Children’s Posture

The good posture habits should be taught at a very early age just as reading, writing, counting, and math are. By age 5 when most children enter kindergarten, many children are already developing postural imbalances such as forward head posture, abducted and pronated feet, rounded shoulders and internally rotated arms, internal or external femur rotation, valgus or varus knees, anterior or posterior pelvic tilt, and thoracic kyphosis.
What are the causes of postural alignment imbalances in children as young as 5?

    Wearing stiff or restrictive shoes
    Excessive sitting
    Too much time spend looking down at electronics like iPads
    Limited physical activity
    Not enough variety of physical activity
    Mimicking posture and movement of adults
 
What can we do to help children improve their posture and health?

    Encourage children to go barefoot as often as possible
    When shoes are required, make sure they are flat, flexible, and widest at the ends of the toes
    Limit sitting and encourage movement often
    Limit time spend playing video games or using computers, tablets, and smartphones
    Take children on 20+ minute walks daily
    Take kids to the playground or park as often as possible for free play
    Practice good posture yourself to be a model for your children

Children’s fitness levels have been declining with children today being 15% less fit than their parents generation were. There are many factors causing this decline in fitness, but I believe posture imbalances play a significant role.

Along with implementing the suggestions above, here are several fun family workouts you can do as a entire family that will boost your fitness levels, improve your posture, and improve your overall health.