A posture is how a person holds his or her body when walking, sitting and lying down. A good posture is one where there is minimal stress to your joints. This prevents abnormal fixings in your spine. This also prevents back pain and muscular pain. And let's not forget the appearance factor – good posture portrays you as a confident person. Correct posture contributes to good appearance. It also helps you to be more relaxed.

If you are slumping when walking or sitting then that is bad posture.

Bad posture can be corrected. This is not something we are born with. Anyone can correct theirs and convert it into a good one. Walking and sitting the wrong way creates stress on young and old spines. In this article I am going to concentrate on good posture habits for young children when they are writing.

We know a child has a bad posture if he or she is slumping when writing or if the child has a tendency to lean to one side in an awkward position.

Rather than correcting the child only when the child is writing or reading, it is a good idea to teach the child correct posture when they are walking, sitting, standing and lying.

The first step towards good posture is to get the right table and chair for writing. Get a chair and table specifically designed for writing and reading. The table and chair have to be steady. It is not good for the child to sit on a chair that keeps swinging when they are writing. A lot of plastic chairs which are mainly designed for entertainment might not be the best option.

The child's back has to be supported by chair. The child's bottom has to be pushed into the back pocket of his/her chair. The child's head has to balanced on top of shoulders – the head should not tilt sideways or lean forwards. It is also not good for them to have too much strain on their shoulders. Don't allow them to bend sideways when writing.

Make sure that the table is not too high for the child. The table should be at about elbow height. One table and chair might not suit all the children in your house. It varies based on the height of your child. The child's arms should rest comfortably and the feet should be supported by the floor rather than hanging loosely. The child should not cross their legs when sitting. Encourage them to keep their feet apart when they sit to write.

If a child is slouching when walking then it is a lot of strain on their neck and back. It will lead to back pain. So correct them whenever they slouch.

Make the child comfortable and the handwriting skills will develop as a result. If the child is not sitting the right way then the child is not going to enjoy the task at hand.