Toddlers transitioning from crawling to sitting will sometimes sit on their bottom with their legs either side bent at the knees, rotated and facing away from the body. As the legs create a W shape on the floor, this is referred to as W sitting.
Why do Children W Sit?
Toddlers may start to W sit because the wide base gives them more stability and balance when they begin to learn how to sit from the crawling position.
Young children with loose and mobile joints may W sit as they have greater flexibility to move easily into the position.
It’s also suggested that some W sitting children may not have yet developed strong enough trunk muscles to be able to twist or rotate to the side. If the trunk muscles are not yet strong enough to support them properly, it may be easier for some children to W sit as this doesn’t require as much effort to stay upright as other sitting positions do.
The Problem with W Sitting
Because of the position the body is placed in, children who regularly W sit may develop problems later on with the muscles and joints in their back, hips, legs and feet.
Some W sitting children will have issues with their posture and may develop sway back. Sway back is caused by the pelvis being tilted forward more than it should. The angle of the pelvis causes the spine to bend back sharply and the curve in the lower and middle back will be prominent. Other signs of sway back include turned in feet when walking or standing, and tightened lower back muscles and hamstrings.
What You Can Do
If you notice your child is starting to W sit, encourage them to try sitting in another position. Sit on the floor with your child, with your legs crossed or on your side with your legs facing out in the same direction. Show your child how to get into the same sitting position as you and encourage them to do this each time they sit. If your child prefers to sit on their side, it’s a good idea to teach them how to change sides so they don’t begin to favour one side over the other.
Strength Building Muscle Exercises� �
There are a number of strengthening exercises you can do with your child to help them build up the muscles in their trunk, hips, shoulders and legs. If your child is too young to perform exercises, you can find ways of incorporating them into their play time.
- Get your child to sit in the side position. Without using their arms, encourage them to get onto their knees and then sit in the opposite direction.
- Bottom walking is a fun exercise especially if you have a hallway. Ask your child to sit on their bottom with their legs facing straight in front of them. Get them to lift one side of their bottom off the floor and move forward, followed by doing the same thing on the opposite side. Have bottom walking races with them!
- Standing up, have your child bend over to touch their toes. Without bending their knees, get them to walk their hands out in front of them on the ground then walk their feet up to meet them.
- Crouch on the ground into the crawling position. Encourage your child to walk on all fours by moving their arm and leg on the same side at the same time, followed by the other side. You can turn this into a game by pretending to be dinosaurs.
Did you W sit as a child? What about your children? How did you encourage them to sit in other positions?
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If you become concerned about any symptoms please seek immediate medical attention we have some hotlines and suggested websites for further information and advice �https://stayathomemum.com.au/my-kids/babies/important-hotlines-websites/
SAHM takes no responsibility for any illness, injury or death caused by misuse of this information. �All information provided is correct at time of publication.�
Responses to “W Sitting”
We worked very hard with my daughter and her therapists to stop her from W sitting, It was a challenge as she suffers from hypotonia and delays. She doesn’t do it now but we have to keep an eye on her as it can cause problems with hips and pelvis.
I used to sit like this too. Sitting crosslegged on the floor has always been very uncomfortable and I never could maintain any other sitting position on the floor for more than a minute. After being told of the supposed health problems caused by W-sitting, I asked my chiropractor for his opinion. He said he did not believe it had anything to do with my issues.
My pelvis tilts the opposite way to described and I do have hip problems but from everything I’ve looked into, it appears my hip problems are the cause of my W-sitting, not the symptom.
My daughter would always sit like this and would fall over often. She was diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome at the age of 3. Our physio suggested placing two old phone books (the large ones) together and covering them with brightly coloured contact. This makes a perfect little seat for the child to use when playing games on the floor and deters them from W sitting.