How do you say this? Whenever my son is writing his homework, I want him to sit straight with his head up. How do you express this in English?. Should I say: "Move your chair to the right position. Keep your back straight, raise your head higher". What do native English-speaking parents say to their children when they notice their sitting position, become aware of their handwriting, how they hold the pen and so on? ----------- In some places, the children consider the parents not relevant to their school studies & therefore would not take such instruction from parents: That is a teacher's role. So for some people, this question does not have an answer. Some parents would not seek to micro-manage their children to such an extent. Posture is a word for their position while sitting & standing. I tell my wife that her mother would tell her to watch her posture. This she knows is true, she would. Don't slouch. If people are sitting badly, I guess I would consider the ergonomics of the furniture, consider changing the furniture. Can your teacher read that writing? My daughter complains that the teacher's handwriting is not as good as the previous teacher's. So the class considers that the teacher is soft on handwriting. This sort of works to make them write better, to have better writing than the teacher. SO we do not tell her anything on this. I have never looked at how she holds her pen. Should that not be up to her? She is likely holding her pen the way the teacher told her to. What is included in "and so on"? . Sorry, perhaps not the answer you were hoping for :)

In english, my mother might tell me 'don't slouch' or 'sit up straight'. Specifically in America, we do not have a correct or incorrect way to hold a pen or sit while writing as a Chinese calligrapher would. If you wish your child to write better you might say "write neatly"