GM.A.17 PULLED TO SIT THROUGH SIDE LYING, HOLDS HEAD STEADY

This is the completion of head control in the side lying position, begun in GM.A.3.

How to Assess

Method: Place your child on her back, holding one wrist and the thigh on the same side (to stabilise her during the movement). Roll her to the side away from the hand you are holding and pull her to sit. Score plus if your child’s head is held off her lower shoulder and steady throughout the movement.

How to Teach

This is a natural progression from GM.A.3. If you have been practising lifting your child from the side lying position and nursing her in the side lying position, you will find that this task follows on quite easily. You may start with the child propped on pillows to a 45° angle and lift her from there. Once her head is steady from this position, gradually lower the pillows, staying at whichever level you need to, until her head is quite steady throughout the movement. Finally, practise from the lying position; the start of the movement should be very slow initially to allow her time to organise herself. As with all movement, it is most useful to have a one-word direction to describe the task so that she knows what you want her to do. Make sure you practise equally to both sides, although if you find that one side is not as strong as the other, as is often the case, do more repetitions on the weak side.

Positioning, Carrying and Playing

It is most important that your child learns to play on her side. This position is particularly good for preparing her muscles for many of her future skills, and throughout Sequence GM.A this position will be used in a variety of ways. Give your child plenty of time to play on her side, with toys within reach, so that she has opportunities to exercise her neck and trunk muscles as she plays. You may need to place something behind her so that she does not roll back, or support her in a semi-lying position.

When your child is sitting on your lap, sit her off centre, leaning her to one side. Help her place a supporting arm on your thigh, bracing it for her at the elbow. An alternative to leaning on a straight arm is to have her semi-lying propped on her forearm. If necessary, brace her shoulder with your hand. This is a most important position, and it is worth teaching anyone who nurses your baby to do it this way.

Once your child is happy in this off-centre position, it is important that she be introduced to another new position. Position her as above, with her supporting arm straight or bent, and now take her top leg and place it so that her ankles cross, ‘knee to the sky’. This position is most important and it is worthwhile mastering. It is from variations of this position that your baby will learn to get in and out of crawl, sitting and standing!  

Once your child has mastered this skill, you can start to encourage her to push up on her own hands as she comes up from side lying. Support your child on her top hip and under her chest. Rotate her so that both arms can reach the floor or table in front of her body and encourage her to push up. Give her as much assistance as she needs by flushing down firmly on her hip to help her lip into sitting and by guiding her under her chest. Later you will need minimal guidance on her hip and she will do the rest. It is important to work to both sides with this exercise. It is also important to let your child ‘rest’ halfway up, so she learns to control the position.

At this stage, you can also start a new way or carrying your child. Hold her in front of you, facing away from you. Bring her hack so that her bottom, legs and trunk are straight up and down against your chest. Now tilt her slightly, so that she has to correct her head position to remain upright. With practice, this becomes a very easy way to carry your child – you will find that you can do it with one arm. Don’t forget to alternate sides.

This would be a good time to start using a back-pack for some of your carrying. Check that your baby’s legs are not too wide apart if using a back-pack.