animals sounds such as dog barks
- Cognitive skills: Learns to find hidden objects and starts to respond to others by saying “no,” “hi,” “bye,” etc.
