Margaret Watkinson

Winter is long and this Spring has been brutal! (imho). Weather conspires to keep teachers, parents, grandparents and caregivers indoors which, consequently extends to the kids. This is a problem!

Disclaimer: No judgement, no particular child I work with in our preschool is inspiration for the comments that follow. I promise.

I have previously written about tummy time. It’s important. So important that pediatricians and baby experts universally prescribe that babies spend time on their tummies from birth. As a result of all the do-hickies, gadgets, seats and slings of the past 30 years, some of which are no longer accepted as safe and/or are no longer manufactured, babies and laid back toddlers spent a LOT of time in containers which led to weak core and upper body. Strong core and upper body are essential b/c this part of the body supports all the fine motor activity that kids require for dressing, buttoning, shoe putting on, sitting on the floor, writing, gluing, scissors work etc etc.. you get the picture.

What ALL caregivers may not realize is that if your child is struggling with attending to anything that requires they keep theirr body upright, still or in a particular position for more than a few minutes, it is VERY likely related to their physical abilities NOT their cognition, lack of interest or language processing.

Their vestibular system, the sensory system that provides information about balance and coordinates thier movement is dependent on, among other things, their core strength. It takes time to develop and a little bit of effort every day leads to BIG results.

After tummy time, your child hopefully spent a good deal of time crawling. Crawling and creeping builds upper body and core strength. It is a complicated and very necessary period of development. After crawling, it is very tempting to ‘contain’ the baby to keep them safe, establish joint attention (heck, can they attend to you when they are on the go?).

Take your child OUT of the highchair, OUT of the stroller, OUT of the sling and back backs, OUT of the seats, straps and baby swings and put them DOWN to walk as often as you can manage. Do they need them? Of course, you need to keep your child safe.

GOAL: Now that it’s daylight longer and weather is less nasty, get to the playground every evening before or after dinner for 30-60 minutes! Send your kids out to the yard (does anyone do that anymore!) with a ball or jump ropes to mess around with while you put dinner together (Assuming you can monitor, or course) Playing outside has many many benefits and it should be required, just like tummy time. They won’t just decide to enjoy it when they are older, it needs to be cultivated!

Toddlers and preschoolers need to get outside and run, swing on their bellies, climb UP the slides (at the playground, schools frown on the kids climbing up so always try to tell the kids the school rules when it’s in session), climb UP the stairs, bump down the stairs, climb in and out of their carseats, chairs and sofas. Go for walks. Look for and find the opportunties for your child to use their whole body, their muscles and learn to to hold your hand and develop judgment for safety vs. relying on being physically contained.

I get it- it’s convenient and definitely faster to use the stroller, the highchair and baby swing for as long as your child complies. I promise you that the year or two you spend eliminating these (literal) supports will create a far more capable preschooler who dresses themselves, uses the toilet independently and will be able to enjoy circle time activities which all will contribute to their brain and cognitive developement.

Your future student and teachers will thank you!

Until next time! Margaret