It's a Balancing Act...

Looking back on some entries, I seem to have mentioned “balance” a fair amount.  We often have kids that we work with who are yet to ride a bike.  And of course, to a kid, riding a bike by themselves is a big deal!  Often times, these kids are having a hard time with balance and spatial awareness, core strength and likely deficits with their vestibular system.  For the sake of just working on straight up balance, I have put together the following activities that I have given to parents in the past:
There are 2 types of balance:  Static and Dynamic.  Static balance helps you to maintain your position while stationary (not moving) such as when you are sitting on a bench or standing in line.  Dynamic balance helps you maintain your position and accommodate to positional changes when moving.
*When working on improving balance, start with static balance first.

Static Balance:
Weight shift- have the child sit on a chair or bench and shift their weight forward and backward.  Progress to shifting their weight from side to side.  Present objects for them to grab and reach at in various directions and at varying distances from their body to challenge their balance.
Variations:
-play catch with a ball (vary the size of it) or bat a balloon back and forth while in a seated position
-perform the same activities while the child is in a standing position, and increase the difficulty by trying to maintain balance on one leg

Dynamic Balance:
Obstacle Course-include uneven surfaces, climbing up inclines, climbing over objects/obstacles, going over/under objects and hopping.

Balance beam, tape line or rope
-walk in a straight line, staying on the line
-walk heel to toe
-side step along the line/rope
-walk backwards along the line/rope
variation:  do them with eyes closed to enhance positional sense

 Balancing box
-Have the child stand in front of a box with their hands on their hips.  Have them lift up one leg and rest their foot on the box.  Challenge their balance by having them rest less of their foot on the box or by having them close their eyes.
Variations:  Have the box behind them, and have them bend their knee and rest their toe on the box.  Use a wobble board.

Stability (exercise) ball
-have the child sit on a stability ball at a chalk board, easel, window, etc and have them paint or color with window markers.  Have him/her make as big a picture as he/she can so he/she has to move outside his/her base of support to draw.

Scooter board
-have the child sit on a scooter board and pull themselves along by their feet, or navigate around an obstacle course of cones, boxes, etc
-have them sit cross legged and pull them using a jump rope or hula hoop

From a sensory standpoint, the vestibular system contributes to our balance and our sense of spatial orientation/awareness of our bodies in space.  It gives us information about our body’s movement, gives us a sense of balance and gravity, and coordinates our eye movements.  It would make sense, then, that we can improve balance and spatial awareness by working through the vestibular system.  However, that is another blog entry for another day.  More on that later.