Supported sitting

These activities are suitable for children between 4-12months and align with stage 1b of the Developmental Journal Babies Visual Impairment (DJVI).

On this page

Safety first

What you'll need

Floor mat, sound toys, blanket

Activity

Once your child has developed good head control and can sit with a little bit of support on your knee, you can start introducing activities to help develop their core.

Whilst sitting your child on your knee facing you, hold them around their hips and try:

  • Rocking them gently from side to side
  • Rocking them back and forth
  • Gradually increasing the size of the rock as their trunk control improves

These movements teach your child about their body and surroundings. You can help your child feel secure in different positions by making it enjoyable. For example, by starting to introduce a variety of calming and exciting body movements, such as:

  • Rocking
  • Swaying
  • Lifting your child up and down
  • Trying different speeds

To make it more fun you can include nursery rhymes or music whilst doing these activities, and over time your child will start to associate their movements with certain sounds.

Please supervise your child at all times while completing any of these activities.

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