What is it?
Balance is the ability to maintain controlled body position during task performance, whether it is sitting at a table, walking the balance beam or stepping up on a kerb. To function effectively across environments and tasks, we need the ability to maintain controlled positions during both static (still) and dynamic (moving) activities.
Static balance is the ability to hold a stationary position with control (e.g. “Freeze” or “statue” games). Dynamic balance is the ability to remain balanced while engaged in movement (e.g. running or bike riding).
Balance Skills are important to:
- Maintain appropriate and controlled body movement during task performance. Good control reduces the energy required and minimizes fatigue.
- Prevent injury through allowing appropriate postural responses as and when needed (e.g. putting hands out to protect yourself when you fall).
- Aid fluid body movement for physical skill performance (e.g. walking a balance beam or playing football).
Building blocks necessary to develop Balance include:
- Alertness and attention levels, so that you can respond to the physical demands in appropriate time frames.
- Muscle control of the ‘core’ muscles of the body (namely, the trunk).
- Body awareness: the innate ‘knowing’ of where your body parts are in the space around you; knowing how hard you are pressing or how fast you are moving.
- Good muscle strength, allowing you to hold body positions but also to be flexible in the way you move your muscles.
- Correct alignment of your body in order to maintain balance (e.g. placing your hands under your shoulders rather than out in front when crawling).
You tell there are problems with Balance Skills if the child:
- Falls easily, trips often or can’t ‘recover’ quickly from being off balance.
- Moves stiffly and lacks fluid body movement (e.g. runs like a ‘robot’).
- Avoids physical activity (e.g. playground use, sports participation).
- Is late in reaching developmental milestones (e.g. crawling and walking).
- Is slower than their peers in mastering physical skills (e.g. bike riding, swimming or tree climbing).
- Is less skilful than their peers in refined sports participation (e.g. team sports).
- Pushes harder, moves faster or invades the personal space of others more than they intend to.
- Is fearful of new physical games (e.g. swings) or scared of heights that do not faze their peers.
When Balance Skills are less than ideal, you may also notice:
- Difficulty planning how to perform a physical task (e.g. they may start at step three not one).
- ‘Floppy’ muscles so that the body looks limp or overly ‘tight’ muscles so the body looks rigid.
- Poor awareness of how they are using or placing their body (e.g. so that they invade other peoples personal space without knowing it).
- Less endurance than is age-appropriate.
What can be done to improve Balance Skills?
- Improve attention to task and alertness levels in readiness to respond quickly when they lose their balance.
- Strengthen the ‘core’ (namely the central muscles) of the body to provide greater body (especially trunk) stability.
- Simplify tasks to concentrate on only one movement at a time, until the child is ready to integrate several at once.
- Tighten ‘floppy’ muscles or loosen the ‘tight’ muscles to allow better muscle control.
- Gradually increase duration and intensity of activity to increase endurance.
Activities which can improve Balance Skills include:
- Walking over unstable surfaces (e.g. pillows, bean bags or blankets on the floor) that make the trunk do lots of work to maintain an upright position.
- Unstable swings and moving games, including suspended climbing ladders and jungle gyms.
- Swings that move in unexpected ways forcing the trunk has to do more work.
- Wheelbarrow walking (walking on your hands while an adult holds your legs up).
- Swimming.
- Kneeling with no hands touching the floor to tap a balloon back to another person your hand.
- Hopscotch.
- Stepping stone games with big jumps (i.e. no steps between the ‘stones’)