Are Your Child’s Physical Activities Curtailed by The Pandemic?
Postural Control & Strengthening Ideas
A continuation in our series, this blog contains postural control related activities for getting your child’s body to wake up and move. Children are spending considerable time in quiet, solitary activities. At this time, screen usage is through the roof and needs to be controlled for a variety of important reasons. The physical activities they thrive on to keep their bodies well and strong also need to be encouraged. We understand the necessity of screens particularly for learning and communication, but when used for entertainment, our kids tend to shun more active pursuits.
Our challenge is: how do we get our kids moving in a joyful way?
For the little ones, encourage crawling to an animated object like a toy that’s moving, making sound or lighting up. The Baby Einstein series of toys is particularly great for this. We know that Tummy Time is critical for neck stability, ocular control, and posture. Try laying down at their level and to encourage eye contact. This is a great time to sing a song, especially nursery rhymes. The goal is to try to increase their tolerance of this challenging position.
creeping, crawling, walking…
From here, we progress to creeping, crawling, walking, running, hopping, & skipping. Keep it interesting by introducing balls, bubbles, bean bags, chasing, music & obstacle courses.
Playgrounds can often be used in a socially distanced manner. Sitting correctly on a swing while pumping your legs is a great activity. Enjoy the variety of sounds that come out of your child; such as Ahh, Eee, and Whee! For less vocal children, motion and space activities accelerate vocalizations and language. I love wheelbarrow walking and slides, especially when you can safely go down head first, for body strengthening.
Postural control usually involves strengthening, balance and motion. High, fast, arrhythmic activities create the most alerting energy. You can alternate them with slow, rhythmic activities to create the most useful balance for your child. A good analogy is slow even swinging is more calming, where caching their legs mid swing and pausing for a smile or laugh before letting go, is more energizing.
I hope you find these postural control and strengthening ideas helpful. If you need individualized suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact me. If you’re having trouble calming or energizing your child, consider Tomatis. For more information about me, please click here.
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