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Your Therapy Source, Inc
Your online resource for school based therapy and special
needs publications for professional, home and school use.
Your online resource for school based therapy and special
needs publications for professional, home and school use.
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Sitting – What should we be avoiding?
By Carol K. Sheats, PT, OCS
What would you tell an adult about positioning their computer screen? Eye level or a little
below, right?
Imagine if the computer screen was high up on the wall. What position would your neck be
in? It wouldn’t feel good if you had to sit like that for any length of time, right?
Now imagine a child sitting on the floor looking up at the TV, or at school sitting on the floor
looking up at the teacher, black board or projector screen. If we know this position would
not feel good to our own neck (and back), why are we as adults letting our children be in this
position for sometimes several hours a day?
As a physical therapist, I have been going to schools (pre-K through high school) providing
posture programs for the past two years, and have presented to hundreds of children. In
the younger grades, the worse posture I see is when the children are sitting on the floor
looking up.
For those of us that believe our sitting culture is a major contributor to our postural problems
(weren’t we designed for movement?), shouldn’t we be making sure our children are in good
natural postures when they have to sit, or choose to sit? After all, they are going to have 12
or more years of school during which time they will spend a significant amount of time
sitting. Add to that time spent sitting in front of the TV or computer screen at home, and we
have a real problem if they have developed the habit of slumping when younger (what I call
“banana sitting”).
What should we do? I believe it starts with educating children, parents and teachers about
healthy sitting postures (there are many!). We should also provide appropriate size chairs
or benches for children. If they have to sit on the floor, I recommend they should be allowed
to have choices on the variety of healthy possibilities: sitting with the legs crossed (more like
a yoga position with a straight balanced spine rather than a rounded spine), sitting on their
knees, half-kneeling, kneeling, side-sitting, even lying on their stomachs propped on elbows
at times. We can also lower the object they are looking at (teacher, T.V.) closer to eye level.
Of course I have also seen many examples of good natural healthy posture while visiting pre-
K and elementary schools: when they are excited about what they are learning or playing,
when they are out on the playground, or even when standing in line waiting for the bus
(even with back packs on!).
So where does poor posture begin? I believe a major cause is slumped sitting. Recently
while in a restaurant, I over heard a parent tell their child to “sit up straight”. How wonderful
to hear an adult take the time to teach a child good posture skills. What should we be
avoiding when we sit? Any posture that looks like a banana!
For more information on posture, please visit www.livingposture.com.
By Carol K. Sheats, PT, OCS
What would you tell an adult about positioning their computer screen? Eye level or a little
below, right?
Imagine if the computer screen was high up on the wall. What position would your neck be
in? It wouldn’t feel good if you had to sit like that for any length of time, right?
Now imagine a child sitting on the floor looking up at the TV, or at school sitting on the floor
looking up at the teacher, black board or projector screen. If we know this position would
not feel good to our own neck (and back), why are we as adults letting our children be in this
position for sometimes several hours a day?
As a physical therapist, I have been going to schools (pre-K through high school) providing
posture programs for the past two years, and have presented to hundreds of children. In
the younger grades, the worse posture I see is when the children are sitting on the floor
looking up.
For those of us that believe our sitting culture is a major contributor to our postural problems
(weren’t we designed for movement?), shouldn’t we be making sure our children are in good
natural postures when they have to sit, or choose to sit? After all, they are going to have 12
or more years of school during which time they will spend a significant amount of time
sitting. Add to that time spent sitting in front of the TV or computer screen at home, and we
have a real problem if they have developed the habit of slumping when younger (what I call
“banana sitting”).
What should we do? I believe it starts with educating children, parents and teachers about
healthy sitting postures (there are many!). We should also provide appropriate size chairs
or benches for children. If they have to sit on the floor, I recommend they should be allowed
to have choices on the variety of healthy possibilities: sitting with the legs crossed (more like
a yoga position with a straight balanced spine rather than a rounded spine), sitting on their
knees, half-kneeling, kneeling, side-sitting, even lying on their stomachs propped on elbows
at times. We can also lower the object they are looking at (teacher, T.V.) closer to eye level.
Of course I have also seen many examples of good natural healthy posture while visiting pre-
K and elementary schools: when they are excited about what they are learning or playing,
when they are out on the playground, or even when standing in line waiting for the bus
(even with back packs on!).
So where does poor posture begin? I believe a major cause is slumped sitting. Recently
while in a restaurant, I over heard a parent tell their child to “sit up straight”. How wonderful
to hear an adult take the time to teach a child good posture skills. What should we be
avoiding when we sit? Any posture that looks like a banana!
For more information on posture, please visit www.livingposture.com.