W-Sitting: Alternative Ways to Sit for Your Wobbly Sitter

Does your child prefer to W-sit? W-sitting is when the child sits on their bottom with their knees bent and feet positioned off to the side by their hips. W-sitting is a common sitting position for children who have decreased core strength and seek this position for increased stability to stay upright. W-sitting is okay if for short periods of time when used with other sitting positions. Frequent W-sitting can lead to risk of tightened hip musculature resulting in hip dislocations. It can also lead to limited core strength and trunk rotation causing limited ability to transition out of sitting. This results in less exploration of the child’s environment, leading to delayed gross motor development. 

Here are alternative sitting positions to encourage for your child when playing on the floor. 

• Ring Sit: sitting on bottom with legs creating a circle and bottoms of feet touching. 

• Long Sit: sitting on bottom with legs straight in front of body 

• Side Sit: sitting on bottom with both knees bent and both feet facing one side  

• Tailor Sit/‘Crisscross Applesauce’: sitting on bottom with knees bent and ankles crossed 

• Low kneeling: kneeling and sitting on feet  

These sitting positions allow for your child to weight shift while reaching and playing with toys. They further allow for increased trunk rotation, reaching across their bodies and engaging their core muscles. Overall, a variety of sitting positions allows for your child to further engage and explore their environment with play! 

Fun verbal cues to consider with your child to help break W-sitting habits:  

 “Feet are friends, they stay together!” 

“Feet in front please” or “feet forward please” 

Work to give verbal cues in a positive way, such as “feet in front!”, rather than a negative way, such as saying “no W sitting” or “stop sitting like that!”, is less frustrating and more effective for long-term change.