Before each short burst, your fingers rest on the home row, with your wrists straight.
The big ideaSit tall, keep wrists straight, and rest your eyes and hands in short breaks.
How it works
A seat that works: your back is tall but not stiff, and your feet are flat on the floor or flat on a box.
Bend your elbows like the letter L, with the screen about an arm away. Let your shoulders sit loose and low.
Keep your wrists straight, like a little bridge, and let your hands hover just over the keys with your fingers curved.
Type a little, look away, stretch, then type again. If anything ever feels sore, stop and tell a grown-up.
A short burst, then a break.
Example 1: Set up the seat
A grown-up can help with the chair, the desk and the screen.
Put a small box under your feet if they do not reach the floor.
Put a cushion behind your back so you sit up tall.
Lift the screen with books if it needs to be higher.
Example 2: Rest your eyes
Look at something far away, like a tree out of the window.
Give a few slow blinks.
Example 3: Stretch your hands
Stretch your arms up high with your fingers spread wide.
Give your hands a good shake, as if they were wet.
Then rest your fingers on the home row and type again.
Fingers back on the home row.
Words to know
posture
How you sit when you type.
break
A short rest between bursts of typing.
burst
A short bit of typing before a break.
Watch out
Sliding down in the chair, with a head far forward, is worth changing.
Wrists bent and pressed on the edge of the desk are worth changing: keep them straight.
A nose close to the screen is worth changing. Sit back about an arm away.
If anything feels sore, stop and tell a grown-up.
Try it
Where should your feet go while you type?
What should your wrists look like?
What can you do to rest tired eyes?
If anything ever feels sore, what do you do?
Answers: 1. Flat on the floor or on a box · 2. Straight, like a little bridge · 3. Look at something far away · 4. Stop and tell a grown-up
Try at homeWith a grown-up, set up your seat at the keyboard: feet flat on the floor or a box, back tall, wrists straight and the screen about an arm away. After each short bit of typing, plan a look out of the window and a stretch.
For grown-upsSit beside your child and help set up the seat: feet flat, back tall, wrists straight and the screen about an arm away; then agree a short look-away and stretch after each short burst of typing.
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