does anyone know of its bad for kids to sit on knees with legs out to side? like a frog

[peanutbuttersarnies]

My ds1 is 4 and does this. I am starting to wonder if its not good for his knees/back/hips etc. And if i need to discourage it somehow.

I sit like that, always have I just find it comfortable. Have never had any joint problems.

I still do this and I'm almost 34! Never did me any harm..

Thanks thats reassuring. It wouldnt be much fun nagging him to stop it!

It's called w sitting and is not advised for various reasons (google w sitting.... Sorry no idea how to link from iPad) I also used to do, no joint problems as such (yet) but have had issues with imbalanced muscles and inability to run properly etc....

dd2 sees an orthopaedic surgeon and he told me its very bad for children's hips and they should be encouraged not to sit like that

it didn't take long to get her out of the habit and now if See her sitting like that i just have to say legs and she moves

Im 40 and always sit like this. no problems so far

Oh dear. Thanks kimlo. Wasnt sure how to google it. Looks like i better try and discourage it.

I used to sit like that, I'm 46 and I'm starting to have problems, I've had to stop.

I have very flexible knee joints, I can also bend my legs backwards and side to side.

My mother is the same and she's just had a knee replacement. She's 70 so who is to say she wouldn't have had problems anyway.

I wouldn't get paranoid but try to lessen the times he does it if possible. Get a beanbag for him or something fun.

ds1 (nearly 13) does this - he's recently seen an orthopedic consultant about leg pain, turns out he's over flexible in the hip joints which make this a comfortable position for him whereas for most people its not (although it is a yoga pose so can't be that bad for you, i'd have thought). doc said there's nothing to worry about and it's not something they would fix unless when he's an adult it starts to cause serious problems, which he said is rare.

I think W sitting is discouraged particularly in children with limited or low mobility as they are not putting the normal weight through their hips on a daily basis. This is my dd2's preferred sitting position, but we have to try to constantly move her into another position (she has severe special needs, and is not independently mobile).

A hip X-ray showed her leg bones were not sitting in the hip joint properly, although it has improved over when she was much younger and not weight-bearing much at all. I think if your child moves around normally otherwise, it is not such a big issue, but still better to sit cross-legged on the floor or with both legs out to the same side :) Also W sitting can shorten the hamstrings which definitely affects my dd as well.

Mid 40s here, still do it!

When DD1 started to walk she turned one of her feet in to the point she would trip over it. She was referred to physio and the therapist said her sitting as you describe was the cause, along with hypermobility in her hips and knees.

DD2 is 1 and has started to sit the same way, I am trying to correct her but how can you correct a just turned 1 year old! She was born with positional talipes, so we will probably end up back at physio in the future.

But its definitely not recommended.

A physio just told me today not to let DD sit like this as its awful for developing toddlers

I'm feeling a bit bad i havent thought about this before now. I wonder how i will ever break his habit.

I thought it was sometimes linked to hypermobility. I looked after a child I had to discourage greatly from w-sitting for this reason.

I sat like that throughout most of my childhood, and still do to a certain extent when I happen to sit on the floor. I've had no issues at all as a result of this.

I used to sit like this, and my DS does now. I do now have issues with my hips, and I'm only 32. So I'm discouraging my DS from doing it

No - its definitely not good for developing children. I had no idea at the time is would cause her problems but DD did this and it caused her very tight hamstrings and she needed to do physio exercises to loosen them. I think the best position for children to sit in is legs crossed in front of them.