Babies learn to control the muscles in the upper half of their bodies well before they learn to control those in the lower half. At about six months of age, your baby will begin learning to control her hips, knees, legs, and feet; she'll begin to sit up without support, but only for a few seconds. Gradually, she will learn to balance herself, and you can help her practise this balancing skill in a variety of ways.
Put her in a sitting position with cushions or pillows around her to provide a little support so she can sit and learn to balance herself for longer periods. When she starts wobbling, she'll fall comfortably into the soft pillows rather than on to a hard floor. When playing with your baby on the floor, sit her facing you between your outstretched legs so she can grab on to them for support. Place toys in front of her so she will reach for them and eventually develop the muscles that help her balance herself without using her hands as props for support.
Sitting without support
As your baby learns to sit without support, she will be able to use her hands more freely to gesture and to play with toys on her own. Once she can sit and play alone, she gains some independence. But she will need help to get into a sitting position at first. Soon she will reach to you with her hands, signalling that she wants you to pull her up. Then she'll try to use furniture and other supports as a handle to help her sit up.
Safety is important at this stage, and the safest, most comfortable place for sitting practice is a well-padded floor. If you sit your baby on an armchair, sofa, or bed, you'll have to keep constant watch that she doesn't tumble down to the floor As your baby becomes strong enough to sit alone, she will begin to lunge forward to reach nearby toys or other objects of interest. Encourage this lunging forward by placing a toy in front of the baby just out of her reach. Lunging forward is a physical skill that leads to crawling on her tummy, then creeping forward on hands and knees.
