It is not uncommon to see children who put their legs in a W when they sit on the floor. It is called the inverted tailor’s pose and is very common in young children. For them it is a comfortable and natural posture, although for adults when we see it, the first thing we think is that they may be hurting themselves. For this reason, many parents correct their children thinking that it is better that they feel differently, so that their development is not harmed in any way and future problems are avoided. But is this correct?

Why do children sit with their legs in W

Children sit in this position due to a disposition of the hips, but it is quite normal even if it is a variant. It may be a natural predisposition for children to sit this way because they are born with a tendency for femoral anteversion (the femoral neck that joins the hip tilts forward so the lower leg turns inward and the knees and hips adapt this form).

Being the hip more forward makes children run the risk of walking with their feet inwards and in an unstructured way. It is corrected over time and from the age of 12 it could already be fully corrected in girls and by 14 years in boys.

Do you have to correct them?

Perhaps if your child sits in this position you have the impulse to correct him thinking that if you do not do so it could have serious consequences in the future. The truth is that nothing may happen… or it may. If he sits too much in this position, it is possible that alterations are generated in the hip and leg bones, so he could have an alteration in his bone system.

In other words, nothing happens because you feel that way from time to time, what you have to avoid is that you sit repeatedly or that you sit in that position for too long. Never scold them, or scare them by telling them that their legs will be bad… simply advise them that it is better to sit in other ways so that in this way, they will not have bone problems in the future.

You can also encourage them to feel differently when they play, for example, sitting in a chair to play at the table and not being on the floor all the time. Since it is on the ground where they are most likely to have this posture.

Makes you feel good

If your children sit this way almost naturally because they feel comfortable… the best thing is to prevent them from having growing pains and/or alterations in their legs in the future, by following the advice mentioned in the previous paragraph.

It is also a good idea to give them a chair and a table that are their height (because if you sit them on an adult table or chair they can also adopt incorrect postures). In the event that they prefer to play on the floor, the ideal is that you put cushions on them to support their backs and avoid bending their legs backwards.

The correct thing is that the children sit with their legs forward, open or crossed (like the ‘Indians’), but it is better that the W position is avoided doing too many times or for a long time.

Help them to acquire these good posture habits from patience and never from anger or punishment. Always with love, better results will be achieved!