Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Midline
Midline
Defining the Concept and Its Importance
Midline
The body midline is described as an extension of the sagittal plane, which splits the body into two equal halves (Cermak et al., 1980). The fundamental movement skill of crossing the midline, is the ability to cross the arms or legs to the opposite side of the body (Bredin, 2020). Infants from ages 8 through 12 months should be able to cross the midline when reaching for toys, at ages 5 and 7 concern is raised if the child is unable to cross the midline, and by age 7 it can be confirmed that the child has difficulty crossing over the midline (Bredin, 2020). For instance, when reading a child who has not acquired this skill may use their right eye to read the right side of the page and then switch to their left eye to read the left side of the page, this can pose a negative effect as the child may miss information when they switch from using their right eye to their left eye (Bredin, 2020). Similarly, if a child has to switch hands when writing or drawing it may indicate that they are having trouble developing this motor skill (Bredin, 2020).
The importance of Midline Crossing
The development of fundamental skills such as crossing the midline, are the basic building blocks that precede more advanced movement patterns (Hands, 2012). Midline crossing is especially important as it is a foundation for many movement patterns such as reading, writing, and other skilled movements (Cermak et el., 1980). It is suggested that children who are more engaged in fundamental movement skills can receive many benefits such as: higher physical activity level, increased cardio-respiratory fitness, greater self-esteem and confidence, as well as an increased likelihood to take risks (Hands, 2012). Research indicates that the ability to cross the midline is the representation of how well both sides of the body are integrated (Ayres, 1972 as cited in Cermak et al., 1980).
Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations
Role of Midline Crossing in Childhood Development
Evidence in research indicates that midline crossing plays a large role in childhood development as many gross movements such as standing upright, walking, turning, involve both halves of the body, moving in a coordinated manner around the midline (Goody & Reinhold, 1952 as cited in Cermak et al., 1980). Contemporary issues that may be hindering the development of such skills in children can be accounted for by two problems, the first being the presence of movement but no subsequent education (Gagen & Getchell 2006). The second being, the inability to design developmentally appropriate activities for children by teachers and school age workers (Gagen & Getchell 2006). In addition, individual, task and environmental constraints should be addressed so educators are able to foster the development of motor skills (Bredin, 2020). Rate limiters such as laterality and lateral preference can affect the ability of a child to acquire midline crossing (Bredin, 2020). Laterality is the awareness that there are two sides of the body different from each other, and children should be able to perform movements with individual limbs as well as coordinated movements. Lateral preference builds upon laterality in that it refers to the side of the body that is more dominant in performing movements. Consequently, it is notable that laterality and lateral preference have a great impact on midline crossing as a child needs to be aware of their limbs in order to process how to cross over from the right side to the left and vice versa.
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and the Midline
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a lifelong condition which can cause difficulty to demonstrate coordinated motor skills (Team, 2020). It is crucial that educators and school age workers consider such developmental difficulties when designing programs for children. It is recommended to modify how movement is presented by, moving from a noisy playground with many distractions to an indoor gym, encouraging participation rather than perfecting a skill, and having the child measure success in relation to their goals and not in relation to the performance of their peers (Miller et al., 2018). Such recommendations can be implemented to improve movement in all children but is especially encouraged when working with children that have DCD.
Practical Applications
Activities that Promote Development of the Midline
Activities that can help promote midline crossing in the arms and legs can be demonstrated in many ways. One example replicates soccer, as a bin is placed on the opposite side of the child’s preferred or dominant arm, if they are right arm dominant, place it to their left and vice versa (Bredin, 2020). Have the child kick or throw the ball into the bin and observe their progress (Bredin, 2020). This can also be reversed by placing the bin across from their non dominant arm or leg to encourage midline crossing from both sides of the body (Bredin, 2020). This activity can easily be modified to fit the child’s needs by increasing the size of the goal, changing the size of the ball so it is an appropriate grip for the child, and addressing rate limiters such as laterality and lateral preference. Another activity that can promote midline crossing are activities such as the game pat-a-cake where a child performs coordinated movements with a partner. When engaging in this game midline crossing can be observed as a child moves their hand to touch their partners right hand, and similarly moves their left hand to touch their partners left hand. Similarly, this game can be adjusted so the child can first practice the movement pattern as an individual, by using images such as a rabbit and a leaf. Place the rabbit in front of the child’s left hand and the leaf in front of the child’s right hand, then ask them to put their right hand on the rabbit, and then their left hand on the leaf. Practicing this skill individually will give the child the confidence to learn, and it will allow them to assess their progress as an individual rather than comparing their progress to other children (Hands, 2012; Miller et al., 2018).
Here are more games and activities that will promote the development of midline crossing with instructions and modifications.
Matching Party!
Purpose for improvement of midline crossing:
The purpose of incorporating the “Matching Party” as a fun activity is to improve the midline crossing for the children while adding a personal interest or educational goal. This activity allows children to engage their upper body midline crossing and can have so much variety to suit the interest and level of abilities of the child. The child may be so focused on the sorting task that they do not realize they are also working on midline crossing. This consequently has a positive impact on their developmental growth. This game gives the opportunity to engage the cognitive development and be purposeful with their movements.
Target Age: Due to its diverse purpose and ability to be adjusted for different ages group, this midline crossing task can be for any children that can comprehend and follow instructions. Midline crossing is a skill that children acquire early on however if not met by age 7, it becomes a concern (Bredin, 2020). Therefore this game would be best suited for children ages 4-7 because of their ability to understand instructions and the necessity for them to be given opportunities to develop midline crossing.
Equipment needed: For this activity, you can use a variety of different equipment depending on your personal goals for the child. The basics are having a bucket of mixed items (number, letters, animal figures, blocks, etc.). The bucket of mixed items just needs to include 2+ categories of items. Having tape or rope between the mixed bucket and sorted categories may be helpful for younger children. Lastly multiple bowls or designated spots to place the items as the child sorts through them.
Items needed:
•Two or more different categories of objects (this depends on the goal, can be random or specific for educational purposes)
•Bowls or placement cards
•Optional: Tape or rope to make a line
Instructions:
- Clear a space at home or in the classroom for this activity.
- Have a bucket of mixed items on one side and multiple containers for separated categories on the other. Having a large space in between to encourage having to cross the body.
- Find fun categories that suit the child's interest and developmental level. Keeping it engaging, fun, and challenging.
- Instruct them to only use one hand and to face forward at all times (you can switch hands halfway through or for another round but this is very important).
- Then they can start by grabbing and item in the mixed bucket and then placing it in the appropriate categorical space on the other side of the body
- Repeat steps 1-5 as many times as until the mixed item bucket is empty and the categories are all sorted.
Notes:
- If this is for an educational purpose the activity might take longer for the child to cross the midline and then also think about the learning objective
- If there are siblings or friends you can make it a race to see who can sort and match up the categories the quickest
Modifications
The above activity can have various modifications based on the age, skill level, and developmental needs of a child.
Modification #1 within Step 3 and 4: Depending on the child’s interest and levels of development modify the type of categories and speed of the activity. If the child is more advanced, there can be given a timer to see how fast the child can complete the activity. Furthermore finding categories that suit the child is key to keeping this activity engaging. This activity can be modified for younger ages but having larger objects or simply only two different categories.
The variety of what the children are sorting and matching is endless and all depends on the developmental level and what they are currently learning. A couple of examples would be…
- Sort different color blocks to learn the child’s colors
- Have multiple animal figures and sort into animals that swim, fly, or walk.
- Sorting words into categories of verbs, adjectives, and nouns.
Modification #2 within Step 4: A modification to this activity would be to change what hand the child is using. It is suggested that the child starts doing the midline crossing with their dominant hand. When it looks like the child is doing really well on this form of crossing, change so that they can only use their non-dominant hand. This will add a level of complexity and engage further development of fluid midline crossing.
Passing Relays
Purpose for improvement of midline:
While engaging in a passing relay with friends and peers, children are required to quickly and dynamically cross the midline. Having a passing relay with objectives for quickness, accuracy and fun creates an interactive game for parents, teachers, and physical activity leaders to use. This purpose helps to build towards greater physical activity levels and uses midline crossing as a base for fundamental movement skills. Having a passing relay is a great way to improve coordination, working with both arms and legs and different arms preferences. The child is able to engage in this passing relay and develop dynamic crossing of the midline that engages the whole body and reinforces the fundamental skills in a fun and enjoyable way.
Target Age:The target age for this game ranges from 4-7 years of age depending on complexity added.
Equipment Needed: For this activity, you will need:
- Multiple balls (big or small)
- Two bins or small nets (targets)
- Friends, classmates or siblings
Instructions:
- Set up a pill of balls on one side of the room or outdoor space and then two targets making a triangle. Leave a long enough space for each participant to be around arms length apart starting at the pill of balls and gap before the two targets (this distance depends on the skill and challenge level)
- Have all the children line up facing the same direction and keeping their feet planted in one spot. Or for later rounds get in groups of two is line up back to back facing the other pair to make a line
- The starting player will grab a ball out of the pill and it will get passed down the line, every child grabbing with both hands (only moving their upper to receive the ball)
- The end player will place the ball on the ground with the nets or will keep the ball in their hands with bins
- The player will kick or throw the ball into the bin using the opposite hand or leg to the bin they choose (to kick or throw across the midline and body). Example: if they shoot/throw at the target on their left they will shoot/throw with their right hand
- Then the player that just shot/threw at the target will run down the line and be the one to grab out of the pill at the start of the line. The rest of the line will shuttle down to make room
- Repeat step 3-6 until the pill of balls is exhausted
Modifications
The above activity can have various add-on components that further work on midline crossing or to improve other parts of the child’s development. Here or two modifications for this passing relay.
Modification #1: If the children are younger or having more difficulty, having closer or larger targets to throw into or kick at will allow for the same motion but with more success of hitting the target. This will allow for the excitement and fun of the activity to continue and still have midline crossing practice.
Modification #2: To make the relay race more complex whenever the player is not passing or shooting they need to do standing up cross crawlers. Raising the right knee to waist level and touching it with the left hand (and vise versa, left knee with right hand). They have to continually do the motion until the ball comes back to them or they are shuffling down the line.
Summary
Insert video vignette...as per Section 4 requirements.
References
Bredin, S., (2020). Module Four: Developing fundamentals of motor development. (pp. 13-25) University of British Columbia
Cermak, S. A., Quintero, E. J., Cohen, P. M., (1980). Developing Age Trends in Crossing theBody Midline in Normal Children. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 34(5), 313-319. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.34.5.313
Gagen, L.M, Getchell, N., (2006). Using ‘Constraints’ to Design Developmentally AppropriateMovement Activities for Early Childhood Education. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(3), 227-232. doi: 10.1007/s10643-006-0135-6
Hands, B. P., (2012). How fundamental are fundamental movement skills? Active and Healthy Magazine 19(1), 11-13. Retrieved from https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1066&context=health_article
Miller, J., Wilson-Gahan, S., Garrett, R., (2018) Health and Physical Education: Preparing educators for the future. (pp 87-111). Retrieved from https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=z3lnDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=contemporary+approaches+fms+midline&ots=JIM885BDZr&sig=Vv_NcQVipKrAA4unMFmGhdkUJ4I&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Team, T. (2020, April 17). Understanding Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/dyspraxia/understanding-developmental-coordination-disorder-dcd