GM.A.33 PULLED TO SIT, INITIATES WITH HEAD, PULLS WITH ARMS

The baby is now quite expert at pulling to sit. You only need to offer your hands and she will tuck in her chin, lift her head and pull with her arms. At the start of the movement, she will bend her hips and knees, but halfway up she will straighten her legs (keeping her hips bent). Thus she has cleverly prepared herself for sitting.

How to Assess

Method: Place your child on her back, gesture with your hands and ask her to sit up (using a familiar direction). Score plus if your child lifts her head off the surface in anticipation of being pulled up. She must pull with her arms and she should start with bent hips and knees and end in sitting with bent hips, straight knees.

How to Teach

First, check that your child is competent with the earlier ‘pull to sit’ activities (GM.A.16, GM.A.17). Now you can go on to encourage her to initiate the movement.

This skill must be taught on the diagonal. Place the child initially on a slight slope (head up). Do not use a pillow but tilt the whole surface to about a 45° angle. In this position, gesture with your face and hands and tell her that you are going to lift her up. Hold her hands, or support her around the chest, but do not lift her. Wait for several seconds, continuing to give her strong encouragement, until she attempts to lift her head from the surface. If she makes an attempt but doesn’t quite succeed, increase the slope to 60° or the angle at which she can succeed. Stay at the successful angle for several days until the movement is well established, then gradually lower the board until she is flat on the floor. Repeat the skill, using the opposite diagonal.

If she makes no attempt to try to lift her head to sit up, then maybe you have chosen an inappropriate time to practise. She may be well fed, or tired, or just not very interested in being picked up. Choose a time when she is anxious to be picked up – such as just after sleep or before a feed when she is hungry.

Positioning, Carrying and Playing

Always use the diagonal, and pull your child to sit after bath, nappy change and dressing times and whenever she wants to be picked up. Always lower her diagonally into lying by holding only her hands; support her legs up against your chest to steady her.