We assume that only adults are at risk of posture-related injuries and disorders because they've got to sit in front of the computer all day long at work. We often forget the fact that children spend a lot of time sitting, first at school and then at home while they do their homework, which puts them at just as much risk of posture-related health conditions as adults.
If you ask us, we would say that children are at a much higher risk, provided that their bodies are still developing and incorrect posture may result in the permanent misalignment of their spine.
Most children today study lying down on their beds or in poorly designed study spaces. Since parents aren't aware of how a poor posture can affect a child, they don't put much thought into the ergonomics of their child's study room.
This blog post is aimed at helping parents understand the importance of ergonomics in children, why it's so important to design ergonomic study spaces, and how they can achieve safe study spaces at home.
The Risks of Poor Ergonomics in Children
If you've never observed the study posture of your child before, do it today. Observe your child while they study. What do you see? Is your child sitting in a hunched posture? Are they slouching? Are their feet dangling in the air? If the answer to any or all of these questions is a yes, know that your child is studying in extremely poor ergonomic conditions and is at a massive risk of developing posture-related health conditions.
Below are some of the major risks that your child is at due to sitting and studying in an incorrect posture:
Chronic Back and Neck Pain
If your child is sitting with their back curved and neck bent forward, it won't be too long before they start complaining about back and neck pain. When a child sits in a slouched posture in which their back is curved, their back is under constant pressure. If your child continues to sit in this posture, the lower back muscles will get fatigued due to constant pressure, resulting in chronic back pain. It may even result in the compression of nerves leaving the spinal canal at the lower back and further complications that may be too painful for a child.
Moreover, sitting with the head bent forward puts extreme pressure on the shoulders and neck. This is because when the head is bent, the weight of the head strains the muscles of the neck and shoulders, and this can lead to pain in the neck and shoulders.
If your child is in pain, they may not be able to focus on their studies at all since they'll be constantly distracted.
High Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders
If you don't address your child's complaints about pain in the back and neck, the muscle strain and fatigue will worsen due to continuous pressure. There will come the point when the fatigue worsens and causes muscular damage, resulting in painful musculoskeletal disorders. Back, neck, and shoulder pains are usually warning signs that you aren't sitting in the correct posture and that you'll soon develop long-term injuries and disorders if you don't correct it now.
Misaligned Spine
Another major risk of studying in poor ergonomic conditions where the child is seated in an incorrect posture is a misaligned spine. Your child's body is still developing, and any external pressure will come in the way of healthy development. If your child continues to sit and study with their backs curved and shoulders slouched, their spine will take that shape for good, and your child will have a permanently curved spine which can only be restored through extensive physiotherapy.
Eye Strain
Has your child been complaining about headaches? Well, it might be a sign that they aren't studying in the best conditions. If the lighting in your child's study room isn't all that great or if they use a computer often that isn't placed at the right height, the chances of them experiencing headaches are pretty high. If the lighting in the study room is poor (too bright or too dim), it causes eye strain which is directly related to headaches. Not only this, but it can also result in the weakening of your child's eyesight.
Even if the computer is placed too high for them and your child constantly has to raise their head to see the screen, your child might experience tension headaches due to tension in the neck muscles.
How to Make Your Child's Study Place Ergonomics-Friendly?
If your child ends up getting any health condition due to poor ergonomics, it'll affect their efficiency and overall health. They won't be able to concentrate on their studies and won't be able to engage in healthy physical activities, which is a nightmare for parents!
But you need not worry. You can keep your child safe and healthy by bringing about simple but much-needed changes to their study place at home.
We've listed down some of the changes you should consider making to make your child's study place ergonomics-friendly.
Replace their Study Table
As much as those colorful wooden tables look great in a child's study room, your child shouldn't be using them. The table might have been of a suitable height when you first bought it, but now that your child has grown taller, it may be too low for them. If the table is too low for your child, they'll have to sit hunched to reach the tabletop.
If your child uses a regular desk that you've got for yourself, that's not suitable for your child either. It may be too high for them, and to reach the table's surface, your child will have to stretch their back and neck. In both these cases, you're promoting an incorrect sitting posture.
What you need is an ergonomic study desk for your child. The height of ergonomic desks can be adjusted to ensure they're just the right height for the child and that the child doesn't have to sit in awkward postures. Ergonomic desks are also suitable for children who've got to use the computer often as you can adjust the height of the desk to ensure the monitor is at eye level and the keyboard and mouse are placed at the right height for your child.
Get Your Child an Ergonomic Study Chair
The next thing you need to make your child's study place at home ergonomic is an ergonomic study chair. Most parents equip their children's study rooms with wooden study chairs to match the wooden study table. Now, that might make the study room look nice, but it does no good to your child's health.
If the chair is too small for your child, they'll have to bend their knees more than they should to sit. If the chair is too high for them, your child's feet will dangle in the air. Both of these situations aren't good for your child. Bent knees can cause knee strain, and dangling feet can put pressure on the blood vessels at the back of the knees. Your child's feet should be placed flat on the floor.
This is only possible when the chair's height is right for your child. This is where an ergonomic study chair will help your child. You can adjust the height of the chair to suit your child's comfort. The best thing about investing in an ergonomic study chair is that you don't have to buy a new one as your child grows taller. You can simply adjust the height of the chair. An ergonomic study chair also has a curved backrest that provides your child with superior back support and reduces the pressure on the spine.
Improve the Lighting
Study room lighting is the most neglected factor, but its impact is massive. If the lighting is too bright, it'll shine directly into the eyes and strain them. If it's too dim, the child will have to put a lot of stress on the eyes to read or write. In both cases, their eyesight is at risk.
Ideally, there should be a window in the room to allow adequate sunlight to light up the room. In case there's not, there should be an overhead light and a desk lamp on the study table. Overhead lights will keep the room adequately lit, whereas the desk lamp will keep the immediate study area of your child adequately lit so that your child doesn't have to focus too hard to read.
Conclusion
If you can identify major risk factors that can put your child's well-being at risk, you'll be able to design an ergonomic study space for them. The first step towards improving any space's ergonomics is identifying risk factors. Once that's done, consider half the work already complete! Children's bodies are sensitive and more prone to injuries. If you haven't thought about making your child's study space safe for them, now's the time to make their study room ergonomics-friendly. Don't wait for your child to start complaining; just do it!
