Exercises to Improve Your Childs' Posture
- Hayley
- Feb 27, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 22, 2024
As previously discussed in the ‘How Your Posture Can Impact Your Success’ blog, the way you carry yourself can really impact how you see yourself. A child’s bad posture could have many causes, such as hunching over school desks, bending their neck to look at their phone (text neck), hunched over to play their computer games, and many more. Teaching and getting children into the habit of having a good posture can really help them later in life as it can save them from pain and discomfort from back problems, and can even help with their confidence.
If you’re unsure of whether or not your child has poor posture, let’s look at some signs:
Their head is slightly tilted when looking straight ahead
When turning their head - they can turn one way more than the other
One shoulder drops lower than the other
Their shoulders are rounded instead of straight back
Their head appears further in front of their body
They often have neck/back pain
One of the key things to remember is that poor posture is just a habit that can be reversed. Unless your child is suffering from neck/back pain, visiting a professional usually isn’t necessary, so there are a few ways to do improve their posture at home, a great and fun way being exercise. Poor posture in children isn’t always to do with what they’re doing, but more what they’re not doing, such as keeping active, so exercising will not only improve their posture, it will also get them feeing active and energised, while keeping them fit and healthy.
As previously mentioned, there are a number of things that can affect a child’s posture, from the way they sit, down to the shoes they wear, so here are five of the main ways their posture can be affected:
As mentioned above, the amount of time they spend on the computer or playing video games – when doing this they should be sat up straight and comfortably, not hunched over
The amount of time they are sitting down – which links to the previous point – staying still and sitting for long periods of time can damage the spine, make sure they are taking breaks in between
A lack of exercise and physical activity – again linking to the previous points – the more exercise a child has, the fitter they’ll become, meaning less chance of a physical injury
Carrying a heavy bag to school – this can cause muscle strain and have a negative effect of posture – make sure your child has a bag that evenly distributes the weight across their back to avoid discomfort
Having the wrong footwear can also have a negative effect on posture – making sure your child has good footwear with proper heel support and grip will also make it easier for them to carry their bag
As exercise is one of the main things relating to a child’s posture, the British Chiropractic Association UK has produced Straighten Up UK, which is a simple three-minute exercise
that children and adults can do on a daily basis designed to ‘improve posture and help prevent back pain by promoting balance, strength and flexibility in the spine’. The programme has three segments – Warm Up, Posture Care, Finishing. If discussed with a GP, chiropractor or other healthcare practitioner, the exercises can also be adapted to suit individual needs and capabilities.
This is a great idea to get adults and children involved in taking care of their posture and teaching children from a young age how to carry themselves to prevent injury or pain later in life. Take a look by clicking the link below.
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