Posture Exercises for Children

Today in our society, it is the norm to be surrounded by technology, leaned over our desks or smart-phone surfing the web or researching for a paper, and as we sit, we tend to slump forward, slouching our bodies into terrible shape. The same issues are impacting our children, while they sit at their desk in school, or are playing a game on their tablets. We don’t just slouch when we are on our tablets or computers, but also while sitting whether we are reading or eating, and while standing either waiting in line at the grocery store or having a conversation with our friends. A bad habit like bad posture follows us everywhere throughout our day. Bad posture not only effects our bone structuring, but also the chemicals in our brains. There have been studies done about the affects of posturing and how it impacts you including depression, stress, and your testosterone levels. This epidemic of bad posture is setting our children up to have a bad habit for life. We can stop this outbreak before it even starts by simply straightening up. Having trouble simply dropping the habit, here are a few exercises that can help improve your family’s posture:

Rowing: There are several variations of the rowing exercises depending on the persons skill level. A great intro to rowing is supported dumbbell rowing. It is by far the safest and easiest type of rowing, and it allows for more safety and support than other rowing options.

Yoga: Several places offer yoga as a class for either adults or children to begin the practice of yoga. Not only will it help to improve your posture, but it also improves patience, and listening to your body’s needs. By learning to be aware of your body, and practicing being present in the moment with yoga, it will be much easier to begin to practice good habits, and good body posture.

Core Strengthening using Climbing: This type of exercise can be achieved on the playground, or in a gym on the climbing wall. With unstable surfaces, the abdominals and stabilizing muscles will get a much more in-depth work out helping to improve posture by strengthening the muscles that support the back.

Ballet: Not only is ballet a great after school activity, it also improves posture. The different poses and dance steps involved with Ballet promote positive body posturing, and strengthen the muscles used to support healthy posture practice. This can be a fun activity that is done in a group so that your child learns good posture in a positive environment with other children.

Still having issues with your child’s posture, or worried that it may be something more serious? Give us a call at Whitefish Family Doctor, and we will have one of our skilled team members evaluate your individual symptoms and we will work on a plan with you to help improve your posture and get your chests out, shoulders back, and your heads held high.