Maintaining a good posture is the key to lifelong confidence and positive body image. It also ensures that you don’t suffer from debilitating medical conditions when you’re older. Unfortunately, slouching is something most of us do, what with the growing prevalence of electronic devices. These days we’re usually either hunched over our laptops or our phones. And our kids are no better, because they will definitely follow in their parents’ footsteps. Good posture is something you should teach your kids early. If you’re already suffering from the symptoms of bad posture, fret not as it’s still not too late to reverse it. However, to avoid our children from having to experience these consequences, we need to stop our child from slouching now. In conjunction with Correct Posture month, here are 6 tips to fix your kid’s bad posture.
Get Them Moving
As much we all praise the hardworking student who spends hours upon hours in front of the computer finishing his assignments, it’s not a healthy habit. Similarly, many kids these days may still be stuck with online classes even as everything is opening back up again. Therefore, if you want your kids to stop slouching, get them off their feet. You can either take them out for a bicycle ride, some light exercise in the backyard or even some chores around the house. Anything to get them away from their workstations if only for a few minutes. Even watching some tv will help, as long as they’re lying back on the sofa.
Reduce Screen Time
Even during leisure time, make sure your kids aren’t hunched over their phones. Phones, laptops and other electronic devices are the main culprit of bad posture these days. However, as much as we hate to admit it, they are an essential tool in our day to day lives these days. So don’t confiscate your kids’ devices. Instead, set a time every day to help them get off it. What they do during the off-screen time doesn’t matter, as long as they’re not slouching on a chair for hours scrolling through social media. They may not feel it while they’re still young and flexible, but when they’re older, it’ll definitely catch up to them.
Don’t Hesitate to Correct Them
It’s easy to help your kids out with their posture considering they’re usually around you. But this isn’t always possible. They may spend most of their days at school, so all you have are the weekends. So, take this time to drill them about good posture. Get them to sit in the proper position. This may be a challenge since we may not be mindful of our body postures all the time. So if you see your kids slouching, help them get back into the correct posture. You may sound like a drill sergeant and your kids may not like it, but they will thank you in the future.
Teach Them Good Posture
Getting your kids to sit properly can be a challenge, but it’s also important for them to know how to do so. One main thing to keep in mind when both walking, standing or sitting is to keep your back straight, shoulders back and head upright facing forward. This can feel awkward if you’re not used to it, which is why it’s important to start them early. Another thing that you can try with your child if it’s really becoming a recurring problem, is posture exercises. They are not unlike yoga poses, but they may just do the trick. Some examples of posture exercises include child’s pose, forward fold, cat cow, chest opener, downward-facing dog and side plank.
Educate Them
You may not have to do this if your kid isn’t a chronic sloucher. But if they are generally stuck in their ways, some extra incentive may get them to reassess their posture. You can send them videos, links and infographics about the effects of slouching. Sooner or later, they’re going to wise up on the error of their ways. Just in case you need some examples, here’s a little preview on what their future holds: Symptoms of bad posture include rounded shoulders, potbelly, bent knees, back pain, body aches and pains, muscle fatigue, and headache. Make it clear that if they don’t want to experience these conditions, that they have to fix their posture pronto.
Check Their School Bags
As much as we’d like to put the blame squarely on our kids, the reason they may have bad posture could also be due to heavy school bags. This has been a recurring problem in our education system for as long as trees have been around. It is inhumane to force children to lug around heavy bags to school. Not only will this negatively affect their growth and physical development, but may actually harm their health. Spinal compression is a very dangerous medical condition that occurs when pressure is exerted on the spine. It can cause pain and weakness in the arms, hands and legs. And heavy school bags only increase the risk of your kid developing this condition. So, see if there’s any way they can lighten their daily load. Perhaps keeping some of their heavier textbooks under their school desks. Or asking their teachers to keep it in a locker.
Stopping the Slouch
Whether it’s at the dinner table, the living room or, maintaining good posture is important. If you’re older, you’re probably already feeling the effects of slouching in your youth. Ask anyone over the age of 30 and chances are they’re suffering from some kind of lower back or neck pain. This is most probably a result of years of slouching. It’s possibly gotten a lot worse now with electronic devices. Almost all desk jobs now involve the use of a computer. Chances are your child will have one of these jobs too in the future. Hence, it’s better to fix their posture now so they don’t get into the habit of slouching. Now is the time to train them to sit, stand and walk with the grace of royalty. They will certainly look and feel better as a result.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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