Activities to develop sitting

Position

• Lying on back (pillow initially)
• Support child’s shoulders and head with your hands
  (as little support as needed)
• Slowly bring child into sitting
• As child improves, move your hands to holding their upper arms, then holding their hands, then just one hand. See later activities for moving in and out of sitting

Encourage

• Head in middle
• Active tucking chin in and bracing shoulders

Play ideas

• Singing
• Funny faces
• Silly hat / head band

Position

• Sit child on a firm surface and hold around their middle trunk, facing away from you or towards you
• As child gains more control, reduce your support to be lower down the trunk then at the hips

Encourage

• Help child to prop with their hands on their thighs rather than the floor
• Bringing toys to mouth or to midline to bash
• Reaching for dangling toys

Play ideas

• Toys within reach in front of them
• Mirror
• Play gym (in sitting)
• Reaching for your face

Position

• Start on firm surface, for example, floor
• Place cushions around child
• May prop on one hand first then lift both hands – may prop hands on floor or legs
• Initially back may be rounded
• Legs slightly bent at knees and not too far apart

Encourage

• Reaching for toys within reach, for example, in front of them, then to either side
• Sitting with straight back

Play ideas

• Songs “Row, row boat”, “Wind a bobbin”
• Naming / pointing to body parts
• Mirror
• Piano
• Rolling ball
• Try sitting child on a gym ball, gently bouncing and rolling them in all directions, encouraging them to stay upright

Position

• Sit on a little chair or bench with hips and knees at 90° angles, thighs are fully supported on bench and feet are flat on the floor
• Legs together
• Supervise closely as they may fall forwards
  or back
• Sofa or low table in front to play on

Encourage

• Sitting upright with straight back
• Turning to look over shoulder
• Reaching in all directions
• Sitting on chair with sides helps child prepare to push up to stand

Play ideas

• Bubbles
• Batting balloon
• Looking at books
• Singing

Side-sitting is important for developing control of turning the body. This is needed for crawling and walking.

Position

• Gently turn one leg so both knees pointing to the same side
• Propping on the hand on that side, help child reach in front and across
• Progress to both hands being down on the same side

Encourage

• Child starting to control own body and needing less support
• Reaching further for toys and up in the air
• Do little and often, frequently a difficult position

Play ideas

• Toys within reach in front and across body
• Rolling ball, toy car

Moving into sitting from lying

Instructions as for picture, repeat on opposite side

• Start with child lying on their back
• Hold their RIGHT hand, encouraging child to hold on to you as well as you to them
• Gently guide them up and over to LEFT to push up on LEFT hand. You can place one hand on their LEFT hip so that they don’t
  roll over
• Allow time for child to join in with the movement and to push on their other hand – give support slowly and as little as possible
• Encourage lifting their head and tucking chin in while pushing up on one hand

Moving out of sitting

• Into lying – sitting behind child, help them to go into side sitting then bend their elbow and lower to the floor
• Into crawling – help them go into side sitting then across into a crawling position (see crawling leaflet)
• Avoid letting child lower themselves forward between their legs and “doing the splits” to get on to their tummy, as this position stresses the hip joints