Should we not let LO sit in a "W" position?

[sabine]

I heard that you shouldn't let your LO sit in a "W" position: www.davidwolfe.com/kids-w-sitting-position/ but DD does all the time. Any insight on this?

[gratefulgirl]

W sitting isn't ideal because it lets kids sit without doing much work. There are a ton of PT blogs out there on the evils of W sitting. Obviously you've found one.

All that said, there are also some counter sources out there that say that W sitting is actually fine. I wouldn't stress about it on it's own, but if it's coupled with a gross motor delay or that sort of thing you might see if it's another symptom of a bigger problem. My DD1 was one example - she had hypermobile hips and low muscle tone (which lead her to hate working her core) and W sitting was easy for her. She spent a lot of time in a special product called Hip Helpers that corrected her hypermobile hips and made W sitting impossible. DD2 plops into W sit occasionally. I don't worry about it with her.

[Courtniko]

I always thought it was bad for your knees and ligaments in that area, but I have absolutley no basis for that at all

[gratefulgirl]

Mar 31, 2016 22:01:45 GMT -5 @slmck said:

I also know that there is no comfortable way for me to w sit as an adult

FFFC - watching my kids w sit has caused me to unconsciously start doing it when playing with them.

[acorn99]

J sits like this on occasion, but he also doesn't usually sit still for more than a few minutes so I don't really worry about it.

[mimsy]

Mar 31, 2016 17:16:20 GMT -5 @slmck said:

Not an expert by any means but...
At work, the OTs correct the older kids (like 2.5/3+) if they are w sitting but don't worry too much about the little ones, especially ones still in diapers. Apparently the diaper can kind of "get in the way" resulting in w sitting. It's apparently developmentally ok when they're little but not once they start to get older

My friend who is a COTA-L says this exactly.

It CAN be a sign of sensory issues/autism later on, but in younger toddlers it's just natural.

Think of how damn flexible babies are.

[minervamae]

I'm no expert, but here are 2 opinions I've received.

The pediatric podiatrist we saw for DD1's pigeon toed issues said W sitting can contribute to that...he also blamed sleeping on her stomach with her knees tucked up. He gave me lots of guilt over her sleeping on her stomach like that ... like I wasn't following "back to sleep". I tried to explain that the minute she learned to roll she would roll onto her stomach to sleep, but he wasn't listening. He said there was nothing wrong with her bones; she was just lazy. So take his opinion as you will.

My SIL is a Physical Therapist and she also says it's not good for them. She didn't get into exactly what it would cause but said to encourage other positions.

[HazyGrey]

I used to sit like this when I was young and I remember my dad telling me not to! I remember it hurting my knees after a while. eventually I got out of the habit. I have no idea if it is bad or not. But I'm fine. At least I think so...

[HazyGrey]

Apr 1, 2016 8:42:54 GMT -5 minervamae said:

I'm no expert, but here are 2 opinions I've received.

The pediatric podiatrist we saw for DD1's pigeon toed issues said W sitting can contribute to that...he also blamed sleeping on her stomach with her knees tucked up. He gave me lots of guilt over her sleeping on her stomach like that ... like I wasn't following "back to sleep". I tried to explain that the minute she learned to roll she would roll onto her stomach to sleep, but he wasn't listening. He said there was nothing wrong with her bones; she was just lazy. So take his opinion as you will.

My SIL is a Physical Therapist and she also says it's not good for them. She didn't get into exactly what it would cause but said to encourage other positions.

What an idiot. You can't control how they sleep. DD is in a million different positions when she sleeps.

[minervamae]

Apr 1, 2016 8:46:28 GMT -5 HazyGrey said:

Apr 1, 2016 8:42:54 GMT -5 minervamae said:

I'm no expert, but here are 2 opinions I've received.

The pediatric podiatrist we saw for DD1's pigeon toed issues said W sitting can contribute to that...he also blamed sleeping on her stomach with her knees tucked up. He gave me lots of guilt over her sleeping on her stomach like that ... like I wasn't following "back to sleep". I tried to explain that the minute she learned to roll she would roll onto her stomach to sleep, but he wasn't listening. He said there was nothing wrong with her bones; she was just lazy. So take his opinion as you will.

My SIL is a Physical Therapist and she also says it's not good for them. She didn't get into exactly what it would cause but said to encourage other positions.

What an idiot. You can't control how they sleep. DD is in a million different positions when she sleeps.

Yeah, I left frustrated that we'd gotten no answers, but glad that we didn't have to see him again.

[skylark002]

My friend's pediatrician told her to have her daughter stop doing it because it was bad for knees and hips.

[sabine]

Thanks for your responses, everyone. DD never sits for more than a few minutes at a time because she's usually busy going back and forth, squatting up and down and generally being very active. So, I'll see how this progresses as she gets older.