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School chairs bad for kids backs


Posted by Schooldays Newshound on 01/09/2014. School chairs bad for kids backsTags: Education And Politics Parenting


An expert on posture from the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers has criticised the educational authorities for failing to recognise that the design of school chairs is impacting on children’s health.

The Alexander Technique is a process that teaches people how to co-ordinate body movements to minimise stress and release harmful tension, while improving posture and general health.

Richard Brennan, a spokesperson for the society claims backward-sloping chairs are used in most schools because they are easy to stack. According to the Sunday Times, Brennan says such chairs force children to bend their spines because their bodies are prevented from bending naturally at their hip joints. Brennan advised the Sunday Times that “by the time they (children) leave schools, most of their posture and ease of movement had disappeared and may have slumped and rounded shoulders.

Schools are obliged to comply with guidelines set down by the Department of Education regarding the purchase of classroom furniture. The National Standards Authority of Ireland advised that the current standard allows for the slope on school chairs to tilt five degrees forwards or backwards but that a revised standards is under review and expected to be published in 2016.


Comments

Bill Buckley

(01-09-2014 10:06)


aerChairs have been used in three national schools and increase kids cognition as well as strengthening their core abdominal muscles.
Contact me at bill@aerchair.com for a free trial.

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