I love when I walk around the clinic and see some of the creative ideas the therapists come up with. This was one I just saw. They were using a puzzle and would crab walk the pieces from one side of the mat (or room) to the other. The puzzle piece rested on their stomach so they had to be careful not to drop it and keep their hips up in the air. (As you can see in the video there were quite a few reminders for lifting the hips up!)
Once they put the puzzle piece at the end, they then hopped back to get the next piece. You could do whatever skill they were working on. This could include hopping like they did, knee walking, bear walking, skipping, jumping, walking on a balance beam, or whatever your imagination comes up with. Crab walking is really great to work on core strength and coordination. The child has to keep their gluts and core turned on while at the same time moving their hands and feet. This adds another level of challenge because now they are working on their dynamic stability. If you aren’t sure what we mean have a child get into the crab walk position and see how long they are able to keep their hips lifted. Now have them do it and attempt to take a step. Do their hips drop down? That’s because it’s harder to keep their core activated while they are doing something different with their arms and legs. It’s about coordinating the muscles to work together. In fact, we as adults should probably be doing this too!
What are other activities that you do with kids that challenges their stability and coordination? How do you make it fun and motivating?
