How to Check your Child's Posture from Toddler to Teenager

How to check your Child’s posture from toddler to teenager.

Checking your child’s posture is one of the simplest, yet most important things you as a parent can do to ensure the present and future health of their children. This is an easy assessment that you can do on your child.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to check your child’s posture

·         Get your child to stand and face you, get them to close their eyes and walk in place then stop shake their arms and open their eyes looking straight ahead at you.

·         Look at their hips- are they directly over the middle of their feet? Are their feet both equally pointing forward or toeing in or toeing out? Are the hips rotated to the right? To the left? Are they tipping to one side?

·         Look at their chest- is it directing over the middle of the pelvis (hips)

·         Now look at the shoulders, is one lower than the other? Are they rounded or hunched forward? Does one arm hang lower?

·         Finally, look at their head.  Draw a mental line from the midpoint between the eyes to the center of the upper lip. Is it straight up and down or tilted? Is the head tilted to one side or the other? Is the face rotated to the left or right? Does one eye look lower than the other

·         Ask your child to turn around so that you can see their spine- is it straight? Is there a lateral curve to one side or the other? Is one hip higher than the other; is the pelvis twisted or twisted in any direction?

Now ask your child to turn so their side is facing you. Are the ear, shoulder and hip in a straight line to the ground? Or is the head forward, buttocks out backward?

·         There are three spinal curves when looking from the side. Is there a very deep curve in the lower back/sway back? Does the abdomen protrude? Does the top of the pelvis look like it’s rocked forward? Is the middle and upper back excessively rounded, or very flat? Are the shoulders rounded or hunched? Doe the head appear too far forward on their shoulders (anterior head carriage) does the curve in the neck appear nonexistent, or excessive?

As chiropractors that see many children we can examine at your child’s posture as well as use several posture analysis tools to determine what is happening with your child.

If you have any concerns contact us at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness, 142 Erickson Dr, Red Deer T4R 2C3 or call us at 403-347-3261 www.family1stchiro.ca Dr. Joelle Johnson has been in practice for 15 years and is located at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness.