Beware of letting your child sit in the W position.. It has many risks to his health!

England – Specialists revealed shocking information regarding children sitting in a W-shape and its effects on their health in the future.

The child resorts to sitting with the legs and feet on the sides. Children who prefer to sit in the W position are the same children who have pigeon toes when walking, which is the inward bending of the foot when walking. The legs also deviate outward when running. The severity of the foot deviation varies from one child to another.

Specialists confirmed the reason for children resorting to this position, saying: “This position is a reflection of the increased movement of the hip joint. At the beginning of a child’s life, especially females, the child has an increased movement of the hip joint inward, which helps the child to sit in the W position, and is also the reason for the deviation of the feet or the child’s leg turning inward when walking.”

They continued: “Increased movement in the hip joint is normal at this age, and may continue until the age of 8 years. The increased movement gradually disappears from the age of 3-8 years, and the movement of the joint becomes similar to the movement of the joint in adults.”

Dangers of sitting in the W position

As for the negative effects, they indicated that sitting in this position may delay the development of the joint and the joint’s ability to get rid of excess movement, and thus the pigeon-toed walking position (inward deflection of the foot) continues. Also, sitting in the W position may delay the strengthening of the trunk muscles (abdomen and back) because the child in the W position relies on the thigh and legs to achieve balance while sitting, which delays the development and strengthening of the trunk muscles.

They said regarding how to prevent the child from sitting in the W-shape, that the child must be alerted to change the sitting position every time he sits in this shape. The preferred sitting positions are either extending the legs forward or bending the legs (the Arab sitting position).

The specialized committee said that the mother must realize that the injury of the pigeon or the W-sit as a result of increased rotation of the hip joint is a normal condition in children that does not require concern, as the child’s physical growth is normal, and this does not affect any motor function of the child in the future.”

Agencies