A child grows quickly and soon you will find that you need to provide him with a place to study, do homework and sit at the computer. It is necessary to provide a desk adapted to the physicality and needs of a child. What should you consider?
A correctly chosen desk allows the child to work in a position that does not put strain on his/her spine and allows comfortable use of the computer or books. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of adjusting the dimensions of the desk top and the height of the piece of furniture. Its functionality is also necessary; it should be equipped with an appropriate number of cabinets and drawers.
The desk should be at such a height that an angle of 90 degrees is formed between the forearms and shoulders. The child’s head should be positioned in front of the monitor with the eyes at monitor height. It is also preferable to have the desk at a 30 degree angle so that it is comfortable to write on.
A standard desk with a height of 75 cm and a tabletop size of e.g. 160 × 75 cm will not be a good choice for children. Rather, it should be left with teenagers in mind. A child aged 6 or 7 is usually no more than 130 cm tall. When choosing a desk, we must take this parameter into account in the first place. Most often it is recommended to choose a desk with a height of about 55 – 60 cm. Sometimes children’s desks with adjustable top height are offered, which is a suitable option when a child grows particularly fast. Unfortunately, you have to pay much more for such models than for a standard desk
Also the dimensions of the tabletop in the case of a desk for a child can be smaller than in the case of standard models. The smallest students do not need so much of it. The recommended top size is usually 75 × 55 cm, for example. You should decide on a longer tabletop when siblings will be using it. On the market you can find models even up to 180 cm long.
A desk for working with a computer should have a shelf for the mouse and keyboard 10 cm below the surface of the top. Drawers and shelves in the desk can be used for storing study aids. Sorting them out will help avoid clutter inside the room. However, if there is room for a chest of drawers with the right number of drawers for your needs, additional ones in the desk are no longer necessary.
In the case of small children, the problem when choosing a chair is their rapid growth. In turn, it is required to enable an upright posture of the spine, provide comfortable support for it and allow feet to rest steadily.
For these reasons, the best choice will be to buy a desk chair with the widest possible range of adjustment. This should include the seat, but also the armrests and the backrest. It is also important that the base of the chair is stable especially if the child tries to swing on it.
The placement of the child’s desk in the room should be linked to the need for light. The optimal choice is to use daylight, which is most beneficial to the eyesight of a toddler
It is preferable to place the child’s desk in front of the window. A sideways location is also acceptable. In any case: the child should not block the daylight while doing homework. It is also necessary to provide a reading lamp with adjustable bulb height and tilt
The desk should match the décor of the room. However, there is no need to decorate the children’s room in a way that is appropriate for adults. However, it is not only colourful walls, toys and ornaments that can be matched with different coloured models of desks, but also those made of wood and presenting its natural color or painted white. In the case of small children, you should rather take care that the furniture does not have edges and sharp edges that can be dangerous during carefree play.
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