To help your child gain balance sitting, first sit
her on your knees facing you.
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
Later, you can sit her facing out so that she can
see what is going on around her.
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Hold her
loosely
so her
body can
adapt to
leaning.
You can do the same thing with the
child sitting on a log.
As he gets better balance,
move your hands down to
his hips and then thighs,
so that he depends less
on your support.
Slowly lift one knee to
lean her gently to one side.
Then the other, so that she
learns to bend her body to
stay seated.
Give him something to
hold so that he learns
to use his body and
not his arms to keep
his balance.
With an older child who has difficulty with balance, you can do the
same thing on a ‘tilt board’.
Or you can do the same
on a large ball.
At first let her catch
herself with her arms.
Later, see how long she can do
it holding her hands together.
Make it a game.
Tilt it to one side and
the other and also
forward and back.
Note: You can also do these
exercises by sitting the child
on a table and gently pushing
him backward, sideways, and
forward. But it is better to tip
what he is sitting on.
Pushing him causes him
to ‘catch himself’—from
falling with his arms.
Tilting him causes him
to use his body to keep
his balance, which is a
more advanced skill.
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