You don't have to be old to have back problems.

Even children these days are experiencing back pain and posture issues because today’s childhood has a lot more to do with sitting than it does with running around freely. Children are spending less time outdoors and more time inside. Whether they are studying, playing video games, watching reality TV or socializing on Facebook, sitting is a primary stance for children.

As manufacturers and/or sellers of juvenile furniture, it is important for us to realize the role our products can play in promoting good posture and ergonomics.

Our company, Posture in Style, was recently launched to create a healthful studying and sitting environment to help posture and overall health. We are the U.S. distributor of an exclusive and unique line of furniture from Funktionsmöbel GmbH, a German craftsman company with a reputation for quality dating back to 1925 that is now available in the United States for the first time. Not only is the furniture designed to reduce pain or discomfort but also to proactively minimize the presence of dangerous ergonomic risk factors.

I think one of the most revolutionary aspects of the line is that it is designed to expand and grow with children as their needs, both physical and educational, change. Rather than having to replace items over time, this furniture system adjusts to meet their growing needs, including children’s ever-changing tastes in style. The furniture offers color accents that can be changed on-the-fly to keep pace with a growing child's latest design whimsy.

Aside from its aesthetic superlatives, our scholastic home furniture, including desks, chairs and storage pieces, promotes proper posture for enhanced study and comfort. All the desks and chairs are 100-percent adjustable. The patented “Comfort” feet allow the desks to always be at the right height to ensure good posture. The tiltable desktops accommodate the natural slant of the head, resulting in relaxed neck muscles and less tendency for a child to assume a “hunchback position.”

In addition, the recessed computer monitor mounts provide the optimal viewing angle and distance to reduce eye strain. The swing-up keyboard trays reduce wrist strain and mitigating carpal tunnel syndrome. Even the chairs have been engineered with children’s health in mind, featuring adjustable depth and height as well as oscillating backrest for proper spinal alignment.

We think each of these key adjustable elements will help prevent back problems and other health maladies that are rooted to the good or bad posture a person assumes at an early age.

Editor's note: Roger Lin is the founder and CEO of Posture in Style, the Los Angeles-based distributor of an exclusive line of German-made, ergonomic furniture designed with children and young people in mind. To learn more about the company, visit postureinstyle.com.


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