The "W" sit

[Dayhome Mamma]

omg ladies, thanks so much for writing about this cause I had no idea! And my son does this all the time. He is 3. I'm definitely going to be on him from now on. Glad I read this post!

[playfelt]

I currently have a dcg in my care who constantly sits like this. It drives me crazy! I dont think the parents know it is potentially harmful and I know it has affected the little girl already as her hips crack when I pick her up, she looks bowlegged and pigeon toed to me and has horrible balance. I want to say something to the mother, but really dont know how to bring it up to her without offending her. I always correct the girl's legs when she is sitting and she does it less now, but I think it is in her best interest if she was corrected at home too. How would you ladies bring it up to the parent...or would you?

What you could do is print off the articles that were shared above and give them to all of the parents with the idea you just learned how bad this is for the kids and that you are going to be extra vigilent with them at daycare when you see a child sitting this way and then suggest that they do it at home too so it becomes reinforced in both places.

Then at least you have made the parents aware, showed them what to look for and what the dangers are. There isn't much more you can do beyond that.

[Mamma_Mia]

My DD has been doing the W as well....I've been trying to be ontop of it by just saying "fix your legs please" she's also super clumsy so I'm sure that doesn't help her balance!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya for me it depends on the age and how LONG they would be spending in that position .... infants who lean back from a crawl into a W sit for their 60 second attention span to look at something before crawling off I just 'ignore' but as soon as they are sitting for many minutes to explore intently at something I too just gently 'remind' them to stretch out their legs to avoid the hips being in that position for too long.

[mom-in-alberta]

Yes, of course it depends. I let a once-in-a-while thing slide. But you can tell, I think, when this position has become the way that they sit naturally. And that's when I will correct.
Ashleigh; I just printed out some info off the computer, with a graphic of what I mean by "W-sit". I ask for the parents co-operation in correcting, but that's about all you can do. The little girl that I referred to earlier never really did get any better. I just don't think mom and dad saw it as an issue.