How Poor Posture can Affect Your Child’s Vision

Urband Creative
Jul 11
2 min read

We usually associate posture with back and neck health, but did you know it can also affect your child’s vision?

Poor posture, especially during screen time or reading can put unnecessary strain on the eyes and even worsen vision over time. Here’s how posture and eyesight are more connected than you think!

How Does It Affect?

The Spine–Brain–Eye Connection

The spine supports the central nervous system, which controls almost every function in the body including our vision.

When a child has poor posture like slouching or a forward head tilt, it can compress parts of the spine, especially the cervical spine at the neck region.

This may reduce the nervous system’s efficiency in parts such as:

Eye muscle coordination
Visual processing speed
Focus and attention

Bad posture causes a lag, between the eyes seeing an object, the brain interpreting the image of the object and the body responding to the object.

A healthy spine & posture = better nerve flow = stronger communication between the brain and the eyes.

Identifying Visual Stress

Forward Head Posture

When your child leans their head forward while reading or using a screen, it places stress on the neck and shoulder muscles.

This tension can interfere with how the eyes move and focus, especially during near work (reading, watching their favourite TV shows etc.).

Over time, this can lead to:

Eye fatigue
Blurred or double vision
Difficulty focusing in class
Increased risk of digital eye strain

Slouching

Slouching often leads children to hold books or screens too close or at uncomfortable angles. This forces their eyes to overwork, increasing the risk of:

Myopia progression (nearsightedness)
Squinting and poor posture habits
Frequent headaches

Follow the elbow rule: Keep reading material about a forearm’s length away from the eyes, about 30 - 40cm.

How to Support Vision Through Good Posture

Set up an eye-level screen or reading surface
- Choose chairs and desks that promote upright sitting
- Use a child-sized desk and chair so their feet rest flat on the floor and their knees form a 90° angle.
- Avoid reading while lying down