9 Best Desk Chairs for Teenagers

Setting up the right workspace for your child is important for their success. Teenage years can be an awkward time in a child’s life. In fact, boys can grow about 4 inches per year and girls grow about 3 to 3.5 inches per year during their teenage years. 

As a parent, finding a highly adjustable chair is incredibly important. This prevents your child from outgrowing the chair. That’s why you should know your child’s height and expect them to grow as the years pass. 

In this article, we’ll cover the nine best desk chairs for teenagers and tell you what criteria to look for when deciding. 

The Best Desk Chairs for Teenagers

• Duramont Ergonomic Office Chair – Best Overall
• Secretlab Titan Evo – Best for Gaming
• Staples Hyken – Budget Pick
• Steelcase Leap – Best Under $1,000
• Sihoo Ergonomic Office Chair – Best Under $300
• NeueChair by Secretlab – Best Mesh
• NOUHAUS Ergo3D – Best Value
• Steelcase Series 1 – Best Under $500
• Serta AIR Health and Wellness – Best Leather

Duramont Ergonomic Office Chair – Overall Best Desk Chair for Teenagers

Teenagers need a highly adjustable chair that keeps them cool, comfortable, and productive. After reviewing the Duramont ergonomic office chair, we can honestly say it checks all of the boxes we’d want for a teenager. 

The Duramont comes with a few adjustable settings such as a wide seat height range, 2D armrest, two-way adjustable lumbar support, a backrest recline, tilt tension, and headrest adjustability. In their growing years, it’s important to instill good posture habits in your child. The height and depth adjustable lumbar support helps prevent lower back pain. That’s because the height adjustability can be altered to fit your child’s lumbar curve and the depth adjustment allows them to set the amount of support they prefer. 

Furthermore, we like how the Duramont is an overall comfortable chair to sit on for hours at a time. Whether your child plays sports or is out in the sun a lot, the chair has a mesh back to allow airflow and keeps their backside from sweating profusely. 

Not to mention, Duramont features a high-density molded foam cushion that aims to provide pressure relief for their buttocks and hips. This prevents any aches and pains associated with long hours of sitting. Overall, the chair is adjustable to fit teens of different heights and has features to keep them comfortable and focused while studying. 

Pros: 

• Seat height adjusts between 19” to 23”, which accommodates teenagers of different heights 
• Fairly inexpensive 
• Adjustable headrest serves as a visual cue to keep posture upright 
• Two-way adjustable lumbar support helps to prevent back pain 
• Mesh back keeps your child cool after a long day of school 

Cons: 

• Only reclines up to 120 degrees 

Secretlab Titan Evo – Best Gaming Chair for Teenagers

Nowadays, the visual appearance of a chair may be just as important to your child as its ergonomics. Like any teen, your child likely wants to fit in among their friends. Secretlab chairs have been popular, especially as many influencers and gamers have displayed their Secretlab Titan chair. 

The Titan Evo is a stylish chair that comes in many designs, especially ones that reference pop culture or eSports teams. Through partnerships, the Evo features a lot of cool designs such as League of Legends, Superman, Harry Potter, Cyberpunk, and others. 

As far as ergonomics, the Evo isn’t lacking here either. The chair is available in three sizes: small, regular, and XL. So, no matter your child’s size, there’s something for everyone. 

Furthermore, its signature feature is perhaps the unique L-Adapt lumbar support system. It has four-way adjustability meaning it can be adjusted by height and depth. This ensures the support fits the user’s lumbar curve precisely and can be customized to fit their preferences. Not to mention, it has proprietary material that flexes with your spine to provide constant support as you change positions. 

Overall, the chair has plenty of adjustments, such as a 165-degree recline, tilt tension, 4D armrest, making it the perfect gaming chair for any teenager. 

Pros: 

• Many designs centered around pop culture and games 
• The 4-way adaptable lumbar system adapts to the lower back and promotes a healthy posture 
• Reclines up to 165 degrees allowing users to relax 
• Available in three sizes to fit your teenager’s height 
• 4D adjustable armrest reduces stress in shoulders and neck and keeps forearms aligned to work station

Cons: 

• Not the best option for users who sweat or need a chair to keep them cool 

Staples Hyken – Best Cheap Desk Chair for Teenagers

Why overpay for something fancy when you can get something affordable that works? The Staples Hyken is the epitome of “best-value” because it features plenty of adjustability at a low cost. 

We like that the Hyken features a deep backrest recline allowing users to recline between 90 to 140 degrees. It has four lock positions meaning users can opt to stay in any position. Reclining is very useful because it allows users to relax and take pressure off the spine. After hours of studying, there’s nothing better than taking a break and unwinding for the day. 

Another highlight of the Staples Hyken is the full mesh upholstery. Unlike most office chairs, the Hyken has a mesh seat as well. Often, your buttocks can get warm after sitting down for long periods. The mesh seat prevents the seat from getting warm by allowing airflow, which helps to make sitting much more comfortable and bearable. 

We also like that the Hyken has a waterfall seat edge. Most chairs have a straight-edge seat, which can cut off the circulation behind your knees. This reduced circulation can cause numbness aches in your leg. Poor circulation can also lead to cognitive dysfunction such as difficulty concentration and memory loss. Instead, the Hyken seat edge allows the blood flow to circulate down your legs without restriction. 

Pros: 

• The Hyken can adjust between 16 to 21 inches in seat height 
• Waterfall seat edge doesn’t restrict airflow at the knees 
• Mesh seat and mesh back keep users cool and prevents sweating 
• The chair feels quite spacious 
• Users can recline and adjust tilt tension to feel balance while leaning back 

Cons: 

• The frame feels a little plastic-y

Steelcase Leap – Best Desk Chair for Teenagers Under $1,000

The Steelcase Leap is hands down the most ergonomic option we’ve found. What separates the Leap from others is the ability to support your child as they change positions throughout the day. 

It’s common for people, especially teenagers, to change postures while sitting. When studying, reading a textbook, or writing a paper, it’s normal to change postures. In fact, Steelcase has performed a thorough global study about changing postures and why people do it. 

As a result, the Leap offers features that are specifically designed to support your teen when they move around in their seat. For instance, their signature LiveBack technology flexes and bends based on the user’s movement. This means if they fidget or change postures, it will provide continual back support. 

One of our favorite features is the natural glide system. It allows you to glide the seat forward even while reclining. As a result, your teen can lean back while still within reach of their workstation. Not to mention, the 4D armrest is useful for teens who like to work on multiple tech devices. Let’s say they use their laptop, a monitor, and an iPad when studying. The armrest seamlessly shifts in any direction to make working on these devices comfortable and ergonomic. 

Pros: 

• Plenty of adjustments to fit teenagers of all sizes 
• 4D adjustable arms work great for students who may need to use multiple tech interfaces 
• LiveBack technology helps to support changing postures to provide your teen with continuous back support 
• The natural glide system lets you adjust seat depth and allow you to work or study even in a recline position 
• The seat cushion has built-in air pockets, making it comfortable to sit on all day long 

Cons: 

• Quite expensive

Sihoo Ergonomic Office Chair – Best Desk Chair for Teenagers Under $300

If you’re looking for an affordable and comfortable office chair for your teen, it’s hard to go wrong with the Sihoo office chair. Since the chair supports up to 330 pounds, we like this chair for big and tall teens. Not to mention it has quite a wide seat height adjustment range of 15.5 to 20 inches. Therefore, it can be suitable for teens of different heights. 

The Sihoo chair features a w-shaped sponge cushion that aims to fit the shape of the user’s buttocks. Also, the cushion helps to alleviate pressure and disperse the weight evenly, making it comfortable to sit on for many hours. 

Furthermore, we like that the chair helps to support and encourage a healthy posture. It’s designed with a tall backrest along with a 45-degree adjustable headrest. The chair helps to support back regions, including the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Its lumbar support can be adjusted up or down by two inches and front and back by 1.2 inches. This lumbar adjustable fills the gap between the user’s back and the chair, thus helping to support an upright posture. 

Pros: 

• Fairly affordable office chair 
• It supports up to 330 lbs, making it a great option for big and tall teenagers 
• Well-padded seat cushions make it comfortable to sit on and relieves pressure in your buttocks and hips 
• Seat height adjustment is 15.5” to 20”, which is perfect for teens of all sizes 
• Breathable mesh back keeps your back cool, allowing you to feel comfy 

Cons: 

• The backrest only reclines about 125 degrees 

NeueChair by Secretlab – Best Mesh Desk Chair for Teenagers

Sometimes mesh materials can feel stringy and hard. Users may even feel the chair’s frame if the mesh is too hard. NeueChair uses a unique proprietary mesh called the NeueMesh material. It consists of a premium three-layer mesh that utilizes DuPont yarn and polyester fiber. This soft yet flexible mesh feels comfortable on the skin. 

Not to mention, the mesh is loose enough that you feel supported as you move around in your seat. Also, the chair has passed various ASTM strength tests and has proved to be abrasion-resistant. 

One unique feature about the NeueChair is the levers positioned underneath the armrests. Typically, levers or control options are positioned under the seat or behind the backrest. This can leave make it uncomfortable to bend over and make the chair adjustments. These ControlShift levers are convenient and allow users to easily adjust the seat height or backrest angle. 

We also find the Focus mode setting to be quite useful for teens. A chair that can help you stay productive with your studies should be an important consideration. The chair’s focus mode allows you to slide the seat pan and adjust the backrest simultaneously so that you feel tucked into your seat. For instance, it can slide the seat pan back and push the backrest forward into the user’s lumbar, keeping you locked in during a study session. 

Pros: 

• Seat height and depth adjustability to fit teens of all heights 
• Secretlab offers an impressive 12-year warranty 
• Unique three-layer mesh is soft, flexible and helps to relieve pressure 
• The Neuemesh material maximizes airflow and ventilation
• ControlShift allows you to conveniently adjust your chair without bending over awkwardly  

Cons: 

• Doesn’t offer a seat cushion for those who want a softer support 

NOUHAUS Ergo3D – Best Value Desk Chair for Teenagers

For the price you’re paying the Nouhause Ergo3D does have exceptional ergonomics. For teens, it’s important to have a wide array of adjustable options to fit their build and accommodate their sitting preferences. 

One unique aspect of the Ergo3D chair is the dynamic variable lumbar support system. Rather than having a built-in lumbar system like most chairs, this chair has a segmented lumbar support design. 

The lumbar support will shift dynamically as your shift or change positions in the chair. Thus, you’re always getting the optimal support, no matter how you sit. It also saves you time from needing to fiddle with the lumbar support controls. 

Ergo3D also gets bonus points for having a 4D armrest, which can’t be said about most office chairs. This means you can adjust the armrest forward or backward, by height, left or right, and rotate them by axis. Having greater armrest adjustability ensures their forearms are parallel to their workstation and keeps their wrist straight to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. Furthermore, it can be useful for teens who like to use multiple devices as well. 

Pros: 

• Available in four colors 
• Tall backrest and adjustable headrest to promote an upright posture 
• Waterfall seat edge helps blood flow circulation and comfortable to sit on
• A fully mesh chair helps to keep users cool and sweat-free 
• Super-lounge recline lets you lean back up to 135 degrees, so you can relax when you aren’t studying 

Cons: 

• Lumbar support doesn’t offer depth adjustability 

Steelcase Series 1 – Best Desk Chair for Teenagers Under $500

An alternative to the Steelcase Leap mentioned above is the Steelcase Series 1. It approximates some of its features and is much more affordable compared to the Leap. 

We like that the Series 1 offers plenty of adjustable options such as seat height, seat depth, adjustable lumbar support, backrest recline, and 4D adjustable arms. The adjustment also has a wide range. For example, the seat height has a five-inch range, while the seat depth has a 2.5-inch range. Having a seat depth adjustment is great because it ensures the users receive proper back support without cut-off in circulation at the knees. 

Like the Leap, it features an integrated LiveBack technology. It’s a system with backrest flavors that respond to the user’s movements. As you change postures throughout the day, it’ll bend and flex to give you constant support. 

Additionally, Series 1 has an adaptive bolstering seat cushion that conforms to the user’s body shape and movement. This means if you shift your weight in one direction, the seat cushion will place more support and emphasis in that area. Not to mention, the seat cushion has flexible edges which aim to alleviate pressure points under the thighs. 

Pros: 

• Available in many colors to match your child’s room 
• 4D adjustable arms along with seat depth adjustable in conducive to improving focus
• A thick seat cushion helps to disperse weight evenly and make sitting very comfortable
• Compact size, which is great for teens with a small room 
• The lumbar support is height adjustable to reduce the risk of back pain 

Cons: 

• Chairs look very simple and basic 
• There is no headrest 

Serta AIR Health and Wellness – Best Leather Desk Chair for Teenagers

If your child prefers a well-padded cushion seat, they will love the Serta AIR Health and Wellness office chair. It’s designed with many layers of pillows to provide a very comfortable sitting experience. 

The Serta chair has thick pillows located everywhere, but even more, padded in the headrest and front seat cushion areas. As a result, these cushions help to alleviate pressure across the body and distribute the weight evenly. 

One of the downfalls of padded executive chairs is the lack of breathability and lumbar support. Surprisingly, the Serta AIR office chair has addressed both issues. This chair has perforated air pockets along the backrest to allow some airflow to pass through the back. Although it’s not ventilated as a full mesh back, it still helps to keep you somewhat cool. 

Furthermore, the chair has dynamic lumbar support that bends and shifts as you move. Similar to the Nouhaus Ergo3D chair, the lumbar support will provide just the right amount of support you need based on how you’re sitting on the chair. 

Pros: 

• Perforated mesh materials to add a little airflow to your seat 
• Available in a few colors 
• Lots of layered padding to reduce pressure and keep you comfortable for hours 
• Air lumbar technology pivots as the user move for a dynamic back support 
• Three-inch foam is soft and durable 

Cons: 

• It doesn’t provide nearly as much airflow compared to a full mesh back chair 
• Armrests aren’t adjustable 

Choosing the Best Office Chairs for Teenagers – Buyer’s Guide  

With so many chairs to choose from online, it can be difficult to narrow down your options and choose the right chair for your child. Fortunately, we’ve distilled down the essentials so that you can evaluate the office chairs with a keen eye. 

Materials and Build Quality

The easiest way to determine whether a chair has good build quality is to check for any third-party certifications. Manufacturers will send their products to testing sites such as ANSI or BIFMA so that they can test their products without any bias. If the chair passes, it will be awarded a certificate that shows its excellence in passing the safety standard. 

These chairs are put through a series of rigorous tests to check all components of the chair. They will test for factors such as backrest strength, tilt mechanism function, stability, arm straight, backrest durability, caster durability, drop test, and more. 

Additionally, look for the materials used to make the chair. Office chairs with a good build quality will use high-strength materials for their base and frame like steel or aluminum. These materials last longer and can withstand greater force. 

Also, check to see the fabric and mesh materials used. Some chairs like the NeueChair uses a unique mesh with bonding fabric to provide additional strength. It’s made up of Dupont yarn and polyester fiber. Some foam paddings are cold-cured like the Titan Evo. This means there are air pockets positioned throughout the cushion for long-term comfort and durability. 

Ergonomics

There are many ways a chair can be classified as ergonomic. Typically, office chairs with plenty of adjustable options aid in helping your child better focus. That’s because it helps them sit in the proper position to work effectively. 

Some chairs may offer unique ergonomic features that standard chairs don’t have. For example, the Steelcase Leap has its patented Natural Glide system allowing users to glide the seat forward as you recline. This lets your child see and reach their work even in a reclined position. 

Seat Comfort

Seat comfort can be subjective and different from person to person. Some people prefer a well-padded cushion to alleviate more pressure points in their buttocks and hips. Other people prefer a more flexible material that adapts to their body’s shape and movement. 

When looking at seat comfort, consider a chair with a flexible seat edge or a waterfall seat edge. Poor circulation is never a good thing. It can lead to pain or numbness in your lower extremities. And also affect your child’s cognitive performance. A flexible seat edge allows blood flow to go down your legs without any cut-off. 

If sweating or heat is a problem for your child, consider a chair with full-mesh upholstery. It can be uncomfortable to sit down and study when your seat feels extremely warm. Mesh seats do not trap or retain heat like some leather or cushioned seats. This upholstery allows for maximum airflow to keep you cool and prevent sweating. 

Those who prefer cushioned seats should look for ones with a high-density characteristic. They tend to retain their shape for long periods. Not to mention, they do a great job of dispersing the weight evenly and providing pressure relief. 

Adjustability

Every chair should have many adjustments such as seat height, seat depth, back angle, tilt tension, armrest, and lumbar adjustment. Seat height adjustment ensures your teen is sitting in a proper position where their feet are flat on the floor, knees parallel to hips, and their head is eye-level to the monitor screen. We recommend having a wide range of seat height adjustments to account for your child potentially growing taller over the next few years. 

Additionally, seat depth adjustment accommodates both tall and short users. It ensures the user maintains good back support and pressure is evenly distributed while sitting. Another useful feature is the armrest adjustment. Having an armrest takes the stress off your shoulders and necks while also supporting your forearms. Furthermore, the armrest should be placed parallel to your workstation, which helps your teen work on the desk more efficiently. 

Back Support

As your child grows, it’s important to ensure their body matures properly. This means getting a chair with proper back support and encouraging a healthy posture. Sitting for long periods, especially in static positions, can lead to back pain. Over time, people tend to slouch forward, leading to neck and back problems. 

We recommend getting a chair with a dynamic lumbar back support and a recline function. The lumbar support should be height and depth adjustable. Height adjustability allows the support to fit in the lumbar curve (the gap between the chair and the back). Conversely, the depth adjustability lets users control how much support they prefer. Some advanced chairs will have flexors that dynamically bend, flex and respond based on the person’s movement. Thus, this helps to ensure constant support. 

Additionally, chairs should have a recline function with several tilt-lock positions. Reclining reduces the spinal load, preventing disc and nerve problems and muscle breakdown in the back. After a long day of sitting in the classroom and sitting upright while studying, your child needs to take time and relax. 

Weight Capacity

Weight capacity is often tied to the build quality of a chair. A chair with a stronger frame, base, 

and stronger materials will generally have a greater weight capacity. For instance, the Steelcase Leap can support 400 pounds, making it a great option for heavier folks. 

When making your purchase, make sure to look at the chair’s weight capacity. Most chairs can support 250 pounds, but low build quality chairs may only support up to 200 pounds. 

Price

Depending on your budget, you may have to limit your options to pick out the right office chair. Fortunately, we’ve listed plenty of affordable options. 

If you’re looking for a budget pick, you can’t go wrong with chairs such as the Staples Hyken or Sihoo ergonomic office chair. For those who want a mid-tier option, we like the Duramont office chair, Titan Evo, NeueChair, or Series 1. Lastly, if you prefer a premium chair with luxurious ergonomics, we like the Steelcase Leap. 

Remember that chairs should meet your adjustability, comfort, and ergonomic needs. Don’t short-change yourself for a low-quality chair by sacrificing on features that are most important to you. 

Warranty

Typically, more expensive chairs will offer a better warranty than affordable chairs. That’s because they tend to have the great build quality, which means manufacturers are confident that the chairs will remain intact for a long time. 

For example, the Steelcase brand and Secretlab offer excellent warranties. On the Leap, Series 1, and Neuechair, you can get an impressive 12-year warranty on certain parts. 

Conclusion

Teens are still in the growing phase, meaning it’s critical to find adjustable office chairs with excellent ergonomics. The chair should be highly adjustable to fit their bodies, yet supportive of promoting good posture. Not to mention, it should be comfortable enough so that it won’t distract from their studies. 

We’ve provided quite the comprehensive list and buyer’s guide to help you pick the right desk chair for your child. Now it’s your turn! Take what you’ve learned and choose the best option for your teen.