Hi all,
Just wondering if any of you are concern with “W” sitting? When did they start sitting like that and do you correct it?
My boy is 11 months old and lately every time he crawl up to sit, It looks like he is begin to “W” sit. I would like to get some input about this.
Thanks!!
Eve
Hi MYSunshine
My two year old started “W” sitting as soon as she could sit upright.
The health nurses told me I should get her not to sit like that, as it affects their hips and other things (sorry can’t remember exactly - I suffered heavily from sleep deprivation at that time lol )
I do tell her to “sit properly” when she sits like that, but she still does it!! I think its the most comfortable way for her to sit, but at least she listens when I ask her to sit right - only if it is for just a few seconds :nowink: .
Just ask your doctor or health nurse next time you see them.
Cheers,
My dd goes to physical therapy because she has low muscle tone. We were told to discourage W sitting. We were also told it is not good for the child to roll from their stomach up into a W sit. If your child is doing it occasionally I don’t think it is too bad, but I would try to encourage them to sit properly if they do it too often. In my dd’s case it hasn’t been a problem thankfully.
Thanks for the replies,
I wasn’t really sure if its something I should be concern about, after all, its just a sitting position, but the hip thing does make sense.
I will keep an eye on my baby’s “w” sitting.
Thanks!
Great. One more thing to worry about. It hadn’t even dawned on me that W sitting should be watched for. Not at all. Thanks for the heads-up, though!
My son’s tutor noticed he w sat so they worked on teaching him to sit cross legged. Now he reminds me when I w sit to “Sit nice mom, like this cross your legs” lol
yeah my doc told me that it’s very bad for little kids to sit like that
something about developing bones
i just don’t see how you can even sit like that
i tried and i can’t do it lol
I can and still do out of bad habit (unless the “W” sitting police “Wesley” is around) because I wasn’t corrected as a child. I have LOTs of joint issues now as an adult. I wonder if its related. Just bad sore joints at night.
I was not aware there was something call “W” sitting, I can imagine it is like kneeling, going down and opening your legs. Just this weekend I had a family reunion and one of my grand-nephews was being corrected by her mom because she was told by her son’s doctor to keep an eye on his sitting. He was starting to develop his feet crooked.
My grandson likes to sit on top of his feet but not putting them out. Is this also ‘W’ sitting. It doesn’t seem to harm him. We will have to check for that.
Thanks
i found some info at
physical-therapy.advanceweb.com
Orthopedic Concerns
In a W-sitting position, the hips are placed at the extreme limits of internal rotation, predisposing the child to future orthopedic problems. In the abnormal position, the risk of hip dislocation becomes a concern. If the child has hip dysplasia, which commonly goes undetected in youngsters, sitting in the W-position increases the risk of dislocation tremendously. Pre-existing orthopedic conditions can worsen when major muscle groups are placed in shortened positions and begin to tighten. These shortened muscles are at risk to form contractures, and a permanent shortening of the muscle–especially prone are the hamstrings, adductors and Achilles tendon.
W-sitting compromises balance development. A child who frequently W-sits does not need to use his trunk muscles. Because W-sitting allows the child to balance himself in a straight-aligned position, the trunk muscles are not challenged and balance reactions are not needed. As a result, trunk control and balance are slower to develop and delays due to nonuse are likely. Frequent W- sitters typically lack stability in their trunk and pelvis and will commonly rely on this abnormal sitting position to hold their balance against gravity. It is much eas- ier for children who have not yet developed mature balance reactions to W-sit during play because the hips and trunk are fixed and do not have to do much work. This static positional stability means that the child no longer has to be concerned with holding himself up. The child does not need to use trunk rotation or side-to-side weight shifting, as the position itself offers the child stability not found in other more developmentally acceptable positions.
It Gets Worse
Because trunk rotation does not occur during W-sitting, midline orientation is avoided. Children naturally begin to bring their hands together at midline to manipulate objects, but a child who regularly W-sits is discouraged from engaging in this important milestone. Instead, the child tends to use the right hand on the right side of the body and the left hand on the left side, disrupting bilateral hand use and the development of future hand preference. The W-position discourages the child from crossing over midline, which involves shifting the weight of the upper torso onto the opposite arm and using the trunk muscles to rotate in order to retrieve a toy. Midline crossing, bilateral hand use and hand dominance are important developmental milestones that pave the way for the development of more advanced motor skills
im not very much concern about the netter as i haven’t seen E sitting like that