It’s mid October and many teens are into the thick of things with school. With homework assignments comes research on the internet, creating PowerPoint presentations, and typing up essays - basically amounting to a lot of computer work. Couple that with playing video games and kids are just as at risk of developing overuse injuries as adults.
Telltale signs of overuse or repetitive stress injury in children include experiencing pain, tingling, hand and/or wrist numbness. Signs of aggravated vision problems from prolonged concentrated focus on the monitor include rubbing the eyes or complaints of headaches. You may also see the child tilting the head or closing/blocking an eye when trying to read the monitor screen. This might indicate a vision problem so they should get an eye exam.
Applying ergonomic principles to our younger ones at home will help reduce overuse injuries. Here are some tips on what to purchase for a good home workstation and how to set it up properly so everyone can work in comfort:
1. Seating is key. Invest some money in an adjustable seat that provides comfort and proper posture support in the spine for all family members. An adjustable seat pan allows the child to sit back in the chair to support the back rather than sit at the edge of the seat.
2. If the child or teen’s legs are dangling, get a footrest. The legs should be supported and the knees level with the hips.
3. A monitor riser ensures that the monitor height can be adjusted to suit tall teens or little ones. Improvise - that old phone book you’ve been meaning to recycle makes a good monitor riser.
4. The monitor should also be placed directly in front of the hard working student so he or she does not have to turn their head or twist the body to view the screen.
5. Get a desk with enough room to place mouse and keyboard together at the same level as well as have writing tools and reference books close at hand.
6. When keyboarding, the arms should be close to the body and the elbows bent at a 90 degree angle. It’s tempting to hang on to the mouse when reading documents or websites for information. Encourage your child/teenager to keep their hands in their laps when not needing to use the mouse.
7. The desk should also have enough depth and width to hold the document holder. A document holder placed directly in between the monitor and keyboard is the best choice, followed by one that sits at eye level and as close to the monitor as possible.
8. Make sure there is room for the legs under the work surface. Get rid of clutter.
9. Set up Outlook to remind your kids to take a break - preferably an activity break to allow muscles to stretch and move.
10. Finally, related to activity breaks is fitness. Physical activity not only assists in maintaining a good seating posture, it’s a good mental break. Set a good example - go for walks, take some time out for play, go to the museum. Remember to get them to learn that getting away from the computer work and games for just a little while is a good thing.