It has been about a month since we started training Darius to sit up independently (see Darius Learning to Sit Upright). We would stay close to him and within our reach while keeping our hands off him so that he would learn to sit without any support.

As he began to get the hang of it, we started introducing toys like rattles, books etc for him to hold while he’s seated. He had also enjoyed the companion of a soft fabric ball that we bought for him when he was just a newborn.

Results have been encouraging so far and he is now able to sit unassisted for extended periods of time without toppling over at 6 months and 1 week old. Whenever he felt his balance is off, he will try to use his hands to push onto the ground or onto his legs to keep himself upright. He’s more likely to fall backwards, though he has already started to learn to shift his body weight to prevent himself from falling behind.

With Catherine’s suggestion, we have placed cushions around him so that even if we couldn’t catch hold of him in time when he falls, he will land safely onto these cushions.

Darius with his safety net

I will always remember the one incident when I failed to catch him in time, causing him to land the back of his head onto the playmat. He was shocked by the impact (fortunately it was not on solid ground, though it should still be quite painful) and cried for a while before we managed to soothe him down. I told myself not to let this kind of accident happen again, but as Catherine had put it, we will still need to provide him space and freedom so that he can learn and grow faster. So with these cushions acting as a safety net, we can keep our hands off him to let him learn to be independent, while we knowing that he is still in safe hands.

Below is a video clip we have taken of Darius while I was showing him our various body parts in Mandarin. He sure was giving me his 100% attention:

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