This video points out that 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?
Many things including:
- 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.