How to Maintain Good Posture at School and Home
Take a moment to look around your classroom or your house. Do you see children slouching or hunched over? In the classroom, student frequently lean over their desks. At home, children are often seen hunched over their smartphones or tablets sometimes for hours at a time. It is important to teach children how to maintain good posture at school and home. You can download a helpful Good Posture poster for free at the bottom of the post.
How to Maintain Good Posture at a Desk
Young children and students continue to spend more and more time at a desk for school work especially keyboarding. Whether it be at home before children are school aged or sitting long hours typing away throughout a child’s educational career or even as adults, the work station must be set up efficiently to allow for proper positioning while keyboarding.
Keyboarding Rubrics
It is important to take frequent breaks – at least every twenty minutes to stand and stretch. This is critical not only for neck and back muscles but also to prevent eye fatigue. Set a timer on your phone to remind you to stretch every 20 minutes. Check out this post for stretching options.
Here are some guidelines for good posture when sitting at a desk. It can be difficult to follow these suggestions at all times but after you try you will develop better habits.
- Head position – Head in neutral position (or slightly forward) and head is in line with the torso
- Back supported by chair – Sitting up straight with back supported, body in front of keyboard
- Elbow position – Elbows are close to body; angle is open about 90-120 degrees
- Wrist position – Wrist is neutral and level with forearms
- Finger position – Fingers on home row and curved
- Hip position – Hips at about 90 degrees
- Knee position – Knees at about 90 degrees
- Legs – Legs are not crossed
- Feet – Feet are flat on the floor
You can read more on good posture when keyboarding here.
If you can, raise up your work station so you can stand and work to vary your positions.
Proper Posture to Avoid Text Neck
Have you ever heard of text neck? It is a term to describe neck pain from constantly leaning over your phone to text or watch videos. We are guilty of it from time to time but it is very important to develop healthy posture habits when using a smart phone. Text neck can cause neck pain and may have possible long term effects. Yoga stretches may help to alleviate the pain and encourage good posture moving forward.
Yoga Cards and Game Ideas
To maintain proper posture during cell phone use, be sure to take frequent breaks. When using your phone, hold it close to eye level to avoid leaning over it and rounded your spine. When sitting up, prop your smart phone up on a pillow or lapdesk to raise it up as pictured in the poster.
How to Maintain Good Posture when Exercising
When exercising or walking, focus on maintaining an upright posture with your head over your shoulders and over your hips. Try to prevent yourself from leaning your head and neck too far forward or backward. See the picture in the poster for an example of good posture when walking.
Download your FREE Body Posture Poster Below
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