I don’t work with children a lot but I do occasionally.

One August I got a rather frantic-sounding e-mail from a local parent asking me if I could fix his son’s posture in the next three weeks before school started. It was a matter of great concern, he wrote.

My first response when I am contacted by a parent wanting to bring their child in to see me is to ask, “Have you spoken to your child about coming in to see me?” I will agree to work with the child if (1) the parent gets buy-in from the child to at least try 2—3 lessons with me and (2) the parent allows the child to be part of the decision whether or not to continue past the initial lessons.

Half the time we don’t get past this initial interaction and the child never comes in. When the child does come in it is usually very obvious that it is the parent who needs the lessons more so than the child.

As a parent, you are a model for your children. Kids, especially at a very young age, learn so much by imitating those around them.

Adults understand modeling behavior as a way to teach their kids to do things like saying please and thank you, not using profanity, looking both ways before they cross the street, and cleaning up after themselves.

But do you think about being a model for your children in terms of posture and Use?

If you don’t understand your own posture and Use, or even know what constitutes good posture and Use, how can you expect to be a good model for your kids? You are never too old to learn and to make changes – if you want to.

So if you are a parent and are really concerned about your kids’ posture start with yourself.  Be the best model you can. This will go a lot farther than constantly prodding your kids to “stand up straight!” That advice from your parents didn’t work well for you, so why do you think it would work for your kids?

Image by Mircea – See my collections from Pixabay