Balance
Balance is all about keeping your body stable against gravity.
We develop balance reactions to respond to changes in the body’s
centre of gravity. We develop these reactions so that we don’t
even have to think about it, but for some it is harder than others
and we can help a child to build up their skills through play activities
and how they sit during play.
When giving a child play activities to help them balance make sure
that they are not too hard as confidence is needed to develop these
skills. A lot of encouragement and support at first will help them
learn and then use these skills in the rest of their play.
Here are some suggestions to help a child develop their balance skills:
-
Sitting well when playing is very important for developing skills
Playing in high kneeling: -
- Puzzles on a coffee table or on a sofa
- Throwing and catching games
- Reaching for objects
- Skittles
Walking around games: -
- Walking over lots of different surfaces – grass,
sand, gravel or even a half-inflated lilo.
- Walking fast then walking
slow – this can be done as
a game to music or as musical statues.
- Walking changing directions – this
can be done as follow my leader or by following lines on the floor
perhaps using a rope or lay a trail in the garden.
- Walking on tiptoes
then walking on heels.
- Simple obstacle courses.
Other games: -
- Throwing and catching
- Bat and ball games
- Riding a bike or scooter
- Dancing
- Soft play areas like Wacky Warehouse
- Balancing a beanbag on head,
elbow, foot, shoulder or foot
- Standing on one leg for a count of 1 then 2 then for 3, 4, 5, up
to a count of 10
- Jumping games – over things, off things, onto things
etc. Try to encourage jumping with feet together and as child develops
skills hopping and skipping
Reproduced with kind permission by Jill Steward, Occupational Therapist, Surestart, Stoke North.
