Different Seats for Different Seats
And we here in Ontario are back to online/remote learning. Wondering about what some of the options are to help your child be comfortable through a day of learning at home? Check out some of my suggestions and ideas in todays post.
A Goldilocks
of Chairs!
Just as there are no two people the same, no two chairs or seating options are created equally. What works for one person might not work for someone else. For parents and students a like finding the “perfect” fit is not easy.
As we return to remote learning, for most of Ontario this week, parents, students and teacher are returning to the uncertainties of learning from home. It is impossible to recreate to school environment in our homes. It is impossible to have all the required items and spaces in our homes to create this space. However there are lots of way to work with what you already have at home as possible seating options.
Our house has two children who have been diagnosed with ADHD and both have a huge need to be move around. For this reason they are enjoying remote learning as it allows them to move as they wish. However there are times when they need to sit still for lessons. Both of our boys have picked very different seating arrangements, one having multiple options.
The options available to them are items we already had. We didn’t need to buy anything special or interesting.
These are two of the options on of our boys has taken. A hard option and a soft option which also spins.
Our eldest child has a different choice of chairs to his brother. He switches between a wire hard seat to a big bouncy ball we got a few years back at the CNE. It has small spikes on it allowing some sensory as well. While our middle child chooses most often an old desk chair we had. He enjoys that it spins allowing him to spin while thinking.
I used to think that our middle sons option of spinning while working was more of a distraction. Turns out NOPE! We have found when he does his tutoring lessons that he actually does better. The movement allows him to focus while not having to sit still. Also the fact that he can adjust the chair up and down means he can move from his desk , where he sits high, to another location where he’ll sit lower in the chair.
So how to you know which chair will work for your child?
There is zero way to know. The best advice would be try different chairs in your house. The couch, the kitchen chair, perhaps a bar stool if that’s what you have. Remember that the chair doesn’t have to fit the desk or table. It needs to fit the needs of the person using it. Or maybe there’ no chair needed, maybe your child needs to just stand to learning.
Every chair has a different feel and meets a need in a different way!
Things to consider when choosing a chair:
1. What do you already have at home. In these times staying home and not doing extra work is important. Most homes have more than one type of chair. Spend sometime considering which chairs you have and which ones might work.
2. What is comfortable for you might not be for someone else. Much like Goldilocks and three bears, no one chair is going to suit the same person. It is honestly a thing of trial and error. What works one day might not the next day.
3. Don’t force one type of chair just because. Again test them out and try.
This time of learning from home will hopefully only be for a short time longer but being able to focus and be conformable is important. The chair needs to be functional while still meeting the needs of the user.
Much like we pick out mattress sometimes picking a chair can be just as tough and the outcome just as important!
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June can be a scary time of year for those who struggle with transitions. Looking at BIG T Transitions and little t transition can help you build a transition to ensures the success of your child.