Can anyone give me any ideas on how to encourage balancing in a child? Thankyou!

How old is the child?

How old is the child?

Sorry yes, 4 :-) x

Look no further than Development Matters in EE and PR columns...quite a few ideas there!

I'd just say practice practice practice! As long as there are no physical problems going on, s/he should get the hang of it with time, encouragement and regular opportunities to try it out :)

get outside!
Uneven surfaces are great for balance development--walk in the woods for example.
Plus it links in well to your previous thread about linking your outside provision to eyfs and next steps.

Thick rope or a plank of wood laid on the floor are good for starting as they can't "fall" off.

Look no further than Development Matters in EE and PR columns...quite a few ideas there!

Thanks Simona, I can only find reference to balancing things like blocks and construction bricks rather than balancing in a PD sense. I'll keep looking though to see what I can find in DM :-) x

How old is the child?

4 years old...

Thanks Simona, I can only find reference to balancing things like blocks and construction bricks rather than balancing in a PD sense. I'll keep looking though to see what I can find in DM :-) x

Other ideas can be : climbing, walking backwards, walking on tiptoe, walking on a drawn line or anything that requires children to balance with their arms, hand-eye co-ordination, using a scooter or bike, throwing and catching objects, skipping, lifting etc

This will help
http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/areas_of_learning/physical_development/FMS_Balance.pdf

Other ideas can be : climbing, walking backwards, walking on tiptoe, walking on a drawn line or anything that requires children to balance with their arms, hand-eye co-ordination, using a scooter or bike, throwing and catching objects, skipping, lifting etc This will help http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/areas_of_learning/physical_development/FMS_Balance.pdf


Great link, thank you so much Simona :-) :-) x

My DD had balance problems, quite severe about 2 years ago. She had some sessions with a physio and one of the things I did for her was buy her a balance board, get her to balance on it and then throw and catch small beanbags. She found it hard at first but it helped her enormously .

xx

Balance can also be affected in children who have glue ear

NHS Choices link here
Glue ear - Symptoms - NHS Choices (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Glue-ear/Pages/Symptoms.aspx)