# Stop Pulling Babies into Sitting: Do these 4 Baby Activities Instead! Newborn Activities

**Creator:** Emma Hubbard
**Platform:** youtube
**Duration:** 5m
**Source:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U

## Summary

Parents are advised against using the "pull to sit" method with babies, as it is not an effective exercise for developing head control or tummy muscles. Instead, pediatric occupational therapist Emma shares alternative activities that promote head control and core strength in infants.

- The "pull to sit" method is an assessment tool, not an exercise, and should be avoided.
- Activities to enhance head control include rolling babies onto their side when lifting them.
- Tummy time is essential for strengthening back and neck muscles.
- Playing on their back helps babies develop neck strength as they track toys.
- Gradually reducing support when holding babies encourages head movement and control.
- These activities are safer and more effective than the pull to sit method.

## Transcript

[[0:00]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=0s)
- Moms and dads, please stop
doing pull to sits with babies. So that is essentially when
you hold your baby's hand and they're lying down and
you pull them from the ground up into sitting. This is not an exercise for your baby, that's gonna work on their head control or their tummy muscles. What it is is actually an
assessment we therapists use to determine if your baby has headlights or essentially when they come up, if their heads lagging a
bit behind their trunk, then it shows that they haven't
yet got that head control, which would be wanting.

[[0:36]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=36s)
So it's not an actual exercise. It's an assessment tool that we use. And it's not something that
we as therapists recommend. So if you've heard it at all
from well-meaning parents or on any kind of YouTube channel or read about it on the
internet, stop doing it now. What I'm going to show
you is some activities that you would generally be
doing throughout your day but it's going to be working
on your baby's head control which is what this pull to sit activity was supposedly working on.

[[1:08]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=68s)
And it's also gonna be working
on those stomach muscles. So make sure you stay tuned to find out what those activities are. (upbeat music) If you're new to this
channel, my name's Emma and this channel is all
about helping you become an extremely confident parent by sharing the tips and tricks
I've learned along the way practicing as a pediatric
occupational therapist and also being a mom to two children. Now if you wanna make parenting easier make sure you start now by
subscribing to my channel and hitting that bell so
you won't miss a thing.

[[1:37]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=97s)
Before we get into the activities that are gonna help with
develop your baby's head control and gross motor skills, make sure you click on
that free PDF document in the description box below which covers what you can be expecting in regards to your baby's
developmental milestones for their first year of life. This will give you
invaluable peace of mind as you'll know what your
baby should be doing and when to be concerned. So the first activity
you can do with your baby which is gonna work on that head control is when you've put your
baby onto the ground or you pick them up from the ground you always do it through sidelines.

[[2:08]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=128s)
So that essentially means
that you roll your baby onto the side, onto their
side when you're lifting them and you do it slowly so it gives them time to actually get their
neck muscles switched on. And then so you roll them onto the side and then you pick them up or you roll them onto their side and then you put them onto their back. Now your baby is born with a reflex, which means that when they're
rolled onto their side, they will automatically kind
of switch on this neck muscles so that it tries to keep their head in the middle of their body.

[[2:40]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=160s)
And that is automatically
using that reflex to then work on that strengthening
of those neck muscles. So this is a really great activity that you can do with your baby when they're a newborn and then continue it on
over the next few months. The second activity you
can do with your baby is lots and lots of tummy time. Now if your hates tummy time, make sure you check out
my video on tummy time and covering the four
different tummy time options that's gonna make it
significantly easier for your baby but essentially tummy time works on strengthening
your baby's back muscles and their neck so that
they can lift their head as well as their arms
and shoulder stability.

[[3:19]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=199s)
The third activity you
can do with your baby is actually let them play when
they're lying on their back. So initially your baby
will be lying on their back and their head will fall to their side when they're at a newborn phase. But they'll soon develop
stronger neck muscles so that they'll be able to keep their head in the middle of their
body, so in their midline, and then they will start to track toys. So particularly if
they're under a baby gym, they'll look at a toy and then they'll follow up with the head and that's all working
on their neck strength.

[[3:48]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=228s)
The other thing is when
they're lying on their back and they kick, that's putting like basically
their cause coming on or their tummy muscles are
coming on at that stage. And as they get stronger, they'll actually start lifting
their legs off the ground and they'll be able to use
their hands to touch their knees and then there'll be able to, their stomach muscles will get stronger, and there'll be able to use their hands and they'll touch their feet.

[[4:10]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=250s)
So it's all great opportunities
to work on that neck control and that tummy strength. And the fourth activity
you can do with your babe to work on their head control
and their core strength is really when you're holding them. Initially you'll be providing them with quite a lot of support. So you'll be providing
support at their heads and around their body,
but as they get stronger you'll naturally start to
remove the amount of support initially you're providing at their head.

[[4:36]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=276s)
So you'll bring it a little
bit away from their head so that they can move their head slightly and they'll start looking around. So again, that's working
on that head control but as I get stronger again, then you remove that hand completely and then you start lowering your hand when the hand that's holding their body. So that's it moms and dads, those are the four activities
that you can do with your baby to work on developing their neck control and their stomach muscles
and general core strength.

[[5:02]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-d3xLowI0U&t=302s)
So, and it's a lot safer
than doing a pull to sit so holding their arms and
bringing them up into sitting which you should definitely stop doing if you are doing that. If you've enjoyed this video make sure you hit that like button and subscribe to this channel if you wanna make parenting
significantly easier and hopefully I'll see you next week where I'll be able to share
more parenting tips and tricks. (upbeat music)