Games and activities to improve the balance of children

Learning to walk requires a certain maturation of the nervous system, both of the nerve pathways and of the muscular groups, that the baby begins to develop in his conquest of the movement. Maintaining balance, knowing how to walk and run, adopting appropriate postures for different situations, etc., requires learning and for this reason, it is necessary to perform different exercises that improve body tone skills on a frequent basis.

The meaning of the position, for example, must be worked on systematically. It is about making children aware of the posture, the movement, with the parts of the body involved and shredding and practicing all the possible postures and modalities. It is convenient to take into account the stage of maturation of the child in each age, to adapt the degree of difficulty of each exercise.

Games and activities to improve your baby's sense of balance

- Exercises in pregnancy. Approximately on the 5th month of pregnancy, the mother can stimulate the balance of her future child by rocking from side to side or in a rocker or rocking chair from front to back. Also, if there are no medical contraindications, you can practice some sport such as swimming or doing gymnastics.

- Rocking the newborn and the baby in his arms (if it can be with musical accompaniment and sung by the mother).

- Change the baby's posture frequently. If you are with adults, put it upside down so that little by little you raise your head.

- Work the gait reflection: If we hold the baby by the armpits in an upright position with the feet touching the ground, the baby will tend to walk.

- Holding the baby upside down, so that his belly rests on our arms, and rocking it from front to back and vice versa.

- Transport the baby in a baby carrier bag.

- Prepare a "slide" with a smooth board and wide resting one end on a pile of books and the other on the floor. Place the baby face down on the table at the high end and on the other a brightly colored toy. Slowly slide the baby on the table in a descending manner.

- About 4 months, prepare the baby for crawling, moving his legs, shrinking one and another alternately.

- Make crawling races.

- Climb stairs.

- Teach them to sit up and get up.

- Perform brachiations: move from a bar to a horizontal ladder placed at a height that allows the child to rub his feet on the ground.

- Stay on one leg.

- Walk on uneven surfaces: grass, sand, mountain, etc.

- Games of overcoming low obstacles.

- Game of animals. Walk imitating different animals: crab, bear, rabbit, frog etc., so that they move in different positions: tiptoe, heels, squatting, jumping, etc.

- Tumbling back and forth on different surfaces.

- Riding a bike, scooter, roller blades ...

- Play to kick a soccer ball.

- Waiters' careers: walk with an object in your hands: a glass of water, a spoon with an egg in your mouth, a small sack of sand on your head, etc.

- Walk on a bench or a line marked on the ground,

- Sambori game: perform jumps with feet together, with open feet, to the lame leg following some pictures on the floor.

- Sack races.

- In pairs walk with closed eyes Let yourself be guided by your partner.

Thanks to all these exercises and games you will be able to see how your baby gains balance, reaches verticality and takes his first steps.

Marisol Nuevo Espín