Gross motor development
A young infant participates in 1–2 supported sitting positions.
Be Prepared: This activity is designed to strengthen skills that lead to sitting without support. It is for an infant who can hold his/her head steady in an upright position and is progressing toward sitting without support.
[Greet the infant by name and lift him/her under the arms with support on the torso. Make sure the infant can lift his/her head. If needed, support the head with one hand behind the infant’s neck. Do not allow the infant’s head to drop backwards. Do not pull an infant into a sitting position by holding only the hands or arms.
Select an area of your room where there are toys and/or other infants to see. Have the toy nearby. Sit on the floor with your legs crossed and place the infant between your lower and upper legs. His/her back will be supported by leaning on you. Give the infant time to adjust to looking around. Sitting upright generally increases an infant’s attention to people and objects in the environment.]
Hi, (infant’s name). Let’s sit together and watch our friends play (or look at a toy).
[Describe what the infant is looking at.
After one or two minutes, or when the infant seems to become restless, reposition the infant into one of the sitting positions described below. Explain that we are going to try sitting a different way.
Offer a toy to the infant if he/she seems interested. Continue to talk with the infant about what he/she is looking at or manipulating with his/her hands. Pause in your talk so there’s an opportunity for the infant to contribute. The infant’s contribution to the exchange may be a look, smile, body movement, or vocalization.
One or two minutes in one or two sitting positions is sufficient.]
[Speak clearly as you summarize what happened. Example: “You are practicing how to sit by yourself. You looked at other children and adults in our room. You held a toy. We talked about the toy.”]
It is helpful for the infant to experience sitting with your support in several different positions. Each position requires some minor adjustments on the infant’s part. Pay close attention to facial expressions and/or sustained muscle tightening that may indicate the infant would not welcome an additional supported sitting position in this activity.
Infants often put one or both hands out to help stabilize the torso when they are learning to sit without support. This is sometimes referred to as tripod sitting. Your physical closeness and supervision are needed for safety and support. Generally, infants feel most secure when a familiar caregiver provides emotional nurturance and stays close.
Many infants develop an ability to sit without support about six to seven months of age, but this skill can occur sooner or later. Sitting without support is achieved following important gains in muscle strength and head control. Regular tummy time activities and being held or carried in an upright position foster this gross motor development. Infants also develop essential body coordination and strength through moving freely on the floor during supervised play periods.
Extra support
Enrichment
Gross motor development
An infant participates in brief supported standing.
None
Be Prepared: This activity is for an infant who can sit without support and is ready to bear weight on his/her feet for a few seconds at a time.
Sit on the floor facing the infant. Encourage the infant to stand with your help. Use both hands to hold the infant’s torso and help him/her stand for a few seconds. Next, assist the infant in sitting down again. Do not lift or lower an infant by the arms. Repeat the sequence several times if the infant enjoys it! Do not hold the infant in a standing position any longer than he/she wishes.
Pay careful attention to the infant’s reactions to supported standing. The infant’s developmental level and desire to bear weight on his/her legs will determine the number of times the infant practices standing up briefly with your support. Do not offer more standing practices unless the infant seems interested. Some infants may enjoy bouncing themselves in a standing position. Do not let go of the infant during any part of standing, and be sure to support the infant as he/she sits down.
Developing strength in the legs and becoming accustomed to bearing weight on the feet requires many repeated experiences, often beginning around six or seven months of age. Week by week infants gradually increase the amount of weight they bear in an upright position. Offer opportunities for supported standing each day during playtimes when the infant is interested, keeping in mind there is no need to rush development.
Extra support
Enrichment
Gross motor development
An older infant practices pulling up to stand and walking.
Be Prepared: This activity option is for an infant who is beginning to pull himself/herself to a standing position, or an infant who is beginning to walk. These two skills are sequenced. Skill in pulling up to stand comes before skill in walking.
To support an infant who has begun to pull himself/herself to a standing position, arrange several small toys on a low surface, such as a cube chair, that the infant can manipulate while standing. Invite an infant to explore the play materials. Kneel next to the infant and talk with him/her about how he moved from creeping or crawling position to standing. Join the infant in playing with the toys.
To support an infant who is ready to walk, kneel in front of the infant and offer your hands as support. Some infants are able to walk by holding an adult’s finger. Infants need their arms for balance. Encourage infants to walk a few steps to you and praise their accomplishment! Walking behind an infant and holding both arms up is not recommended.
Infants often fall frequently while learning to walk. Stay close to a walking infant to offer a safe way to fall. Encourage the infant to bend his/her knees and sit down if balance becomes unsteady. Keep play areas clear of play materials to allow infants to move without obstacles.
Pulling up to stand strengthens an infant’s hips, knees, and ankle muscles, and improves balance. Once an infant is able to balance, he/she will generally begin taking sideways steps, technically known as cruising. Infants first learn to pull themselves up to stand around eight to ten months.
Learning to walk increases access to objects and gives an infant a new view of the environment. Beginning walking is an exhilarating time for infants, but it can also be a time of some unease. Some infants are excited to walk and may resist sleep. Infants often need a little extra nurturing care and reassurance during this time of change. You may see an infant practice walking steps and then revert to crawling until the walking skill is refined.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: Water mat, books, mats, animal and people figures or infant vehicles, textured materials
Arrange a variety of toys to create stimulating play spaces on the floor for infants who are learning to roll over. Supervise all tummy-time play.
Foster existing skills in sitting and crawling by placing a water-mat toy on the floor. Infants will enjoy pushing on the mat and watching the toys inside move as they sit. Arrange several opened books for crawling infants to see. Creeping infants may enjoy looking at the books as they lie on the floor. Small toys infants can grasp and explore can be organized in two places for early mobile infants to discover.
Rotate some play materials and display toys on the floor and on raised surfaces, such as mats for mobile infants. Depending upon the infants’ interests, display animal figures, people figures, or infant vehicles. Infants who can pull up to stand and walk will enjoy touching textured materials displayed on low surfaces. Provide infant books in baskets or displayed on low surfaces.
Materials Needed: paper, freezer bag, paint, tape, paper moon, Round is a Mooncake by Grace Lin, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, Peek-a-Boo Moon by Parragon Books
For infants who are creeping or crawling on hands and knees, prepare a mess-free painting activity. Place a sheet of paper in a clear freezer bag. Add two or three teaspoons of different colors of tempera paint to the bag and seal it. Tape the bag to the floor or a surface that mobile infants can reach. Encourage infants to touch the bag and push on the paint spots.
Sit on the floor to talk with nonmobile infants during play periods. Talk in an animated way and encourage kicking and rolling over when the infants are ready.
Preschool-age and older children will enjoy a challenge jumping over a small object on the floor. Example: Attach a paper moon to the floor. Cut two moon shapes if there are more than four children jumping. Encourage turn taking. Share books about the moon with toddlers and older children. Some possibilities include: Round is a Mooncake by Grace Lin, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, and Peek-a-Boo Moon by Parragon Books.
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