Kid’s posture matters! Teaching good posture to your children has soooo many benefits. They can:
- Look great as they sit and stand with poise
- Recover more quickly after sitting at a school desk all day
- Know how to use a laptop or phone without permanently damaging their back or neck, and be more aware of their environment as they do – so no more phone-zombies!
- Enjoy increased confidence and self-esteem, and
- Learn a skill they can use throughout life – your kid’s posture will benefit them through college, bringing up a family, and finally retiring in great shape too. So long into the future they can enjoy their senior posture too!
LISTEN TO OUR KID’S POSTURE PODCAST EPISODE
Find the full transcript for this episode on our Kid’s Posture Podcast page.
DIGITAL IMMIGRANTS.
As adults, we’re ‘digital immigrants’. We remember (I do!) the days when there were no computers, or they filled the size of a room. And then came phones, big bricks that ran out of battery even quicker than today’s ones do! Our childhoods were spent rummaging in fields and ditches or other rough-and-tumble. Probably because most of those technological toys just weren’t available to us!
DIGITAL NATURALS.
But our kids? Now that’s a completely different matter. For our children, it’s perfectly normal to be immersed in a digital world. Therefore trying to keep them away from that isn’t going to happen, if they are going to be tech-savvy and adjusted for the modern world. What’s more, your kid’s posture will be put to the test in a way we couldn’t begin to imagine. Because they can’t see what we can see. We see them slumping, and slouching, and tech-neck-ing themselves into bad posture and early pain. They are hard to tear away from all this information, their friends, games, and the internet in general. So how can you help? What can you do?
The future looks bright for our children. Let’s equip them with the best body possible to move forward into their exciting future. Your kid’s posture is up for grabs right now. What better time to get your kid’s posture sorted?
You can help them by teaching them to be more aware of their bodies as they look into their screens.
Teach them some simple exercises.
Help them get outside more, climbing, running, jumping and crawling.
And you can make sure their furniture and environment is well-suited to having great children’s posture too.
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT WORKS WONDERS.
Praising your child when they are sitting well will go much further than nagging them when they aren’t. Tell them how their good posture is helping their organs work well, which means their lungs for breathing, and their tummies for turning food into energy. Praise them for looking better, because it will help their confidence and self-esteem and make them more likely to want to sit well in future. Much better than shouting about bad kid’s posture. How could that help!
How about having them join a martial arts class, or kid’s yoga, kid’s pilates, kid’s tai’chi? Gym classes and dance classes are awesome too, they can really help and are a great way to tire them out! Try the Alexander Technique. Alexander Technique teachers are used to showing kids good posture every day – a short course of lessons would give your child plenty to remember and set them up for a healthy youth.
PARENTAL CONCERNS ABOUT KID’S POSTURE.
85% of children (who are allowed to play games on mobile devices and screens) spend up to four hours a day doing so.
78% of parents are concerned about their child’s posture while playing such games
Parents are concerned that gaming and computer use affects their child’s wellbeing with:
Lack of concentration – 32.4%
Back ache – 30.9%
Neck ache – 26.2%
Headaches – 31%
It’s not going to get any better – the screen-time issue is here to stay. Teach your children good posture now, while they can change quickly.
DON’T BE A POSTURE NAG!
Nagging your children doesn’t work. Don’t do it! Your parents nagged you, and that didn’t work, so give them a break. Instead equip them with the tools they need. Lead by example, have great posture too 🙂 Please don’t be offended, but do be aware the best role-models for your child are you, your family and their teachers and carers. Be sure to pick a care provider with good posture!
Nowadays it’s easy to educate your children on how to have great posture. There are many resources out there, and on this website too.
Also let them play outside, running, jumping, climbing, all these will give them the strength to be upright and healthy.
Make sure your furniture is appropriate. Sofa’s tend to lead to slumping. Chairs with backs tend to lead to slouching. Try giving them a pillow or cushion to support their laptops or phones. You can also get great add-ons for phones that make them easier to hold well.
My Posture Mindfulness course is a great way to teach yOUr child to be more aware of themselves as they use screens or toys. You can take the course together so everyone benefits. Find out more here.
THE PROBLEM WITH SCREEN TIME?
Let’s face it, your kids are going to be spending some time at a screen. Imagine where things are going – it’s going to more and more screen-focussed, this amazing life of theirs.
Yes! You can have good posture and stare at a screen!
One of the main outcomes of the last ten years teaching posture has been I can show people how to go about their normal day and have good posture while they do it. It just takes a little brain-work, and it’s much easier than taking time out to strengthen and stretch. Do strengthen, do stretch! But also do be aware of the body as you read on a screen.
Bye for now,
James.
