Tactful Ways To Encourage Better Posture In Your Children

The way that you carry and position your body throughout the day can have a negative impact on your health if you fail to maintain excellent posture. Children typically mimic their parents. Those parents who have poor posture and/or fail to teach their children about the importance of good posture typically transfer through example a lifetime of posture-related health problems to their children, including nerve compression, muscle weakness, spinal misalignment, bulging discs, torso pains and restricted movement.

Since most children resist their parents ordering them to take care of themselves, you can use tact when encouraging them to improve their posture.

Take Steps To Improve Your Posture
If you spend time daily performing actions that improve posture, your children are likely to do the same. For example, sit straighter at a desk or table instead of slumping forward when typing and never sit with one foot resting on the seat or under your opposite leg. Use an ergonomic chair that provides lumbar support. Replace a deep-cushioned living room couch or chair that promotes slouching with firmer furniture that discourages the habit. Additionally, take up exercises that stretch and strengthen muscles throughout the body.

Ask Your Children To Participate
Sometimes the only way you can encourage children to do healthy things is by making a game out of it or treating the action as a special parent/child activity. You might arrange for your children to become involved in a martial arts program or other physical activities that are known to help with posture. If you enjoy yoga or sports that can also help, ask your children to join you. If they don’t want to participate, emphasize that you rarely see them and that you’re trying to spend more special time with them.

Should You Take Them To The Chiropractor?
Back problems and pain can be incredibly life altering. It’s important that you pay attention to your children’s health, and if they experience any back pain or trauma that you consider taking them to a chiropractor. If you are experiencing pain, your children can learn during the appointment why correct posture is so important by seeing the amount of pain you experience and the steps you take to improve yourself. Chiropractors also offer instructional aids that teach children about the other health problems that poor posture can cause. If your kids play football, soccer, baseball, softball, or any other sport, the chiropractor can also help show them the best way to avoid sports injuries.

Children and adults naturally fall into bad posture habits at home, work and play. You can encourage better posture. You simply need to make physical attempts at posture improvement and health education a more common aspect of your children’s lives.

By Emma Sturgis

Emma is a freelance writer currently living in Boston, MA. She writes most often on education and business. To see more from Emma, say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2