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Before sitting, babies build head control, push up during tummy time, roll over, and start to tripod with their arms out for balance from around five or six months.
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By nine months, most babies can play while sitting and twist their torso to reach for toys.
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Most babies still need help getting into a sitting position until around 11 months, even once they can sit steadily.
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Tummy time is the single best preparation for sitting, as it strengthens the stomach, back, neck and trunk muscles that sitting requires.
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Always practise sitting on the floor to reduce the risk of falls, and never leave your baby propped up with cushions unsupervised.
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Contact your GP if your baby can't sit unsupported by nine months or you have any other concerns about their development.
As adults, we can sit up without even thinking about it. But for babies, sitting up unassisted isn't quite as easy! It can take a little time for them to learn how to sit up independently. Their muscles need to develop and strengthen, and it takes lots of practice and preparation to get it right.
Let's run through how and when your baby will start sitting up and look at how you can support their development and keep them safe as they learn and become more independent.
How will my baby learn to sit?
All babies are unique and develop at their own pace, but in the timeline of baby development, most babies learn how to sit up before they're able to crawl. If your baby was born prematurely (before 37 weeks), it might take them a little longer than other babies to reach certain milestones.
Before they master the skill of sitting up solo, most babies:
- Show improved head control and can hold up their head
- Arch their neck, raise their head, and lift themselves using their arms to look around during tummy time. This is usually from three or four months.
- Lie on their back and grab their feet or objects near them
- Can roll over on their own
- Work on their balance and try to tripod when they're on the floor in a seated position. They may also lean forward and extend their arms out to help balance their body from around five or six months.
Once they can sit up on their own, they'll be able to see the world from an exciting new vantage point. They'll also be able to play with their toys and interact with you in more interesting ways.
All these developmental steps strengthen their muscles and improve their coordination skills. This will help them to crawl, pull themselves up to a standing position, and eventually take their first steps.
How sitting leads to crawling
Once your baby can sit steadily without their hands, usually from around eight months, they start to free those hands up for other things. Most babies start crawling between six and 10 months, typically a month or two after they can sit unsupported. Some skip crawling altogether and go straight to pulling up and cruising the furniture, which is completely natural for some children. For more on this, check out our guide on when babies start to crawl.
When do babies start sitting up?
Most babies can sit upright when supported sometime between six and seven months of age. However, it's important to remember that no two babies develop at the same speed.
By around eight months, most babies can sit up independently without any support.
By the time they reach nine months old, most babies can play while sitting upright and can twist their torso from left to right to reach their toys.
Some babies can push up from their stomach when in a lying-down position as early as seven months. That said, most will need a helping hand to get into a sitting position until they're around 11 months old.
If your friend’s baby was sitting at five months and yours is still toppling at seven, both are well inside the expected range.
In fact, WHO Multicentre's growth reference study discovered that the average window for sitting without support was between 3.8 and 9.2 months.
How to keep your baby safe when learning to sit up
Small bumps and the occasional accident are all part of growing up. But you must consider your baby's safety as they become more mobile and learn to sit unassisted. Follow these tips to help keep your baby safe:
- Always practise tummy time and independent sitting on the floor to reduce the risk of falls.
- If you prop your baby up to help them sit using pillows, never leave them unsupervised in that position.
- Practise on the floor, never on a sofa, bed or changing table. Lay a foam play mat, a thick rug or a folded duvet under and around your baby, extending at least an arm’s length in every direction, since babies topple backwards and sideways as often as forwards. Avoid practising on laminate, tile or any hard floor without padding.
- Be mindful of sharp corners. At sitting height, your baby’s head is roughly level with coffee table corners, TV unit edges, fireplace hearths and radiator fins. Fit corner protectors to anything within falling distance or move the furniture out of the practice area entirely. Consider buying a guard if you have an open fireplace.
- Once your baby can sit, their reach extends considerably further than you’d expect. Clear the area of anything hard or small: remote controls, toys with rigid edges, mugs, plant pots, and anything a baby could put in their mouth.
- Check what’s above them, not just around them. A sitting baby can pull. Secure trailing cables, blind cords, tablecloths and lamp flexes, and make sure anything on a low surface can’t be dragged down.
- Anchor the furniture. Once sitting turns into pulling up, which happens fast, any unsecured chest of drawers, bookcase or TV becomes a tip-over risk. Fit furniture straps before you need them.
- Baby-proof your home so any potential hazards are out of reach or secured.
When to worry if a baby is not sitting up
All babies reach their key milestones at different ages, so try not to worry. If you give your baby plenty of opportunities to practice their sitting skills, they'll get there at their own pace.
But if you notice that your baby can't sit unsupported by nine months of age or are concerned about any other aspect of their growth and development, you should reach out to your family doctor for advice.
How to encourage your baby to sit up on their own
- A helping hand: When your babt is lying down on their back, use your hands to support their head and shoulders. Then slowly bring them up to a sitting position. Once they get to grips with being lifted into a sitting position, you can gently hold onto their upper arms for support, then hold their hands, before finally guiding them to sitting using only one hand.
- Tummy time: Lying your baby on their belly (also known as tummy time) is an important step in their development. It helps strengthen their stomach muscles so they can support their trunk, back, head and neck - all of which play a vital role in them eventually being able to sit on their own.
- Sitting with support: To encourage your baby to sit on their own, you can sit with them on the floor, using your legs to offer them extra support. You could also carefully prop them up in a seated position using cushions. Just be sure to never leave them unattended. Alternatively, you can sit them down on a firm surface - either facing away from or towards you - and gently but firmly hold their middle.
- Be patient: If your baby slumps to one side, seems fussy, or starts to cry while practising sitting, it's likely that they're tired and need a break. After all, it's hard work learning a new physical skill! Just comfort and settle them and remember that you can always try again later.
Balance and reaching activities to support your baby sitting up
While we've covered exercises that'll help build strength for your baby, the exercises below will help to build your baby’s balance, preventing things like your baby face-planting the floor.
- With your baby sitting supported, hold a toy slightly to one side at shoulder height, so they have to rotate and reach across their body to get it. Alternate sides. This teaches weight shifting, which is what stable sitting actually depends on.
- Hold a toy just above their head so they extend upwards, then place one on the floor beside their hip so they lean down for it. Both work the trunk muscles in ways that straight-ahead play doesn’t.
- When babies topple sideways, they eventually learn to throw a hand out to catch themselves. You can encourage this: sit behind your baby with your hands at their hips, tip them gently and slowly to one side, and give them a moment to put a hand down before you steady them. Go slowly and stop if they get frustrated. This reflex is what turns a fall into a wobble.
- Sit your baby on your lap facing away, hold their hips, and rock slowly side to side and forwards and backwards. Small, slow movements. Their trunk works constantly to stay upright, and most babies find it funny.
- Once your baby is fairly steady, let them sit on a folded blanket, a cushion or a rolled towel instead of a flat floor. The slight instability makes their muscles work harder.
- Put a basket of toys or a low activity table just in front of them. Having something worth staying upright for does more than any exercise.
Keep these sessions short, to two or three minutes at a time, several times a day. Always stop when your baby slumps, fusses or loses interest, which is a signal that their muscles are getting tired.
