Question about "W" sitting and hypermobility

[rainbowinthesky]

I suspect dd, aged 7, may be hypermobile due to various things. Does anyone know if being able to sit in the "w" position is something only children with hypermobility can do at this age or can children who are not do it too?

dd sits like that she has CP, have to say ds who is nt can't do it, he tried when he was younger but found it hurt, so I would doubt a child who wasn't hypermobile could do it,

I'm hypermobile and can sit like this (had to Google it to see what it was though!)
I shall test all 3 DCs tomorrow, I had no idea it was a bad thing (or an odd thing actually ).

we used to do conductive education when dd was small(she is 16 now) they said it was bad, but she has never been able to sit in the normal way so I ignored them, so far it has had no bad effects on her

Other children can do it too according to the physio we saw at the local hospital. Both Dd1 and I are hypermobile, but it has no impact on our lives at all. My sister can do a w sit but is not hypermobile! There is a grading that can be used to determine hypermobility, sorry I can't remember the name of it. Probably on the Wikipedia page!

It's difficult to tell as my Dd and I are both hypermobile. I have be careful because my joints can get locked like that.

Beighton's classification look here

being able to W-sit is often a sign of low-tone muscles, which may be associated with hypermobility, prematurity, developmental delay or just simply normal development

W-sitting should be discouraged, tbh, as it doesn't support normal weightbearing and can encourage abnormal postures of the hip, knee and ankle

have you taken advice from a peadiatrician and/or a paediatric physiotherapist ?

It's only a w sit if both parts of the leg are flat on the ground.

HoneyDuke - what do you mean by both parts of the leg? Could you link me to a picture? Thanks.

W sitting

I had no idea that this was a problem. dd and I are both hypermobile and it is a comfortable position but like honeyduke I can get stuck!

have you read that link, OYBK ?

here is another

I can sit like this and afaik I'm not hypermobile - I can't do any of the things on AnyFucker's first link except bend down and put my hands flat on the floor.

I assumed everyone could get into this position except those with more, ahem, substantial legs, where the extra flesh limits flexibility.

dd is 16 and glad I never read that stuff as she would be just stuck in a wheelchair if she couldn't do it

I can do it too, CP, it doesn't always mean there is something wrong.

But in children with low tone and/or hypermobility, whose bones and muscles are still growing, it should be discouraged.

2shoes, those links do stress that people should take individual advice from their physiotherapist or whoever is monitoring any developmental problems. Every child is different of course.

I still sit like that & oddly enough my (& my brothers) consultant suggested sitting like that for us both (I had CDH & my brother a twisted thigh bone)

How odd either science has come on or we were told wrongly.

I also have hypermobility (diagnosed this year)

DD is Hypermobile and can do this. She also has a twisted thigh bone, or excessive femoral ante-version.

Her ortho consultant has asked us to discourage her from sitting in the W position.

Dd has a whole range of "party tricks" she can do. She can even get her lips into a really bizarre shape by gripping the inside of her mouth with her teeth and then splaying her lips outwards. Never seen anyone else able to do this. She cant though bend forward and put her hands flat on the ground.

She can lie on her front and cross her legs twice. Is that normal for a 7 year old?? I have nothing to compare her to apart from me!

The consultant asked me if my Mum had told me "not to do as it will cause damage" I said yes, and then he said "Well your mum was right; don't do it"

So on that basis rainbow I'd encourage her not to...........

DD hates me forever as I won't let her sit in the splits & watch telly

I never realised that sitting in a "w" was any sort of an issue until now.

I wasn't meaning the Wsitting really as my advise was so different to anyone elses, more the party tricks

Oh my ds can do that, he's sat right now, rading a book and chewing his big toe whilst lying flat somehow

just now AF. Fortunately its not dds favoured position and she does have very good core strength (a pretty strong horse rider) She does have quite unstable joints (often turning over her ankle, recurring knee pain)