W-Sitting & Learning to Correct
A common issue for children as they are developing important muscle structures is their core strength in their trunk. While it is very typical to see a little one “W-sitting” - that is, sitting with your ankles on the outside of your bent knees - it is an important position to correct if you notice that a child in your life often position themselves this way. It can be comfortable for them, or allow them to have more control over their movements, but if that continues, it will likely lead to difficulties with hips, strength of core, and other developmental problems.
How Does W-Sitting Affect Strength?
When a child sits in the w-position with their legs, it supports their upper body more, so they are not required to hold themselves up with their core strength, so they are not developing these muscles to be stronger over time. When these muscles are not engaged, it often will lead to other issues other than strength, like overall coordination. Because they may be used to sitting in a stable position without activating their core muscles, they may lose their balance easier when seated in other positions. This position does not allow them to sit completely straight upright.
How Does W-Sitting Affect Structural Development?
W-sitting can affect the way that bones develop and muscles form around them as well. When the lower leg is rotated along with the interior hip joint of the thigh bone being rotated as well, it can cause some malalignment and create issues later on in life. Sometimes children sit in this position due to some abnormality with bone growth to start with, so it is important to address it in either case.
Flexibility is also a concern with w-sitting, as the hip is rotated interiorly, it can create excessive flexibility in that direction while creating tightness and inflexibility in the opposite direction. The difference in flexibility often causes other issues with muscle strength, as the hips would not be as strong as typically might be.
The ability to reach across the body is also a concern when w-sitting becomes a repeated habit. Because their core strength is not built while they sit in this position, it is more difficult for them to rotate their trunk to either side or reach toward either side.
The other concern with w-sitting and its effect on development is the way a child walks. This position can cause the rotation to take a more dominant presence in the normal movements like walking. This may cause a child to start to walk with their toes turned in, as some people would refer to as “pigeon-toed.” The lower leg, starting with the knee rotating inward more often will make the legs more used to, or reliant on that position.
What Can You Do?
We have featured an activity to help aid you in your at-home work with the children in your life - and you can review our Peanut Ball activities for core strength to get started.
One of the main goals will be to monitor the frequency of this position and trying to correct it when it happens. You can offer alternative positions like sitting cross-legged or sitting with the knees together and to one side. Many therapists will use a wiggle-seat or a sensory-seat to help challenge their balance and increase their core strength during some of their activities. Utilizing a seat can also help mediate some of the extra fidgeting that can sometimes prevent a child from sitting for a longer period of time.
Helping the child in your life understand that sitting that way is not good for them will help them correct it easier in the future. You can develop a habit of remembering to correct the leg position until it is less of an issue. You can also work together on new ways of sitting. You can show them some ways of sitting that they might not have found yet or explore some different options together.
Think about the many ways of sitting like in butterfly pose, with your feet together and knees to the sides, or sitting on your heels with your knees together. You might incorporate a tool like a wiggle-seat into your normal routine or use other tools like peanut balls or foam rollers. You can have your child sit on these tools to help them with posture control, leaving their hands free to play or interact with something in front of them.
Additional Steps
If you aren’t sure if there’s an issue with your child’s development, you should seek a professional diagnosis to start out on the right path. A pediatric physical therapist or occupational therapist can assist in developmental issues or abnormalities caused by things like w-sitting, and can provide valuable resources and ideas for specified care. A therapist can also determine if there are other areas of concern that could be related and help develop a plan to work through those issues across any therapy needed for your child.
Don’t forget to download our activities to help stop w-sitting become a habit and check out some of our other activities you can do at home to help the development of a child. Join our mailing list to receive our monthly newsletter with our featured therapist, resources about pediatric development or other important topics, activities for everyone, and more.
To get started with Tilton’s Therapy for Tots, start by contacting us with your questions or filling out our patient registration forms.
Additional Resources:
http://www.specialkidstn.com/therapyandnursingblog/2017/8/28/what-is-w-sitting
https://pathways.org/blog/what-is-w-sitting/
