The importance of early posture correction for children

How many habits do we carry over as adults when we learned them as children? Sitting postures might not seem very important, but considering that Malaysian children can spend up to 8 or more hours in sedentary positions, and with that time increasing as they take on office jobs? When it comes to these habits, its best to teach them while they're young, especially so as children's skeletal structure is still growing and malleable, with improper sitting posture possibly causing scoliosis and kyphosis. Why do you think moms would always nag children to stand upright or they might develop a hunch back?

The 5 tips to proper sitting for children in ergonomic chairs.

Here at Ergoland, we identify several key dos and donts for your children while they are using ergonomic furniture, and general advice to follow even if they aren't. Here are 6 tips for a better posture for your children:

Select an ergonomic chair that can be adjusted to the kid's height, that way the chair can still support the child as it's growing up. It's inadvisable to seat children in adult chairs or dining chairs as seen in the picture on the right, they will naturally slouch forward and put pressure on their spine in order to reach the table.
Chair height: The child's feet should touch and be flat on the floor. Dangling feet can cause loss as well as placing more pressure on the spine. Knee and hip joint should make a 90 degree angle when seated for best support to the spine
Chair Depth : Sit up tall and push the hips deep to the end of the chair. This allows the ergonomic backrest to firmly support the back.
Chair Backrest: Have the child sit upright, deep, and they should feel the backrest naturally support their back, giving them the dynamic seating required for long hours of concentration for homework or crafts.
Desk Adjusting: Start the ergonomic desk height at 2 fingers above the navel while sitting close to it. Reading and drawing activities would be one at a 30 degrees angle, with 0 -15 degrees angling used for computer or writing.

It's natural to slouch when leaning forward, especially with children with short arms. Having a table that can be angled and height-adjustable can allow the child to not strain their arms.

A Warning: Despite all of this, do not forget that the best tip is to have them stand up and stretch their legs after every hour, just like one would do on an airplane.

Height Adjustment Guide

As the child gets older, the optimal height will change. This is simply a general height guide for Malaysian children, although the tips and considerations above take precedence over this height table.