To think there's nothing wrong with sitting a baby up?

[Sansarya]

DSIL was visiting with DN over the weekend. DN is just under 7 months and was lying on the playmat on his back and then began to strain and try to lift himself up. DP sat him up and he was quite happy as he could look around but DSIL got very annoyed with him and immediately lay DN back on his back and said they were just leaving him to "get on with things at his own pace".

He’s her child so I didn’t say anything, but surely there’s nothing wrong with holding a 7 month old with good head control in a seated position? We used to do it to DS - he was fine and could sit unaided by 7 months, which I thought was fairly common. I could understand DSIL getting annoyed if DN was only a couple of months old but I don’t think DP was doing any harm here.

Or is there some sort of dreadful consequence that I was missing?

Sounds a bit weird. My dd has been sitting unaided since 4 mts. 7 mts us very normal for the child to be sitting. But if it's not screaming the place down in frustration I doubt it matters. Just irritating that your SIL implied you were doing something harmful or annoying!

Maybe he isnt rolling yet so shes trying to give him lots of opportunity to do that?

Does she ever sit him on her knee or in a highchair?

That is odd indeed. Most babies I know were able to sit aided at that point (and indeed enjoyed a different view of life) and some could sit unsupported.

I can see her wanting to allow her baby to learn to roll but the fact that the baby was straining to get up should tell her something.

Unless there were medical issues i would have thought sitting up at 7 months was expected. Ds2 was starting to walk at 8 months.

No, he doesn't roll and she and her DH don't really seem to do anything to encourage him to roll or sit. He goes in a high chair at mealtimes but otherwise they kind of just lay him down on a mat and talk to him but don't do anything physical as they have this idea that he'll do it at his own pace and in his own time.

I've always sat mine up- in either a Bumbo or one of those rubber ring things- and they were all sitting independently by six months.

But her bubz, her rulez hun.

Up to her I suppose but IMO sitting them up and supporting them gives them a chance to develop the muscle tone they need to do it themselves. It's not a matter of "learning" it as it's not really a skill, it's a matter of building up the strength needed and without support from parents that's going to happen very slowly.

Saucy

Mil was like this will dn: physical development was positively discouraged as it would make her life more difficult (she does a huge amount of childcare while Sil works). Dn was shoved in a bouncer so she couldn't learn to walk. It was really quite sad because it was a deliberate move.

I was quite surprised to see a friend of mine sit her 1 month old in a bumbo.
This friend likes to take a picture of all her babies at each month of development.
I thought that unusual
What you witnessed is also unusual

To my mind anyway

They sound as if they are hindering his development.

There's nothing wrong with it as long as the baby has the head control.
Sounds like perhaps you've touched a nerve though for some reason? My DS takes slightly longer with these things (although I do sit him up, encourage etc) and it get a bit annoying if there's too much "why doesn't he do this yet" but I'm quite good at ignoring it and would be very happy for someone to help him sit

Doesn't roll at almost 7 months? My DS was rolling at 3 months. My DD is lazy, so at almost 5 months rolling over only when I pull her leg. On the other hand she gets so much tummy time that she might start commando crawling before rolling over.
I think that 7 months is old enough to sit independently. But hey, it's her kid, so just leave her to it.

I'd be quite worried if my babies couldn't sit up by 7 months. Lots of babies are standing and cruising by that age.

I did ask the doctor about this at one of the checks and the advice is as long as they are making constant progress don't worry to much (but obviously I still do!)
Still, I was nearly 2 when I walked, never crawled, never rolled and it's not on my CV!
It sounds like in this case though perhaps they are encouraging the baby NOT to do things, which is very different to a baby that just takes longer. Not a lot you can do though.

As a pp said there is a school of thought that says babies should be allowed to develop the transistional moves before being artificially put in the 'correct' position.
There is some logic to it in that putting very young babies into the standing position before their leg muscles have developed sufficiently to carry that weight could lead to bone problems.
But realistically nobody holds their tiny baby in that position for long enough.

I don't think either is right or wrong.

As an addendum though, straining to so something is what builds their muscles so they should be allowed to struggle sometimes

Unusual, yes. Hindering his development? I would say unlikely. It's not like he's left strapped in his buggy all day. He'll move when he's ready. If he does have some kind of developmental delay it won't have been caused by giving him lots of floor time.

fly

From what l understood, in the opening post. The baby wants to do more. The parents wanted him to lie on his back?

For a seven month old (with no delays) it seems hindering.

Maybe l misread?

My oldest didn't roll over until she was 14/15 months-ish. Well after she walking. It just never occurred to her to do so before then.

My 6mo niece was round yesterday with SIL I popped her on the floor between my feet and she sat quite happily. always been the same with my own. my youngest was rolling at 3m, crawling at 6m, walking at 10m.

she will be waiting a while if she thinks he will just do it all by himself without any encouragement etc.

mine would have bawled their heads off being stuck like that all day!

The long and short of it is its her child. She might be being precious but its her child.

Mine were walking by 9months so this to me is very odd.
Mine liked to be sat up so they could turn their heads and look around and it's much more comfortable to be up right especially after feeding. It also helped them to grasp their toys and be in a better position to play with them.