Contents
- How to make your very own laptop stand
- What is the healthiest way of sitting?
- How can I help my child stay organised?
It’s inevitable that your child or teen will spend a large portion of their day sitting. Whether it’s being in a classroom, watching TV, doing homework, playing video games or reading, sitting comes with the territory. Which is why we wanted to create a DIY video that helps your young ones maintain a healthier posture when sitting at their desk – have you guessed what we’re making yet? Keep reading to find out and make sure to take note of our essential tips on the best way to sit. 👍
Plus, managing your children and teens’ routines can be tricky, so we share five ways to inspire them to be more organised individuals. 😉
How to make your very own laptop stand
It’s so important to maintain a comfortable position when using a laptop that also doesn’t compromise your posture. To help your teen achieve this, we’ve created a DIY video on how to create a natty laptop stand. After the video, stay tuned and read up on how to sit properly while protecting your back and health.
For your laptop stand, you’ll need:
- Piece of cardboard (A) measuring 26cm x 30cm
- 2 pieces of cardboard (B) measuring 12.5cm x 8cm x 26.5cm (as you can see in the video, these 2 pieces have one slanted edge)
- Piece of cardboard (C) measuring 30cm x 8cm
- Piece of cardboard (D) measuring 30cm x 10cm
- Piece of cardboard (E) measuring 38cm x 27cm
- Large pieces of white paper (if you want a white laptop stand, of course!)
- A glue stick
- Scissors
- A pencil
- A ruler
- A hot glue gun ⚠️ be very careful when handling the hot glue gun ⚠️
OK, let’s go!
- Take any piece of card, cover it in paper and glue it around the edges using the glue stick.
- Glue another piece of paper to the exposed cardboard side.
- Do this for all the cardboard pieces.
- Line up the ruler along the straight edge of cardboard (B) pieces.
- Draw a line in pencil on each one.
- Apply glue from the hot glue gun along both lines.
- Take cardboard (A) and fix horizontally to the glued lines on cardboard (B) pieces. Take cardboard (C) and (D) and slide them into place as per the video.
- Apply glue from the hot glue gun along all the exposed edges and fix cardboard (E) into place on those edges. Push down slightly so that the cardboard pieces are firmly glued together. Wait for about 24 hours for the hot glue to set and become hard and voila – prop your laptop on top and slide your favourite accessories in the little shelf underneath! 🤓
What is the healthiest way of sitting?
Comfortable and relaxing, sitting a lot seems harmless, right? Wrong. Sitting for long periods of time is shown to slow down metabolism, which in turn affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, and blood pressure and break down body fat. And with many adults in the UK spending around 9 hours a day sitting, it’s time we formed some new habits for ourselves, and to show our kids. Follow – and share – these tips for sitting healthily.
- Keep your back straight and your shoulders pulled back.
- Your buttocks should touch the back of your chair.
- Your knees should be at a right angle and resting slightly higher than your hips.
- Don’t cross your legs and keep your feet flat on the floor.
- If working on a computer or a laptop, the screen should meet your eye level so that you’re not straining your neck down or up – this is where our laptop stand video should come in handy! 🙌
- Your arms should be at a 90-degree angle to your desk.
- Take a 5–10-minute break for every hour of sitting.
- If you’re experiencing aches and pains from sitting at a desk for too long, here are some stretches you can do to ease them.
- Should your teen find themselves working for long periods of time, a standing desk could be a great investment for their health.
How can I help my child stay organised?
- Lists
Encourage your child or teen to keep daily to-do lists. From homework to housework and general life admin, if they write each thing down, they’ll soon learn the infinite joy of ticking them off when they’re complete! ✔️
- Homework routine
The best way to make sure homework gets done is to establish a daily schedule for it. If your young one knows that 5 pm every day is “homework time”, they’ll know it’s coming and will get used to planning their afternoons/evenings around it.
- Buy a planner
It’s not easy to keep track of homework, exams, medical appointments, sleepovers, field trips etc, so invest in a daily planner that you and your child or teen can use to stay on top of life! Make a habit of sitting with them every Sunday to plan the week ahead; this will help you both manage your time and expectations.
- Get a whiteboard
Keeping a calendar or writing up to-do lists on a whiteboard is a great visual way to stay organised, and it’s pretty fun too! You can also encourage your child or teen to write motivational quotes on it to give them an extra boost. ✨
- Use some tech
Teens spend half their life on their phones so they may as well use technology to their advantage. There are many task-based apps that allow you to set reminders and keep lists – this is an excellent way of helping them learn to stay accountable.
We hope our DIY laptop stand video went down a treat with your kids and teens; if so, there’s plenty more where that came from! They could also try making the awesome gadgets from our other DIY videos – friendship bracelets, a tornado in a bottle, a stress ball, speakers, a Mason jar tumbler – we’ve got the lot!
If your kids and teens need some help with studying, we are at your service! Our super tutors are ready to meet you and your children so book a free trial today!
