GRACEFULNESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 199, 23 August 1930, Page 4 (Supplement)

GRACEFULNESS.

A STOOPING CHILD

CURE THAT ROUND SHOULDER,

(By MRS. EMILIE HOFFMAN.)

The posture of the school child is of such importance that the desks and chairs in the school room are of varying heights to accommodate the different sized pupils. The observant teacher will Insist upon correct posture in lier pupils. So will the mother who knows, that round shoulders, crooked backs, fallen arches and other defects are the result of faulty posture, but the co-operation between homo and school might be materially improved when it comes to posture. Some postural defects are caused by defective diet and this must be corrected in the home. But such' deformities as round shoulders, flat chest and curvature of the spine are the result of bad postural. habits, and it requires home training to overcome these. The child may look very comfy huddled up in the easy chair while reading, but that slump of the shoulders may mean round shoulders. The flattened chest checks the functioning of the lungs and may encourage tuberculosis if this posture becomes a habit. The deformities resulting from lateral curvatures are well known, and yet many mothers do not realise how farreaching the effect of faulty posture may prove to be. Walking Well. The mother may noticc that her boy does not walk erect, or that he droops his shoulders, and she may admonish him to straighten up, but she should explain to him the dangers of this practice, and if, necessary, she must take drastic measures to overcome bad posture habits, because most of the ailments that result largely from faulty posture could be prevented if detected early and rightly back can be checked in the earliest stages. So insist upon correct posture whether your child walks, stands or Correct posture in standing means that the head, body and legs should be held one above the other, so a line

dropped from the front of the ear falls within the forward half of the foot. The shoulder-blades should not protrude, but should be flat across the back, and the feet should not go off at angles, but should point directly forward. In sitting the body should be bent only at the hips and knees, while the head, neck and trunk should be held in a straight line.

Look To-night.

Examine your child when he retires at night, and if one shoulder or one hip is higher than the other, lose no time in placing him under corrective treatment. 1 When deformities and growth disorders develop, they prove a great handicap to the school child, especially in his social relations, which is quite liable to react as a feeling of inferiority, and this works out to the child's disadvantage and frequently is the explanation for school failures.—("Star*" and A.A.N.S.)