Elementary School
The slow and gradual deformities that plague our youth begin very early in our children. Posture and body mechanics education are extremely important and should not be overlooked by parents, teachers and others concerned with the health and well-being of our children and youth.
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You will find a growing number of sites dealing with child and youth posture in the classroom. Here is a sample (pdf) from one of them.
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Here is a recent report concerning youth health and fitness.
A simple posture assessment is quick and easy to administer. You might want to use the chart above. Your school nurse would be a good resource for assistance, and local physical therapists and/or chiropractors might be willing to come in and help. This need not turn into a medical screening. Keep shirts on, tuck them in well, and look only for the obvious deformities that can be corrected by good body management and simple exercises. Not all of the items on the chart above need be assessed. Common problems are rounded shoulders, downward tilt of pelvic angle, etc.
Go online and do some reading under "posture" or buy a book. www.abebooks.com is a great source. It has millions of rare books sold by over 5,000 book dealers on one site. . . Incredible resource. You will have to "create a new account," and then go to search. Type in "posture" under title. Also try "posture" for subject. Once you get to know titles, subjects, and authors, you will find some great books. If you have questions about finding some classic physical education/training literature, email Dr. Thomas.