Why you shouldn't tell your child to 'sit still'

It may not be a bad thing if your child wiggles around when sitting at his or her desk. Photo: Filepic

Sitting and working at a desk often means sitting hunched and bent over – and children learn from a young age to sit with their shoulders hunched and back curved.

That can influence their health, which is why nowadays, health experts are advising parents to stop telling their children to sit still at their desks, and to accept that wiggling around, leaning back and stretching is good for their bodies.

Children want to move and that should be allowed while they’re studying, says a campaign in Germany for strong backs (AGR).

A more lively approach sitting can have many positive effects, putting less strain on the back and facilitating greater concentration, performance and a general sense of wellbeing. All that adds up to an easier time studying, too.

Workplace health experts will also often suggest getting a desk where you can manually adjust the height as the child grows. The table should be adjusted every six months at the latest, preferably with an uncomplicated mechanism like a crank.

You may also want to consider getting one that can tilt, which will help prevent poor posture when doing homework.

It’s best to go to the shop together with the child so you can try out whether the whole thing is stable and whether the child can tilt the desktop on their own.

If you’re thinking of getting the child a desktop computer at a later stage, the table’s surface should be around 110 cm in width and 80 cm in depth to allow for enough distance to the monitor. – dpa