When it comes to kids and how they develop physically and there ability to take part in fun outdoor activities, few skills are more important than having some control over their balance. Whether learning to crawl, walk, ride a bike, or play hopscotch, kids can't get too far until they can learn to keep those little bodies properly balanced - so how does balance work then?
While a lucky few are born with an intuitive sense of balance, most children need time, practice and grazed knees and knuckles. The more often they're required to stabilize their bodies and stop themselves falling, the quicker they will develop good balance control.
It's only when their body does something over and over that their clever brains help their muscular system learn to recover its 'sense of balance' when your child is moving. Over time, those little corrective movements will become embedded in memory of the muscles, and stabilizing becomes an automatic process that the body controls without the brain giving it too much thought - clever eh? But for many kids, getting there can be a long, frustrating process often involving lots of TLC (or is that TCP!)and more than a few Elastoplast!
As a parent, you can really help make the process bit easier by introducing a range of balance-building activities. These can be really fun activities so the child has no idea how much their body is 'learning' when they are doing them :) All kinds of movement—jumping, sliding, dancing, pedaling—will challenge your child's sense of balance, along with other physical skills.
Here are a few ideas to get you going but why not think up some fun ones of your own...
Outdoor Toys
Swings, slides, seesaws, climbers are all wonderful for building balance, muscle strength, and cardio fitness.
Balance Bikes and Ride-on Toys
When kids are steering on wheels, they're doing plenty of stabilizing. (Biking? Roller blading? Don't forget the safety helmets!)
Balance Toys
Kids' balance beams, boards, and balance bikes are specifically designed to help children with this skill. The good news is, kids also love 'em.
Jumping and Bouncing Toys and Games
What goes up must come down - right? Trampolines, Hopscotch, Sack Racing and even Skipping Ropes help kids learn to "think on their feet."
Swimming
In the summer, trade in that TV Remote for a pool float, rocking up and down on the water!
We have balance bikes. They have been fab. My just 4 year old got one for christmas, once he got his balance we got him a pedal bike with no stabilisers and he rode it straight away. His Daddy was so proud and he loves that he can do something none of his friends can do. Its been great for his confidence.
ReplyDeleteWe passed the balance bike down to his little sister. I will look for some balance toys now, i think my 2 year old is a gymnast in the making, she is always balancing, even if just on one leg! :-)
There are such a simple but clever idea... if you think about the pedalling part, its not that different to a walking motion and the kids can do that bit easilty, it's just the balance they need so seperate the two and you don't end up with stabilisers on the bike for a year like I did :) Really pleased you found them helpful Emma... I will have a look through our supplier list and see if we can find you some ideas for balance toys.
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