10 ways to support your child’s desk posture
- Where possible, find a chair and desk which suits your child’s height and their feet can touch the floor.
- Ensure your child pulls their chair close to the table and positions their book or paper in front of them.
- Their feet should be positioned flat on the floor, with hips at 90 degrees.
- Elbows should also rest at 90 degrees to avoid shoulder elevation and strain.
- Remind your child to engage the muscles in their core (tummy) and sit upright as best they can.
- Keep head, neck and spine in neutral position and avoid having head leaning in close to the desk.
- For children with a right-hand dominance, position paper to the right of the child’s midline with the top right hand corner angled higher. For children with left-hand dominance, position paper to the left of the child’s midline with the top left hand corner angled higher.
- Encourage your child to use their non-dominant hand to stabilise the paper.
- Mix up writing tasks by writing on vertical surfaces such as whiteboards and blackboards, or laying in prone whilst propped on elbows.
- Use this clever rhyme before writing to remind your child of their posture ?