What Is Balance?
Did you know that balance is a fundamental movement skill?
Balance is the ability to control your body movement smoothly and efficiently.
Balancing requires effort. Hence, standing on 2 legs without moving on a non-moving surface is not considered balance.
2 Types Of Balance
There are 2 types of balance: static and dynamic.
In static balance, your child is able to maintain a desired body posture for at least 5 seconds.
For example, is your child able to stand in a moving bus without falling?
Contrast to static balance, we have dynamic balance.
Dynamic balance requires your child to perform certain movements as he/she moves.
For example, dynamic balance is essential when throwing. Your child transfers his/her weight from one body part to another in the throwing action.
Why Is Balance Important For Your Child?
Balancing is an important body management skill.
It is the foundation to all sports and even daily living.
Without the ability to balance, we will fall and will not be able to move around properly. This will affect our daily living.
Physical Implications
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If your child can balance well, he will be able to pick up different sports. Sports such as dance and gymnastics require good balancing skills.
Balancing is also an important contributor to daily living. For example, balancing in a moving bus, lifting heavy things without falling or walking around uneven ground without slipping. These are seemingly minor daily activities that we overlook in our everyday life.
Start building a strong foundation with your child by engaging in some balancing activities today!
Social Implications
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If you are able to learn different sports well, your friends would love to play with you.
Time and again, we’ve seen how some children are not involved in team games because of their inability to play well.
This is because it is a natural tendency for children to want to have fun with people who are able to play well.
The chance to play with one another peer gives rise for social interaction opportunities.
As physical educators, it is at these times that we witness teaching moments that build your child’s social intelligence.
Cognitive Implications (Warning: Geek Speak Involved)
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Physical activities involve the working of the whole brain.
Area A (The premotor area in your frontal lobe) in your brain tells Area B (Motor Cortex in the frontal lobe) what to do and this communication will translate to motor neurons to tell the body how to move by activating the necessary muscles in the body. These are neurons in play here.
Research has shown that brain activity increases after physical activities as opposed to limited physical activities.
Our current millennial babies have easy access to a sedentary lifestyle. All the more we have to be intentional in getting them to move and play.
Life Attitude Implications
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If you child is able to balance well and able to master different fundamental movement skills efficiently, your child will be confident.
This confidence will translate to other parts of your child’s life.
Any challenges in life would be something for them to overcome.
Your child’s confidence will spur him to overcome the challenge and excel.
Recap
Let’s recap what you have learnt today.
Balancing is the foundation to fundamental movement skills.
Fundamental movement skills are whole brain activities.
Fundamental movement skills have implications on physical, social, cognitive, and attitude towards life.
We hope to educate as many parents as possible so when they come to elementary school, they are ready to enjoy what the syllabus is in store for them.
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See you around!
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