Do you have a child who has constant need for movement? Do they try to avoid walking down stairs? While sometimes it can just be kids being kids, it can also come from a lack of proprioception development. Often a child with poor proprioception skills is perceived as clumsy with simple activities, when in actual fact, they just need some more stimulation to help build their proprioception sense.
What is proprioception?
When you close your eyes, how can you still touch your nose with your finger? Or know where your feet are? The answer is proprioception! The internal sense of where your body is in space without having to look at it.
What develops proprioception? Why is it important?
Not every child is going to be an Olympic gymnast, but every child will need to be able to walk down stairs, hold a pencil, throw and catch, sit on a chair, button their clothing… You see where this is going!
Rotation, spinning, swinging, bouncing are just some of the ways children develop proprioception and is vital to helping them complete basic day-to-day tasks. So you can guess why gymnastics is such an awesome sport to gain proprioception skills - at Eclipse, we do it all!
And until next time, Happy Handstanding!