He's almost 13 and I'm worried that his teen slouch will become a life-long pattern. It's so important to hold yourself tall, heart forward. How can I get him to pay attentino to this without nagging?
Unfortunately, slouching is the 'in' thing now for kids his age. Short of sending him to boot camp, I really don't have any 'non nagging' suggestions for you :(
In my early teens, I was a sloucher, too. I had grown really tall, really fast, and I was uncomfortable being so much taller than my friends. One day, my mom stood sideways in front of me, slouching like I did, and asked me how I thought she felt. Besides thinking she looked awful standing like that, I told her that she didn't look very confident and it looked like she didn't think much of herself. My mom then stood up straight and said, "That is what YOU look like when you slouch and that is the message you are sending out to the world - that you don't think much of yourself. Is THAT the message you want to send?" She also added that I would never convince anyone that I was shorter by slouching, so I should just embrace my height and hold my head high and be proud of who I am. That day, my slouching stopped for good. Hope that helps.
is he involved in any sort of exercise? i know that yoga is good for posture..perhaps get him involved in tennis or some sort of exercise ..
I take all of my kids to a pediatric chiropractor and none of them slouch. I don't have to say much, since she tells them and after getting adjusted it's physically easier to sit up or stand up straight. After their spines stop growing around 18, there's not much change you are going to be able to get, so getting things lined up and having someone else tell him to sit up will make a huge difference.
Sometimes it just takes another person to tell them, especially if one of them is their doctor.
