Posture Problems? Try These Child Posture Tips
Sitting and standing up straight is more important than a lot of people realize. That’s true for both adults and kids. Try these child posture tips to help your little ones improve how they carry their bodies. It can have surprising health benefits.
Online Learning and Posture Trouble
In the past few years, many of our kids have been spending far too much time sitting in front of screens or on the couch. This is terrible for the back and neck. Online learning can be very helpful, but some basic child posture tips can help to prevent permanent damage. A sedentary lifestyle or spending large chunks of time twisted into a pretzel can play havoc with the spine.
Benefits of Correct Posture
Believe it or not, May is Correct Posture Month. This event was started by the Foundation of Chiropractic Progress along with a group of other organizations in 1959. Sixty-three years later, the same facts remain: No matter a person’s age, correct posture is essential for quality health. In fact, bad posture can have a great impact on your quality of life and can lead to certain painful health conditions, such as persistent upper- and lower-back pain.
According to the official Correct Posture Month website, there is more to good posture than just standing up straight. With that, it also requires more than “keeping your shoulders back.” To properly improve posture, it is crucial to strengthen how your body balances, and how it moves. This is good for everyone to know – even kids. Let’s take a closer look at a few child posture tips to help protect your little ones.
Noticing Poor Posture
When it comes to child posture tips, a parent can often help to assess any potential issues. How do you know if a kid has poor posture? Take a look!
Most times, it is easy to check someone’s posture by asking them to stand normally and look straight ahead. From the side, you should see that the ear, shoulder, edge of the thighbone at the hip, and the ankle bone are all aligned. If these body parts are not in a clear, straight line, then the person has posture issues to correct.
Once noticed, it is time to get to work.
Child Posture Tips for Avoiding Overuse Injuries
Believe it or not, kids are at a major risk for overuse injuries. These can occur due to lifting heavy school bags, or even sitting around watching TV in bad poses. Poor discipline and diet can also have an effect on the posture. In addition, bending to view a tablet or phone all day can become a bad habit. This can lead to poor posture and lifelong neck problems. It is important to nip any and all of these problems in the bud.
Practice (and Exercise) Makes Perfect
The best way to prevent posture issues is to exercise and to sit properly. Getting enough movement and spending time away from screens can also help. Beyond this, it is a good idea to avoid sitting in a lazy or improper fashion. Also avoid repetitive motions.
Slouching is a major issue, so kids should remember to sit up straight. Slouching too much can become a habit that the body automatically relies upon. As kids grow, their bodies can and will adapt to these unhealthy sitting and standing positions. If they become normal, it will be quite tough to correct their poor posture later on.
Exercise can help to alleviate slouching and posture problems. By building up the body, it will become easier, and feel more natural, to stand up straight. Besides improving core muscle strength, this also can help to decompress the spine.
Overall, we recommend that children:
- avoid heavy lifting,
- limit repetitive activity,
- sit up straight,
- and get plenty of exercise.
With regular attention and care, these child posture tips can help both kids and even adults to stand tall!