The mistake parents make when designing the children's room for the school year

Ahead of the start of the school year, children's rooms are once again receiving special attention. A new desk, chair, work lamp, shelves, and perhaps a new color for the wall. However, while we are busy with the question of how the study corner will look, it is worth stopping for a moment and asking a much more important question: how will the child feel in it after an hour or two of homework?

Children and teenagers today spend long hours sitting, and not just at school. Homework, computer, tablet, games, and screens turn the home work corner into a place where the young body spends a significant part of the day.

Therefore, a beautiful desk and a chair that matches the wall color are no longer enough. The height of the chair, the position of the legs, the angle of the screen, the lighting, and even the air in the room can affect comfort, fatigue, and the ability to concentrate.

Before choosing a chair, look at the legs

One of the common mistakes is to buy the child a desk and chair in adult sizes with the thought that they will grow into them anyway. In practice, furniture that does not fit the body's dimensions can cause the child to adopt uncomfortable postures over time.

The starting point is simple: the feet should receive full support from the floor or a footrest. When they are hanging in the air, the child tends to slide forward in the chair or change body position to find support. The knees and hips should also be at a comfortable angle of about 90 to 100 degrees. The elbows and forearms should reach the work surface without the child having to raise their shoulders or bend over to it.

In other words, do not buy a chair just because the label says "children's chair." Seat the child on it and check how their body is actually positioned.

The new problem of children's rooms is on the desk

Once, the study corner mainly included notebooks and books. Today, it usually also has a screen, and here another problem begins.

"Text neck" is the term given to the load created when the head is tilted forward and down repeatedly to look at a phone, tablet, or laptop. The more the head is tilted forward, the greater the mechanical load on the neck area. The solution is not to take the computer out of the room, but to position it correctly. It is desirable that the top of the screen be roughly at eye level and that the screen be at a comfortable distance, usually about 50 to 70 cm.

A laptop complicates the task because the keyboard and screen are connected. When using it for a long time, it can be raised using a stand and an external keyboard and mouse can be connected. This way, the screen can be raised without forcing the hands to work at an uncomfortable height.

The room itself must also work

Ergonomics is only part of the story. A study conducted at the University of Salford in the UK that examined learning environments found a link between classroom characteristics, including light, temperature, air quality, and space flexibility, and students' progress in learning. At home, some of the principles can be applied in a simple way.

It is worth utilizing natural light, but avoiding a position that creates direct glare on the computer screen. In the evening hours, it is recommended to provide good and pleasant work lighting, without making the room excessively bright. Ventilation is no less important. Opening the window and changing the air in the room are perhaps less impressive actions than photographing a designed room, but they are part of a pleasant and healthy learning environment.

When purchasing new furniture or painting the room, one can also check the type of materials and colors and give priority to products with appropriate standards and low emission of volatile organic compounds.

The best chair is not necessarily the one you sit on without moving

Even the most ergonomic work corner does not turn hours of continuous sitting into a desirable habit. One of the prominent trends in the field is "dynamic sitting," which allows the body to change position instead of fixing it in one state. Chairs with movement mechanisms, adjustment options, and back support can encourage changes in posture. Adjustable desks allow in some cases to switch between sitting and standing.

But you don't have to turn the children's room into a high-tech office. You can simply set short breaks where you get up from the chair, walk, stretch the body, and return to sit.

Comfort check: two chairs for children and teenagers

We also tested two computer chairs for children from Dr. Gav, which offer various adjustment options for the growing body.

SOLAR is intended for children and teenagers from age 5 to 18 and up to a weight of 80 kg. The chair combines an ergonomic structure that supports the curves of the spine with a backrest made of airy and breathable mesh fabric, a significant advantage in an Israeli children's room in the hot months. It includes padded armrests that can be lifted back, so the chair can be brought closer to the desk and save space when not in use. The height adjustment mechanism allows the sitting position to be adapted to the child's height and to aim for a state where the feet receive full support. Its price is 490 NIS on sale, instead of 590 NIS.

METEOR is intended for children and teenagers from age 5 to 15 and up to a weight of 70 kg. Here the emphasis is also on the possibility of movement during sitting. The chair is equipped with a rocking mechanism that allows adjustment of the backrest and seat angle as a single unit and control of the resistance level. In addition, it has a built-in place for resting the feet, an anatomical backrest made of flexible mesh fabric, and rising armrests, which allow it to be brought closer to the work desk and switch between different postures. Its price is 690 NIS.

And perhaps the most important advice is to remember that a children's room is a space that is in constant motion. The child grows, the body changes, the computer is replaced, and learning habits change with it. Therefore, instead of looking for the perfect study corner for the upcoming school year, it is better to choose a work environment that can change and adapt itself to the child. And yes, it can definitely also be beautiful.