How to Set Up a Safe Home School – Follow These 7 Rules!

September is around the corner and that means Back to School season is upon us! This Fall, things are looking a bit different, don’t you think? Whatever you’ve decided for your little’s education going forward, we’re here to support you with some helpful “rules” that will help you set up an ergonomically safe workspace for your student (and you, if you’re working from home!). Let this be the foundation for your child’s online learning experience and you’ll be confident that their little body is aligned and thriving this school year!

Tip #1 – Posture

Regardless of your age, gender, or environment, posture plays a significant role in your well-being. You’ve most likely already heard this and lamented poor sitting or standing posture, especially when it leads to pain. The most ideal time to correct posture is to start building a healthy habit during childhood, meaning children today are at an advantage to build strong, tall spinal structures!

It’s difficult to monitor children’s postures at school, but now that many students are scheduled to study at home this Fall, it’s beneficial to help guide their developing posture. Our tip? Use posture as a teachable moment where you can connect with your little about their spine and anatomy! The human body and its biology have a wealth of fascinating facts to explore together. Delve into the nervous system and how the nerves and spine are all interconnected. Littles often need to understand how things work and feel a certain sense of control and responsibility in order for things to click.

What to teach about posture:

When sitting down-

-Sit upright

-Bring the chair close to the desk with their bottom tucked all the way to the back of the chair.

-Relax and drop the shoulders naturally

-When writing or typing, place both hands on the desk (instead of just one side as this will cause the body to compensate, deviating the spine to do so).

-Keep the head centered, not tilted to one side or the other

-Place the legs on the floor (or foot rest), forming a 90 degree angle with the knees and also with the hip joints.

As with any parental guidance, use a gentle, encouraging approach to teach proper posture and sitting upright. Everyone is inclined to slack or feel lazy about proper posture and kids are no exception! With their growing bodies and young flexibility, they may feel more comfortable when twisting their bodies, lying down, or curling up on a chair. With consistent practice, they will become used to sitting upright!

Tip #2 – Chair

If you’ve worked from home, you know how important The Chair is to your comfort (and sanity). This is because our muscles and joints cramp when maintaining a certain position for prolonged periods of time. This is no different for children and seeing how fidgety they can get at the table, it’s likely even harder for them to sit for a long time, especially when studying away. Providing a comfortable, supportive chair will help your student to focus and avoid pain or discomfort.

When choosing a desk chair, check the height and length of the chair first and foremost. Their bottom must reach the back of the chair with a 90 degree angle at the hip and again at the knee with their feet planted on the ground. Make sure these criteria are met when selecting a study chair, especially since they will be sitting at it every day. Remember that all children have differing leg lengths, heights, etc. Secondly, if the surface of the chair feels hard or “sturdy,” we recommend using a flat seat cushion with it to protect from muscle and joint fatigue.

Tip #3 – The Desk

Now for the most crucial element: the desk height. This alone can make or break your posture when studying. First, set up your chair and then consider the height of the desk. Again, pay attention to the shoulders – are they relaxed and dropped naturally? Now, here is where it gets critical: the elbows should be at a 90 degree angle when the hands are on the desk or keyboard.

This is because if the desk is too high, the elbow will make an angle less than 90 degrees, which causes the other joints to compensate and compromise the wrist or shoulder. This explains why many office workers suffer from wrist pain due to their work station set up and posture. If you are able to obtain an adjustable desk, that would be a great investment for your child as you can adjust the height as they grow continuously!

Tip #4 – Item Placement

Now here is a factor that many may not consider – item placement on the desk. Once you set up the desk and chair, the next step is to reconsider the placement of the electrical devices, books, and school supplies. As mentioned above, the head must be held up straight forward, not tilted to the side. This is because the weight of the head, when unbalanced, brings unnatural tension and impact to the body’s vital structure.

Kids are growing and developing very quickly every day, so they tend to be vulnerable in terms of unnecessary impact or imbalanced posture. With that said, let’s set up the computer screen properly. A screen that is too big is not recommended for children.

As a reference point, set up the monitor by aligning the top of the screen with your little’s eye level. The part of the brain called the Cerebellum coordinates with the eyes and is in charge of balance. It strives to maintain horizontal eye level with the ground at all times so when the eye level is tilted, the body will follow and compensate by shifting the spine. In other words, if a screen, book, or smartphone/tablet is placed too high or too low, our body will adjust to maintain eye level either by contracting muscles or even stretching out. This is why you feel tightness or tension around the neck and shoulders after looking down at a book or your phone for more than 20-30 minutes.

Children are more vulnerable to impact from this mechanism than adults so proper placement and alignment of screens is imperative to help keep their bodies straight and in the right position. This may also improve their concentration level by decreasing discomfort. When reading books, it’s recommended to use a book stand with adjustable height so they can look straight forward instead of downwards (and this way they don’t have to keep their arms raised).

Tip #5 – Working Equipment

Truth be told – regardless of good posture and item placement, sitting and working at the computer, especially for long periods of time, has negative effects on the human body. These tips will help you to minimize impact, but the body is just not designed for sitting and staring at a screen. Alas, most of us are tied to our smartphones and computers, so it’s vital to do our best to avoid extra stress to the body.

With many schools (and home schoolers) shifting to online learning, an ergonomic keyboard and mouse are helpful in minimizing stress to the joints. Ergonomic design reduces unnecessary shifts and movements in the joints, and keeps them in a safe range of movement. Observe for yourself: when typing or moving the mouse, watch your forearm – most likely, it is rotated. This is called “pronation,” and brings stress to the joint and muscle group, resulting in inflammation over time. Avoid excessive pronation with an ergonomic keyboard and mouse.

To create an optimal workspace – center the keyboard in alignment with the computer monitor (and make sure the keyboard isn’t too narrow or short in length). Place the mouse next to the keyboard, not too close nor too far. If the mouse is placed a foot away from the keyboard or the body, this disrupts the ideal 90 degree angle of the elbow. Your workspace should serve your posture, not the other way around!

Tip #6 – Stand Up

Have your little stand up every 30 to 50 minutes. Again, the spine is not designed for prolonged sitting, but rather standing in an erect posture. Have your little stand up and move their body even for a few seconds up to a few minutes every 30 to 50 minutes. When the body stays in the same position past 30 minutes, the muscles tense and tighten easily because the brain recognizes that the muscles aren’t working and decreases blood flow to that area. The lack of blood causes muscles to tense up.

So, get up and move together! The brain steadily sends blood toward the muscle groups in use when you move and stretch. Children may not notice or complain about tight muscles or pain as much as adults (or they may have trouble wording their experience!), but their bodies work the same on a smaller (and cuter) scale. Their lifestyle will determine how much they experience this biomechanism in the future so get them moving as much as possible!

Tip #7 – Play Outside

Yes, there are so many fun activities to do indoors such as watching the Tube or playing video games, but children actually need plenty of time outdoors. When outside, their little bodies gain essential microbiomes, sunshine, and fresh air, which all enhance their young immune systems as they grow. Regular movement will counteract any muscle tension from prolonged sitting and – it’s fun!

Much research shows that young children often have Vitamin D deficiency and this number increases each year. This key nutrient not only affects the immune system, but also bone development. Microbiome is crucial for building stronger immunity; the body strengthens when fighting and defeating foreign invaders, such as the flu virus and more. If the body isn’t exposed to microbiomes, it has less opportunity to improve its immunity.

Let your little roam the natural microbiome outside to their heart’s desire in the soil, grass, dirt, and water so they can arm themselves with stronger immune support! Playing sports can also improve heart function, which in turn influences the entire body’s function. Allow at least 1-3 hours of outdoor play every day, especially if they spend extra time indoors studying!

School-age children are vulnerable to poor posture and the discomfort and pain it leads to, but there is a bright side – this means their bodies also respond very well to correction of posture and spine! A simple way to check whether your kid is already affected by posture is to take a good look at their back. If their shoulder blades are not level with one another, it means their body is already compensating because of poor posture.

If you find that their body is compensating, you can turn it around with effective, non-invasive treatment. At this age, invasive measures are unnecessary to correct misalignment, a simple chiropractic adjustment performed regularly will pinpoint the compensated area and correct it. For a gentle approach, the Gonstead technique in chiropractic pursues minimal spinal correction for maximum results. If you are looking in the Redmond or Kirkland area, contact us at Alight Chiropractic today! We hope these 7 rules will help you and your little feel confident about the coming school year and all that brings!