Sitting correctly at the children's desk - correct sitting position for the child

School children, in particular, spend a large part of their time at their children’s desk. A sedentary way of working is indispensable for doing homework, doing handicrafts or simply painting and writing.

The body is stressed in this position. Especially the back muscles and the spine are unilaterally stressed against their natural shape.

Why sitting incorrectly is so bad

Bad posture – poor concentration

When sitting at the desk in the wrong sitting position for a long time, the children gradually collapse. The shoulders come forward and the Back becomes round. As a result, the abdomen and the respiratory system are slowly compressed.

Breathing becomes more cumbersome, blood flow to the brain and the supply of oxygen become more difficult. So gradually attention and concentration decrease.

Improper sitting posture leads to poor concentration and tiredness during longer work

Crooked sitting – long-term complaints

If the child’s desk is not properly seated and the height of the table and the children’s desk chair are unfavorable, the back pain and muscle tension may be significant in the long term.

If the desk height settings do not match those of the matching chair, the child’s body automatically adopts unfavorable seating positions. The child is forced into a wrong form for a long time, so to speak. A similar effect as e.g. with a loose tooth clamp, only with unfavorable health consequences.

Back and neck thank you over time with tension, movement pain and / or even permanent complaints. Headaches or malaise may also appear.

Correct sitting posture

A correct sitting position needs to be learned. There are a few things to consider that will allow you to sit at the desk for long periods of time.

Adapt children’s desk to body size

The most important thing is first of all the optimal adjustment of the child’s height to the table and seat height. If everything is set correctly here, most of the correct sitting posture will result almost automatically.

Because children are constantly growing, it is very important to regularly check the body size and adjust the height settings accordingly for comfortable sitting and work. An adjustable height Children’s desk is a very good investment in a child’s school life.

Correct height adjustment according to DIN EN 1729-1: 2006-09

DIN EN 1729-1: 2006-09 Furniture – Chairs and Tables for Educational Institutions can find out which are the right setting dimensions for children’s desks and associated chairs.

Corresponding functional dimensions for the height of the children are given in a table. The values for the correct height settings also give a good orientation for the height of the children’s desk at home.

Alternatively, the following rule of thumb can also apply:

Posture at the children’s desk – the legs

With optimal adjustment of the height-adjustable children’s desk, the thighs lie on the seat and the feet are flat on the floor. This automatically results in a desired angle between the upper and lower leg of approx. 90 °

It is important that the backs of the knees are at a small distance from the front edge of the seat and do not touch it. This allows the thighs to move freely. For this reason there should also be enough space between the table top and the legs.

Posture at the children’s desk – the arms

In coordination with the height of the child, the elbows are exactly at the level of the table top at the optimal table and chair height.

With a flat desk, the upper and lower arms also form a right angle when the forearms lie flat on the work surface. So the shoulders are relieved and relaxed.

With an inclined table top at the children’s desk, the elbow tips are ideally 2-3 cm below the edge of the table.

Posture at the children’s desk – the back

First of all, an upright and straight posture is important. The backrest of the children’s desk chair supports the lumbar and shoulder area. In the writing and working position, the child bends a little more over the student desk and the back is rounded. Here the desk chair must support the lumbar area.

Checklist – correct posture at the children’s desk

The most important thing is to regularly check the height of the schoolchild. This is the only way to adjust the correct height setting of the furniture. If the dimensions are correct, the following points result almost automatically:

Feet are flat on the floor when sitting
Thighs rest on the seat
The upper and lower legs form a 90 ° angle
The back of the knees do not touch the edge of the seat
The knees and thighs do not come into contact with the table
The forearm lies flat on the table surface and the shoulders are relaxed
Backrest supports pelvis and shoulders

The following figure summarizes all important points for the correct height adjustment of the seat and table height as well as for an optimal sitting posture.

Checklist children’s desk – sitting correctly

Dynamic sitting

As correct as the above points for a sensible sitting posture, it must always be clear that children are sitting at the children’s desk and not mannequins. Children want and have to move.

Most of the time they start to slide and wiggle on the chair all by themselves during longer work. What is often stamped on the Zappelphillip stamp is actually a sensible change for the body and the concentration can increase again somewhat.

This is called moving or dynamic sitting. It is definitely wanted, because this way different muscle groups are used and relieved. One prevents signs of fatigue.

So create too the small lingering longer at your desk without any further problems.

Conclusion

The points on the checklist are more for height adjustment and are not a recommendation for a working posture lasting several hours. If the desk height is correct and the correct sitting position matches the chair and table, nothing stands in the way of long homework.

Dynamic sitting compensates for longer one-sided loads and offers the body a great deal of variety through different sitting postures and health thanks.