Balance Training Set CHUNKY

Box 2 only - contact for pricing

How can I tell if my child has problems with balance and coordination?
⦿ If a child has difficulties with balance and coordination they might:
⦿ Fall easily, trip often or can’t ‘recover’ quickly from being off balance.
⦿ Move stiffly and lack fluid body movement (e.g. run like a ‘robot’).
⦿ Avoid physical activity (e.g. playground use, sports participation).
⦿ Be late to reach developmental milestones (e.g. crawling and walking).
⦿ Be slower than their peers to master physical skills (e.g. bike riding, swimming or tree climbing).
⦿ Be less skillful than their peers in refined sports participation (e.g. team sports).
⦿ Push harder, move faster or invade the personal space of others more than they intend to.
⦿ Be fearful of new physical games (e.g. swings) or scared of heights that do not faze their peers.
⦿ Have difficulty getting dressed standing up (e.g. they need to sit down to get put pants as as they lose their balance standing on one leg).
⦿ Have trouble navigating some environments (e.g. steps, kerbs, uneven ground).
⦿ Tire more quickly then their peers or need to take regular short rest periods during physical activity.

What activities can help improve balance and coordination?
⦿ Unstable surfaces: Walking over unstable surfaces (e.g. pillows, bean bags or blankets on the floor) that make the trunk work hard to maintain an upright position.
⦿ Unstable swings and moving games including suspended climbing ladders and jungle gyms. When swings move in unexpected ways it forces the trunk muscles to work harder.
⦿ Wheelbarrow walking (the child ‘walking’ on their hands while an adult holds their legs off the floor).
⦿ Swimming: Involves the body having to work against resistance of the water, thus providing better awareness of where the body is in space.
⦿ Kneeling (with no hands touching the floor) to tap a balloon back to another person.
⦿ Hopscotch: Requires the child to switch movement patterns frequently and rapidly.
⦿ Stepping stone games with big jumps (i.e. no steps between the ‘stones’) challenge a child’s balance.
⦿ Bike and scooter: Both activities require the child to continually make postural adjustments to maintain balance.