Eight-year-old Ryan usually can't wait to get home to e-mail his friends and grandparents. He frequently sits in front of the computer for more than an hour. Now his parents report that he often rubs his eyes and complains of blurry vision.

Ten-year-old Jackie spends her free time in kid-friendly online chat rooms on the school library's computer. She also types out her writing assignments, resting her wrists on the desk while working and sometimes banging the keys. Lately, Jackie has noticed a tingling sensation in her fingers.

Five-year-old Alex likes to play games on his parents' computer. He sits in his father's large chair, his feet dangling. He leans forward to get closer to the screen and tenses his muscles in excitement. He's mentioned to his teachers that his back and neck hurt.

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? Chances are, some students in your classroom suffer from similar problems. The reason? Kids are using computers and logging on to the Web in record numbers. At least 70 percent of America's 30 million elementary school students use computers at school or at home. This statistic is impressive when you think that technology can help kids learn. But the downside is that such widespread computer use may actually be harming your students. Here's what to do about it.

Shake the computer aches
Kids who use computers regularly are at high risk for developing health problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome and computer vision syndrome (CVS). "If one of these conditions takes 10 years to appear, a 40-year-old will suffer from it by age 50, but a five-year-old may feel the effects by age 15," warns Chaya P. Cohen, supervising industrial hygienist for the New York State Department of Labor, Division of Safety and Health. Her advice? Ensure from the onset that children use computers in a health-conscious way to avoid future pains.

"We need to teach kids the right way to sit and use their computers," adds Linda Segall, editorial director of 'CTDNews,' a newsletter published in West Palm Beach, Florida, that provides solutions to cumulative trauma disorders, such as those caused by computing. "If children sit poorly or don't have their workstations set up properly, they will develop bad habits that will be hard to break."

For more information, visit www.prio.com www.aoanet.org www.ctdnews.com www.pc.ibm.com/us/healthycomputing www.uhs.berkeley.edu/FACSTAFF/ergonomics

Because your students will probably be spending more time on computers this school year than ever, Creative Classroom turned to health and computer experts for advice on how to encourage health-minded practices while using the computer. Cohen and Segall (mentioned above), as well as pediatric optometrist Dr. Pia Hoenig and ophthalmologist Anne Sumers all offered their best insights. Post their words of wisdom, compiled in the following clip-and-save pages, next to your classroom computer. And don't forget to send copies home to parents. By encouraging healthy computing today, you may save students from the aches and pains of tomorrow.

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