learning to sit unaided...

[juicychops]

my ds just turned 5 months can nearly sit unaided but cant manage for longer than about 5 secs before falling sideways or backwards. is there anything i can do to help him learn to balance better or do i have to just wait until he masters it himself?

You just have to wait. Sounds like he'll do it soon!

Juicy - my ds is 5 months and he sits like yours for a few secs at a time, which technically is very good, as they dont really learn this til 6 months.

What I do is sit him on the floor, between my feet and let him sit there, then if he falls he falls on my legs, also sit him on the bed and do the same with pilow by his bum, so if he goes he falls on pillows etc, it really is just practice for them.

This is from babycentre

Sitting up on her own
By now, your baby's physical developments are coming fast and furiously. If you place her on her stomach, she'll extend her arms and legs and arch her back, and when on her back, she'll lift her head and shoulders. She may even sit momentarily without assistance ? be nearby, however, to provide support and surround her with pillows to cushion a possible fall. Encourage her to play face-down on the floor: lifting her head and chest to see toys or your face helps strengthen her neck muscles and develops the head control necessary for sitting up. If you support her under the arms while letting her balance her feet on your thighs, she'll bounce up and down. She's capable of easily bringing an object to her mouth for oral exploration.

BabyCentre

Hope it helps

my doctor told me - not to sit ds up until he is 6 months unless he does it himself before. pull him by his hands into sitting position to help strenthen his back and kneck, but lower him back down again, don't sit him unsupported. put him on his tummy as much as possible as this helps strengthen the back

Both my ds and dd started sitting early around 51/2 months. Health Visitor said they had really good muscle tone. By 6mths they were completely stable but to be on the safe side I bought one of those beanbag chairs things to sit behind them. Ds had thomas the tank and Dd had tweenies.

my ds was sitting for a few secs at a time at 5.5months. He seemed to move on really quickly (i.e. in a couple of weeks) to sitting fairly steadily for several minutes at a time. I don't remember doing much to encourage him - maybe sitting him leaning against me or furniture occasionally. He will get there pretty soon by himself, you don't really need to do much to help apart from making sure there are plenty of cushions or whatever around so he doesn't get a nasty shock when he topples over.