Toddlerhood is a critical time when children begin to explore their own sense of independence. One of the most important milestones during this period is mastering the ability to walk, which requires having a good sense of balance. Furthermore, having a good sense of balance requires adequate core strength. For these reasons, it's important for your toddler to engage in activities that encourage balancing. Here are six creative, toddler-friendly ideas to help them practice.
1. Practice Stairs
Once your toddler begins walking, it's a good time to try tackling small sets of stairs. Stairs provide an additional challenge compared to walking by engaging different muscle groups. It also requires additional coordination and awareness of the body's movements in space, which helps your toddler develop their baseline sense of balance. First, take your toddler by the hand and allow them to hold onto a wall or railing with their other hand. Start slow with three steps, adding more as their strength and confidence improve.
2. Stand on One Foot
Being able to balance on one foot at a time is a great skill for toddlers. Not only does it require a good sense of balance, but it also strengthens the trunk in preparation of learning new skills in your child's future, like running, jumping, and playing sports. To keep your toddler interested, you can turn this activity into a game to see who can stay balanced the longest.
3. Play Freeze Dance
"Freeze dance" is a simple game that appeals to your toddler's love of music and encourages balance development at the same time. To play, simply put on your toddler's favorite playlist and dance, but only while the music is on. When someone hits "pause," it's time to freeze. The goal is to stay frozen without fidgeting or falling over, which encourages your toddler to tap into their balance skills.
4. Introduce a Balance Bike
A balance bike has two wheels and no pedals. Unlike a tricycle, which emphasizes the development of pedaling skills, a balance bike helps develop the ability to stay balanced during forward momentum. The pedal-free design leaves room for the legs to move freely while the frame and handlebars provide extra support. It's a fun way to build overall balance in toddlers, and it can also help your child graduate to regular bicycles without the need for training wheels.
5. Strike a Yoga Pose
Like freeze dance or standing on one foot, yoga poses require muscle control and core strength. They also provide an opportunity to demonstrate the mind-body link, which is helpful for continuing physical development. Downward dog, tree pose, and happy baby are some examples of basic yoga poses that combine balancing skills, core strength, and concentration.
6. Walk a "Tightrope"
After learning how to walk, the next challenge tends to be walking in a straight line. To get some practice at home, try putting down a line of tape, a length of yarn, or a line of chalk to symbolize a tightrope. Then, show your toddler how to walk the tightrope in a straight line by placing one foot directly in front of the other. As they master walking the tightrope, you can make it more challenging by making the line longer, balancing a toy on your child's head, or adding lines that branch off in different directions.
