{"id":52115,"date":"2014-05-12T13:09:24","date_gmt":"2014-05-12T17:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ClevelandMomsRock.com\/?p=52115"},"modified":"2014-05-12T13:09:24","modified_gmt":"2014-05-12T17:09:24","slug":"whats-wrong-with-w-sitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clevelandmomsrock.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/12\/whats-wrong-with-w-sitting\/","title":{"rendered":"What's Wrong With W-Sitting?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each time I walk into a classroom, I can find at least 3 children who are on the floor in the W-Sitting position\u2026and they kind of remind me of melting snowman.\u00a0\u00a0 Their legs are wide around their bottoms, their trunk posture is often droopy and they aren\u2019t able to move their arms outside of their base of support to play.\u00a0 I am constantly\u00a0\u00a0 saying \u201cfix your legs\u201d or \u201cNO \u201cW\u201d SITTING!\u201d.\u00a0 What’s so wrong with W-sitting?\u00a0 Let\u2019s explore.<\/span><\/p>\n

W-sitting looks like this:\u00a0 a child sits on the floor, their bottoms are between their legs, and their knees are bent with their legs rotated away from the body \u2013 if you stand above them and look down, it looks like their legs are forming a \u201cW\u201d.\u00a0 All children have the potential to begin the W-sitting habit. In this position, kids’ base of support is wider and their center of gravity is lower allowing for increased stability through their hips and trunk. \u00a0It’s a convenient position for play because they do not have to work on keeping their balance while also concentrating on toys.<\/span><\/p>\n

W-sitting is problematic for the following reasons:<\/span><\/h2>\n

-In this position, a child cannot achieve active trunk rotation and cannot shift their weight over each side making it difficult to reach toys that are outside their immediate reach.\u00a0 It is so important for kids to be able to weightshift and rotate in order to develop adequate balance reactions (think of the ability to catch their fall when they are running) and for developing the ability to cross midline (very important for writing).\u00a0\u00a0 Bilateral coordination (the ability to effectively use both sides of the body together) is delayed as a result.\u00a0 Every motor skill a child develops is a product of developing the milestone before.\u00a0 So, if a child has difficulty developing bilateral coordination, he may then demonstrate delays in skills such as developing hand dominance, skipping, throwing, kicking, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

-W-sitting causes the hip and leg muscles to become shortened and tight which may lead to \u201cpigeon toed\u201d walking and could increase chance of back or pelvis pain as they grow.\u00a0 One study also suggests that W-sitting as a preschooler may increase the likelihood of a child becoming flat footed in both feet (European Journal of Pediatrics, Chen KC, 2010)*.<\/span><\/p>\n

-If a child is frequently in a W-sitting position, core strength may become an issue, which may lead to poor posture, delayed developmental skills, and overcompensation of other muscle groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

If your child is a W-sitter, there are a few things you can do to help them correct their sitting.\u00a0 First and foremost, encourage other ways to sit on the floor.\u00a0 Side sitting (to either side), long sitting (legs out in front), pretzel sitting, or sitting on a low bench or stool.\u00a0 Trust me, it will get redundant to correct this if it has become a bad habit, but it is worth it in the long run!\u00a0\u00a0 Consistency is important!<\/span><\/p>\n

If you find that your child has difficulty maintaining any other position than W-sitting, it may be worthwhile to seek the advice of a physical therapist for suggestions on how to correct their position and for treatment of any underlying strength deficits or muscle tightening that has resulted.\u00a0 Ideally, you want to avoid the development of this habit.\u00a0 Keep your children sitting tall, strong, and proud like Frosty the Snowman and avoid the droopy look of a snowman that saw too much sun!<\/span><\/p>\n

*full bibliography:\u00a0 Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung City, 402, Taiwan. European Journal of Pediatrics<\/a> (Impact Factor: 1.91). 12\/2010; 170(7):931-6. DOI:10.1007\/s00431-010-1380-7\u00a0 Source: PubMed<\/a><\/p>\n

For more information, head to <\/span>www.theinspiredtreehouse.com<\/a> and check out our <\/span>Core Strengthening Activities for Kids<\/b><\/a> and our round-up of <\/span>Great Toys for Core Strengthening<\/b><\/a> to give an extra boost with developing the muscles of the trunk!<\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each time I walk into a classroom, I can find at least 3 children who are on the floor in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4,5,7,18],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4NId2-dyz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":465,"url":"https:\/\/clevelandmomsrock.com\/index.php\/2013\/11\/26\/santa_claus_in_cleveland\/","url_meta":{"origin":52115,"position":0},"title":"Santa Claus & Elf on the Shelf in Cleveland","author":"Cleveland Moms Like You","date":"November 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"What would Christmas be without a picture of your child with Santa. 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