W-sitting: What's all the fuss?
What is W-Sitting?
W-sitting is a position that children sit in when their bottom is in contact with the floor and their legs are out beside them, forming a “W” shape. This position places the child’s hips in excessive internal rotation, at risk for dislocation, and places muscles in a shortened position to become at-risk for tightness.
Why Do kids W-Sit and why is it a problem?
Many children sit in this position for stability. It allows them to be stable and to have both of their hands free to play with toys and not have to worry about their balance or stability. The concern with this position is that children are not able to move their trunk in rotation or shift their weight to either side. This “planted pot” position and lack of moving limits their ability to reach away from midline and limits crossing midline, which helps with developing hand dominance and to learn bilateral coordination. If you watch children as they play, you will see them sitting in various positions: playing in squat on their feet, cross-legged or pretzel sitting, side-sitting with propping on one hand, sitting with their legs straight out in front of them and others in W-sitting. In all of these positions, other than W-sitting, children are rotating, reaching, propping 1 hand and reaching, all of these positions help them get stronger core and pelvic girdle strength, learn balance and protective reactions. When W-sitting, children are not learning these movements and not improving their trunk or core strength. They tend to learn how to play with toys on their right side with their right hand and toys on the left with their left hand, not reaching across midline. The benefits of improving core strength and crossing midline from simple sitting and playing leads to future higher balance, motor-planning and bilateral coordination skills…and without these skills, they can struggle and be delayed with their motor skills.
There are many reasons children W-sit, but often it is because they are weak and may have low muscle tone. The earlier you discourage your child from W-sitting, the sooner they can start working on improving their strength and motor skills. I tend to not “worry” about the children that are often moving in and out of this position as they play on the floor with their toys…I am more concerned about the “potted plants” that stay in that position for long periods of play time (greater than 5 minutes as a guideline.)
What can you do to help your child?
First, if your child is W-sitting often and shows signs of developmental delay, this may be due to core muscle and/or pelvic girdle muscle weakness. Try to start changing their sitting habits and see with changing and helping them learn how to play in these new positions if they start to develop the strength and balance they need to play with toys while in this new sitting position. If you still have concerns, make an appointment with your child’s pediatrician and ask for a referral for a physical therapy or occupational evaluation. There are many activities that a therapist can provide you with to improve muscle weakness and motor skills. This is important for overall development as this weakness can lead to poor posture and delayed gross motor and/or fine motor skills. A therapist would be a great resource to help guide you and your child with a home exercise program.
Are there any long term effects from W-sitting?
There are potential long term effects from W-sitting, depending on the severity and the length of time kids W-sit. It depends on several factors. Some children W-sit just because of weak trunk muscles and have figured out they can play with both hands if they have this big base of support. Some children may have a neurological diagnosis that presents with increased muscle tone and shortened muscles that restrict sitting, and W-sitting is easier for them to find stability and play. If this is the case, your child would benefit from medically based physical therapy with a specific home exercise program. Some information presents concerns with hip dislocation from long-term W-sitting as the child’s hips are positioned in excessive internal rotation and they are not able to develop a deep hip-socket, and the femur is at risk to dislocate. W-sitting position also places kids at risk for “knock-kneed” position and potentially for flat feet. So, if we can discourage our kids from sitting in W-sit, we can hopefully prevent some long-term boney changes that could require surgery in the future and/or be painful with activities of daily living.
How to discourage W-Sitting?
Start from an early age…simply “fix their legs”….that’s what you will hear me say often, “Fix your legs!” Just change their position to any other position: pretzel/cross-legged sitting, side-sitting, long-sitting with their legs in front of them, or have them play squatting on their feet. If their balance is poor or their muscles are weak and they can’t hold themselves up for very long, have their back supported against the couch or other furniture. Sometimes you may offer a short stool or seat, or sit behind them and offer support. Work on learning different seated options sot that they can improve their trunk rotation, balance, and crossing midline with their hands during play. Remember, they just want to be able to sit and play and this W-sit position has offered them the ability to keep their balance and play. So, stay positive and kindly help them move into a different position and work on other sitting positions so that they can learn how to play in a different position and get stronger while sitting tall in that new position. If they continue to struggle with their sitting balance, contact your child’s pediatrician to express your concerns and see if the doctor feels that it would be appropriate for your child to receive a physical therapy or occupational therapy evaluation.
BECC Gross Motor Weekly Focus:
Gross motor skills are important with your childs overall development. It's amazing how our brain and body works together and if one area is weak, another area may not work as well! We will be working on physical development in preschool, covering the following areas of physical development on a weekly rotation:
Week 1- Stair Access, Climbing, and Jumping skills
Week 2- Ball Play: catching, kicking, and throwing (overhand, underhand, overhead)
Week 3- Locomotion skills
Week 4- Balance skills, and "Movin' and Groovin'"/Dance & Rhythm skills
Look for the weekly postings of gross motor activities/obstacles that you can work on at home with your child!
Gross motor skills are important with your childs overall development. It's amazing how our brain and body works together and if one area is weak, another area may not work as well! We will be working on physical development in preschool, covering the following areas of physical development on a weekly rotation:
Week 1- Stair Access, Climbing, and Jumping skills
Week 2- Ball Play: catching, kicking, and throwing (overhand, underhand, overhead)
Week 3- Locomotion skills
Week 4- Balance skills, and "Movin' and Groovin'"/Dance & Rhythm skills
Look for the weekly postings of gross motor activities/obstacles that you can work on at home with your child!
Its warming up!! It's time to play outside on the playground! There won't be any more weekly "Gross Motor Focus" postings as we will be playing outside if the weather is nice. The Gross Motor room will still be available and children will continue to work on gross motor activities and goals.
I always encourage taking your children to explore different playgrounds. This offers them more of a challenge as they can often "memorize" the playground you visit regularly. Attached below is a listing of local parks and playgrounds for you and your family to visit this summer!
I always encourage taking your children to explore different playgrounds. This offers them more of a challenge as they can often "memorize" the playground you visit regularly. Attached below is a listing of local parks and playgrounds for you and your family to visit this summer!
parks_and_playgrounds_in_local_communities.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
preschool__school-age_core_strengthening_activities.pdf | |
File Size: | 717 kb |
File Type: |
core_strengthening_exercises_for_teens__adults.pdf | |
File Size: | 296 kb |
File Type: |
Local listings of indoor activities for the family.
indoor_activities_for_the_family.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
winter_gross_motor_activities.pdf | |
File Size: | 610 kb |
File Type: |
Fun Fall Gross Motor Family Activities
fall_gross_motor_activities.pdf | |
File Size: | 426 kb |
File Type: |