follow up question on W sitting

[elephantmeg]

I had remembered reading a post on W sitting and just searched for it and re-read it. My son who is 10 1/2-11 months old has just started doing it. Is it something to discourage now or is it a normal part of his development at this age. He uses it when playing-starts at a high kneel to get into something and then starts with W sitting when he gets it. He does it for maybe 1-2 min at a time, 0-3 times a day.

TIA!

[Mommy_Again]

From what I remember on this topic, it is not normal stage of development in that not ALL kids do it- just some. I know that if done for long periods of time it can be harmful for the child, but it doesn't sound like your DS is doing it enough to warrant being concerned about it. I'm sure someone with more expertise in this area will be able to add more.

[brittone2]

It is good to gently discourage it. It puts a lot of stress on the ligaments of the knee and possibly can cause torque on the bones. However it is partly a "chicken and egg" kind of thing, as some kids may prefer that position because they are already a little different anatomically.

I was a massive W sitter as a kid. I spent hours like that. I have dislocated my kneecap several times and have torn cartilage as a result. I have a really unstable knee and I'm sure it is related to all of my W sitting.

If your DS is only using it as a transitional position and not staying there, I would probably not worry too much. If he starts falling into a habit of using it, I'd be more inclined to gently redirect his position a bit. My DS used it periodically (and still does) but mostly just as a transition to another position within a minute or so. As a child I sat and watched TV like that for an hour at a time, etc.

[Tondi G]

My older DS has one foot that turns in and the ped said that W sitting could contribute to the problem and to encourage him to sit with his feet forward or cross legged! We just kept telling him to sit with his feet forward and now at 5 he sits cross legged more than anything.... I am sure preschool helped with that too!

~Tondi

[elephantmeg]

Thanks ya'll! I'll discourage it as much as possible, he seems to be doing it more and more as he goes from a sitting position from crawling so I guess now is the time. I wonder if he would still do it when he went from walking to sitting?