I found this so much more helpful than any other video about side sitting. The little yellow text bubbles with additional information were an awesome touch. Thank you!!!
Kala, Thank you so much for your comment. It absolutely means the world to me that you found this video helpful and that the text bubbles added even more info for you. I really want to make sure parents and caregivers of littles TRULY have all the information they need to not only do the exercise but really understand it. So glad you found this video! Feel free to add any comments with questions or requests or if you struggle finding a resource on something, Id love to help.
You are so welcome Jesse! Let me know if you run into any questions while implementing. Side sitting is THE BEST position for littles who are getting ready to crawl and for core strength.
I have a question! My baby is almost 10 months and still not crawling. He can sit unsupported but can’t get into or out of a seated position on his own. What exercises would be best to start with?? There are so many that you have!
Hi Leah! this is SUCH a big question, so I did an almost 30-minute live stream on it for you -- I didn't mean for it to go that long, but hopefully, it gives you some ideas on how to narrow down where to start. Crawling is a BIG task for little ones and I am more than happy to continue to help you figure out the best spot to start. Here is the link to the video: ruclips.net/user/liveY0buP-Ssis4 Also, if you have more questions, you. can book a consult at any time: drlaurenbaker.clientsecure.me/request/service
You are so welcome Pao! I hope that it is helpful, I love love this exercise / sitting position for all ages, too! I use it a ton when I'm playing with kiddos on the ground and it's great for adults with tight hips just like it's great for kiddos! Please let me know if you have any questions. and thank you so much for taking the time to write a comment, its so fun to hear from those who find the videos helpful! Lauren.
Youre so welcome Chipo Caroline Chabikwa! Im glad you found it helpful, feel free to ask any questions you may have or come up while youre trying it out.
@@ChipoCarolineChabikwa Thanks for the additional question! At 10 years old, side sitting is still a really great position to work on. I personally find that it's a great position to work on for adults and kids to build core strength and hip/lower trunk strength. For a 10 year old, depending on whether they can sit independently on their own yet or not, it would be fairly similiar. A lot of times, if the kiddo is verbal and older I will demonstrate the position with my body and ask them to put their body like mine, then I may need to help them shift their weight to their front buttocks muscle in order to tuck the other leg behind. Then I will help them switch sides after playing a game, coloring, or throwing a ball back and forth for 2-5 minutes. If a child needs support while sitting and are unable to verbally speak or sit on their own, it is more complicated as they get older. They may still be able to side sit with support depending on how mobile their hips are, or they may need back support from the wall and to start in the ring sitting position. If your child needs support with sitting or has a neurological diagnosis, this video may be more helpful: ruclips.net/video/ZxGW6g5d1wc/видео.html or this full playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLAkJbMrHyKjOdH92UyJNlOHbB_bIvOsnk Hopefully this is helpful! Please let me know if either of these options are helpful or if you're looking for something different!
Hello! My 7 month old daughter crawls and always tries to stand up. But she still does a lot of tripod sitting and sitting in W position. How can I encourage her to do more of ring sitting?
Hi Whatisinaname! This is a really great question, my favorite piece of advice is to play with her with a vertical toy such as a push walker with buttons of the front (pushed against a couch so she can play more upright - example: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-toddlers-12m/vtech-sit-to-stand-l or a square wooden box toy like this: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-babies/battat-wooden-acti ) -- You can also do this with suction toys on a window or mirror or baby safe magnetic toys / fridge toys, I've also hung ring toys from a sturdy laundry basket with holes or put toys on a turned over box / step stool / exercise step to bring them up. All these things will extend her trunk and help her weight bear through hands off the ground. My favorite position for parents to encourage ring sitting is having a babe sit on your feet such as in this video: ruclips.net/video/jrcIPNHGgOU/видео.html Side sitting is also a huge favorite of mine (the video this comment is on, so definitely continue to work on this -- technically side sitting is even better than ring sitting, but I do like the baby on feet exercise to help them with learning how their pelvis moves!). Hope this is helpful! If you have any additional questions, make sure to check the pinned comment where you can schedule an online parent consultation and we can dive deeper into functional play positions / exercises for the 7-9 month range.
My baby is 9.5 months old and has been army crawling since about 7 months. Should I be worried? Is side sitting, playing in hands and knees, and tall kneeling enough? I just want to help the best i can
Hi Danielle! Thanks so much for the comment. After 2-3 months of army crawling the transition to all fours should happen and if not, there is likely something limiting that transition (weakness, tightness or coordinating all the pieces together). With army crawling specifically, especially if its army crawling where they bring both arms toward and seem to stay more in a straight line (inch worm army crawling) it is likely there is some pelvic or lower trunk tightness that is limiting getting into all fours or doing an arm + leg army crawl which requires more rotation at the pelvis and trunk to allow the knee to come up to push off. In addition to what you have listed, i would look at the TMR mobility playlist here: ruclips.net/p/PLxYt0JBWx03TxJKI4UNyEYImYnhsdq96g or schedule an online parent consult so we can go theough a TMR screen together to rule out mobility restrictions. Parent consults can be scheduled here: drlaurenbaker.clientsecure.me/request/service or you can find a TMR trained therapist (if youre in the US) here: www.branchly.com/sitesearch?q=Tmr At any time you can also call a local pediatric physical therapist proactively to ensure that there are no orthopedic limitations and that all mini milestones are being met to ensure that hands and knees crawling by 11 months occurs. Ive never had a family regret getting a PT eval to learn more about how their baby moves! Hopefully all of this helps!
YES! This is something I have tried to do in newer videos - saying proactive parents because ALL parents are equally important. And even though I didnt say it in the video I really appreciation you and all dads showing up to learn how to help your children thrive in movement from day 1! Please let me know if you have any questions and know I am rooting for you and will keep reminding myself to cheer for ALL parents in my videos!
When I went to school on my first day, when the teacher told me to sit as you like, I did not sit in Sukhasana, then when I was told to sit in Sukhasana, I was stubborn and did not. Sit down, so we missed all the happy moments in life.
I practice side sitting on both sides with my little girl but I will admit that I have not been consistent. As of now I am trying to be more consistent and I notice that she is fine with right leg in front and left leg bent back but when it come to the left leg being in front she will not let me bend her right leg back. Is there anything I can do to help her in letting me bend that right leg bag?
Hi Janet! Thanks so much for the comment and YESSSS lots we can do to trouble shoot this ❤️. One of my favorite ways is to place their little cute infant bodies sitting on a throw pillow. By lifting their bum off the ground it decreases the stretch on the hips, your little likely has some trunk or hip tightness in the right hip. The other thing I would recommend is going through the free learning to crawl online course here (depending on age but if you are side sitting I am assuming 7+ months and likely closer to 9ish so as long as theyre sitting independently the crawling course is the one Id recommend but both are listed on the page!) drlaurenbaker.com/courses This way you can make sure that trunk tightness isnt involved. Check out the whole course but especially the lower trunk section and lower trunk sidebend! Hope this helps!
Hi Neema! Babies at that age are most appropriate for spending most of their time in tummy time (on their bellies) working up to 10-15 minute increments and 45-60 minutes total per day; lying on their back and on each side to play, and supported sitting but usually on parents lap, on a stability ball, or with parents facing them off the edge of a couch. Until 5-6 months babies need a lot of support for sitting and at 3 months babies may or may not still need support for their head. This specific exercise is recommended for 7 months+ so its a little early to start. I would focus on the learning to roll playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLxYt0JBWx03SHjgrAXqUkVXDgZ6Ox8lN6 or tummy time playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLxYt0JBWx03SnonvLqKF7xKHvF66wVp3- At six months the learning to sit playlist will be appropriate: ruclips.net/p/PLxYt0JBWx03RLo0bW2r3jWr--nNDXIyHs Hope that is helpful! Lauren
Hi Nadia, If a baby is crying in one direction they might have tightness in that trunk or hip. If they are crying in both directions, that the entire pelvis might be tight or they might not have the strength to hold themselves up from a core perspective which might put the workload over what they can tolerate. Make sure that the baby is at least seven months old before attempting side sitting. For babies who struggle with side sitting, I recommend screening a child for mobility constraints. You can find all of the mobility screens for the lower trunk at any of the free courses that are now available: drlaurenbaker.com/courses -- if you are working on sitting or crawling, pick the most appropriate and do the mobility screens and corresponding positional releases if mobility is restricted. Other ways that can help babies with tightness include reaching out to a pediatric PT for therapy or bodywork, craniosacral therapy, or look for Total Motion Release therapists in your area www.branchly.com/tmrtotsandteens -- infant massage can also help.
Another helpful tip for side sitting is to try to do it on an elevated surface such as a throw pillow. This can decrease the stretch on the hips because the bottom is slightly higher than the knees when placed sitting on a pillow than when on the ground. I use this technique quite frequently!
Hi Niki, side sitting is an exercise in itself, yes. But more specifically you need to think of it in a multitude of ways: can baby stay in side sitting with their trunk upright or do they need to place their hands on the ground to support their trunk? Do they keep their legs in the z shape position or do they kick it out? Is it the same with the right side as the left? Are they able to maintain the position for 1-2 minutes or do they get tired after 15 seconds? Can they stay in side sitting and play upright with their hands or do you need to support them at their trunk? There is ALOT going on in this position, but in short, yet :) Either way, I hope you found this helpful but if you need more support consider checking out these free checklists: Sitting Checklist - drlaurenbaker.com/blog/learning-to-sit-checklist Crawling Checklist - drlaurenbaker.com/blog/learning-to-crawl-checklist
If you still have questions book a 20 minute phone call or 60 minute online consultation with me here: drlaurenbaker.clientsecure.me/request/service
I found this so much more helpful than any other video about side sitting. The little yellow text bubbles with additional information were an awesome touch. Thank you!!!
Kala, Thank you so much for your comment. It absolutely means the world to me that you found this video helpful and that the text bubbles added even more info for you. I really want to make sure parents and caregivers of littles TRULY have all the information they need to not only do the exercise but really understand it. So glad you found this video! Feel free to add any comments with questions or requests or if you struggle finding a resource on something, Id love to help.
Thank you for sharing your helpful, professional knowledge so openly.
You are so welcome Jesse! Let me know if you run into any questions while implementing. Side sitting is THE BEST position for littles who are getting ready to crawl and for core strength.
I have a question! My baby is almost 10 months and still not crawling. He can sit unsupported but can’t get into or out of a seated position on his own. What exercises would be best to start with?? There are so many that you have!
Hi Leah! this is SUCH a big question, so I did an almost 30-minute live stream on it for you -- I didn't mean for it to go that long, but hopefully, it gives you some ideas on how to narrow down where to start. Crawling is a BIG task for little ones and I am more than happy to continue to help you figure out the best spot to start. Here is the link to the video: ruclips.net/user/liveY0buP-Ssis4
Also, if you have more questions, you. can book a consult at any time: drlaurenbaker.clientsecure.me/request/service
Thanks for the video!
You are so welcome Pao! I hope that it is helpful, I love love this exercise / sitting position for all ages, too! I use it a ton when I'm playing with kiddos on the ground and it's great for adults with tight hips just like it's great for kiddos! Please let me know if you have any questions. and thank you so much for taking the time to write a comment, its so fun to hear from those who find the videos helpful! Lauren.
Thanks for the vedio Docter
Youre so welcome Chipo Caroline Chabikwa! Im glad you found it helpful, feel free to ask any questions you may have or come up while youre trying it out.
@@DrLaurenBaker My child is almost 10yrs how I can help him with sitting position
@@ChipoCarolineChabikwa Thanks for the additional question! At 10 years old, side sitting is still a really great position to work on. I personally find that it's a great position to work on for adults and kids to build core strength and hip/lower trunk strength.
For a 10 year old, depending on whether they can sit independently on their own yet or not, it would be fairly similiar. A lot of times, if the kiddo is verbal and older I will demonstrate the position with my body and ask them to put their body like mine, then I may need to help them shift their weight to their front buttocks muscle in order to tuck the other leg behind.
Then I will help them switch sides after playing a game, coloring, or throwing a ball back and forth for 2-5 minutes.
If a child needs support while sitting and are unable to verbally speak or sit on their own, it is more complicated as they get older. They may still be able to side sit with support depending on how mobile their hips are, or they may need back support from the wall and to start in the ring sitting position. If your child needs support with sitting or has a neurological diagnosis, this video may be more helpful: ruclips.net/video/ZxGW6g5d1wc/видео.html
or this full playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLAkJbMrHyKjOdH92UyJNlOHbB_bIvOsnk
Hopefully this is helpful! Please let me know if either of these options are helpful or if you're looking for something different!
Hello! My 7 month old daughter crawls and always tries to stand up. But she still does a lot of tripod sitting and sitting in W position. How can I encourage her to do more of ring sitting?
Hi Whatisinaname! This is a really great question, my favorite piece of advice is to play with her with a vertical toy such as a push walker with buttons of the front (pushed against a couch so she can play more upright - example: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-toddlers-12m/vtech-sit-to-stand-l or a square wooden box toy like this: kit.co/drlaurenbaker/best-toys-for-babies/battat-wooden-acti ) -- You can also do this with suction toys on a window or mirror or baby safe magnetic toys / fridge toys, I've also hung ring toys from a sturdy laundry basket with holes or put toys on a turned over box / step stool / exercise step to bring them up. All these things will extend her trunk and help her weight bear through hands off the ground.
My favorite position for parents to encourage ring sitting is having a babe sit on your feet such as in this video: ruclips.net/video/jrcIPNHGgOU/видео.html
Side sitting is also a huge favorite of mine (the video this comment is on, so definitely continue to work on this -- technically side sitting is even better than ring sitting, but I do like the baby on feet exercise to help them with learning how their pelvis moves!).
Hope this is helpful! If you have any additional questions, make sure to check the pinned comment where you can schedule an online parent consultation and we can dive deeper into functional play positions / exercises for the 7-9 month range.
My baby is 9.5 months old and has been army crawling since about 7 months. Should I be worried? Is side sitting, playing in hands and knees, and tall kneeling enough? I just want to help the best i can
Hi Danielle! Thanks so much for the comment. After 2-3 months of army crawling the transition to all fours should happen and if not, there is likely something limiting that transition (weakness, tightness or coordinating all the pieces together). With army crawling specifically, especially if its army crawling where they bring both arms toward and seem to stay more in a straight line (inch worm army crawling) it is likely there is some pelvic or lower trunk tightness that is limiting getting into all fours or doing an arm + leg army crawl which requires more rotation at the pelvis and trunk to allow the knee to come up to push off.
In addition to what you have listed, i would look at the TMR mobility playlist here: ruclips.net/p/PLxYt0JBWx03TxJKI4UNyEYImYnhsdq96g or schedule an online parent consult so we can go theough a TMR screen together to rule out mobility restrictions. Parent consults can be scheduled here: drlaurenbaker.clientsecure.me/request/service or you can find a TMR trained therapist (if youre in the US) here: www.branchly.com/sitesearch?q=Tmr
At any time you can also call a local pediatric physical therapist proactively to ensure that there are no orthopedic limitations and that all mini milestones are being met to ensure that hands and knees crawling by 11 months occurs. Ive never had a family regret getting a PT eval to learn more about how their baby moves! Hopefully all of this helps!
I love your videos but why specifically say moms, I'm a dad and enjoy helping my son
YES! This is something I have tried to do in newer videos - saying proactive parents because ALL parents are equally important. And even though I didnt say it in the video I really appreciation you and all dads showing up to learn how to help your children thrive in movement from day 1! Please let me know if you have any questions and know I am rooting for you and will keep reminding myself to cheer for ALL parents in my videos!
When I went to school on my first day, when the teacher told me to sit as you like, I did not sit in Sukhasana, then when I was told to sit in Sukhasana, I was stubborn and did not. Sit down, so we missed all the happy moments in life.
Thank you for the very unique story. I hope you are able to sit all the ways you want to now.
I practice side sitting on both sides with my little girl but I will admit that I have not been consistent. As of now I am trying to be more consistent and I notice that she is fine with right leg in front and left leg bent back but when it come to the left leg being in front she will not let me bend her right leg back. Is there anything I can do to help her in letting me bend that right leg bag?
Hi Janet! Thanks so much for the comment and YESSSS lots we can do to trouble shoot this ❤️.
One of my favorite ways is to place their little cute infant bodies sitting on a throw pillow. By lifting their bum off the ground it decreases the stretch on the hips, your little likely has some trunk or hip tightness in the right hip.
The other thing I would recommend is going through the free learning to crawl online course here (depending on age but if you are side sitting I am assuming 7+ months and likely closer to 9ish so as long as theyre sitting independently the crawling course is the one Id recommend but both are listed on the page!) drlaurenbaker.com/courses
This way you can make sure that trunk tightness isnt involved. Check out the whole course but especially the lower trunk section and lower trunk sidebend!
Hope this helps!
My baby is 3months and 10 days can I start baby sitting now little little
Hi Neema! Babies at that age are most appropriate for spending most of their time in tummy time (on their bellies) working up to 10-15 minute increments and 45-60 minutes total per day; lying on their back and on each side to play, and supported sitting but usually on parents lap, on a stability ball, or with parents facing them off the edge of a couch. Until 5-6 months babies need a lot of support for sitting and at 3 months babies may or may not still need support for their head.
This specific exercise is recommended for 7 months+ so its a little early to start. I would focus on the learning to roll playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLxYt0JBWx03SHjgrAXqUkVXDgZ6Ox8lN6 or tummy time playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLxYt0JBWx03SnonvLqKF7xKHvF66wVp3-
At six months the learning to sit playlist will be appropriate: ruclips.net/p/PLxYt0JBWx03RLo0bW2r3jWr--nNDXIyHs
Hope that is helpful! Lauren
Baby cries when we practice side sitting (7 month old) - what to do?
Hi Nadia,
If a baby is crying in one direction they might have tightness in that trunk or hip. If they are crying in both directions, that the entire pelvis might be tight or they might not have the strength to hold themselves up from a core perspective which might put the workload over what they can tolerate. Make sure that the baby is at least seven months old before attempting side sitting.
For babies who struggle with side sitting, I recommend screening a child for mobility constraints. You can find all of the mobility screens for the lower trunk at any of the free courses that are now available: drlaurenbaker.com/courses -- if you are working on sitting or crawling, pick the most appropriate and do the mobility screens and corresponding positional releases if mobility is restricted. Other ways that can help babies with tightness include reaching out to a pediatric PT for therapy or bodywork, craniosacral therapy, or look for Total Motion Release therapists in your area www.branchly.com/tmrtotsandteens -- infant massage can also help.
Another helpful tip for side sitting is to try to do it on an elevated surface such as a throw pillow. This can decrease the stretch on the hips because the bottom is slightly higher than the knees when placed sitting on a pillow than when on the ground. I use this technique quite frequently!
Kiddo ❤
The sweetest right?!
So basically the exercise for side-sitting is to sit in side-sitting?
Hi Niki, side sitting is an exercise in itself, yes. But more specifically you need to think of it in a multitude of ways: can baby stay in side sitting with their trunk upright or do they need to place their hands on the ground to support their trunk? Do they keep their legs in the z shape position or do they kick it out? Is it the same with the right side as the left? Are they able to maintain the position for 1-2 minutes or do they get tired after 15 seconds? Can they stay in side sitting and play upright with their hands or do you need to support them at their trunk? There is ALOT going on in this position, but in short, yet :) Either way, I hope you found this helpful but if you need more support consider checking out these free checklists: Sitting Checklist - drlaurenbaker.com/blog/learning-to-sit-checklist
Crawling Checklist - drlaurenbaker.com/blog/learning-to-crawl-checklist