Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Stability

Base of Support

Defining the Concept and Its Importance

Stability refers to one's capability to maintain a controlled body position during task performance, and involves balance and weight transfer (Adolph & Franchak, 2017). To master these skills, children must be able to maintain various body positions, as well as adapt to them without falling. It takes muscle strength and body awareness to be able to gain balance and hold it while moving around, or even staying still. Furthermore, stability is defined as the ability to control the body's centre of gravity on a small supporting surface or base of support, and is mainly divided into static and dynamic balance (Adolph & Franchak, 2017). Static balance is the ability to balance in a stationary position. In static balance, the centre of gravity stays constant over the body's base of support. A larger base, such as having two feet on the ground, provides more stability while a smaller base, for example only one foot on the ground, or one farther away from the centre of gravity, offers less stability and therefore makes balancing more difficult. Dynamic balance is the ability to maintain balance while moving. Tumbling, coming to a stop after running, landing after a jump, and climbing are all dynamic balance skills. Every locomotor activity requires some basic ability to demonstrate dynamic balance. Dynamic balance is more challenging to perform and master than static balance. Unlike static balance, in dynamic balance, the base of support is smaller or narrower, and it is also moving. It often involves weight transfer such as shifting the body's weight from one foot to the other, or from the feet to other parts of the body (Adolph & Franchak, 2017).

In the context of childhood movement experiences, stability is important as it is believed to be a prerequisite for the development of higher-level gross motor performance, and essential to learning and controlling fundamental movement skills (Jiang et al., 2017). Age appropriate balance and coordination allows the child to be involved in sports with a reasonable degree of success as it aids fluid body movement for physical skill performance (Rudd et al., 2015). For example, early one arm throwing patterns consist primarily of upper limb actions, but as a child matures the throwing pattern becomes more complex and includes lower body actions such as a step with the opposite foot and hip rotation. When the child begins to incorporate lower body actions in the throwing motion, postural control is challenged and postural stability becomes a more important component of successfully completing the skill. With good balance and coordination there is less likelihood of injury as the child is likely to have appropriate postural responses when needed, such as putting their hands out to protect themselves when they fall off their bike (Rudd et al., 2015). Children's balance not only increases with age, but also depends on interaction with surrounding environments and strengthening of muscle during the growth process. If early balance ability is not properly developed, it can lead to late learning of complex motor skills, such as running, jumping, and other movements, which can lead to a myriad of issues (Jiang et al., 2017).

It is important to recognize when a child is lacking the demonstration of certain fundamental balance skills that other children their age have evidently begun to master. Such recognition can allow for early target of specific exercises and games that will help the child practice their balance skills and achieve appropriate development for future activities (Tarence, 2020).

Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations

Early movement experiences create the foundation for higher-level motor skill performance (Rudd et al., 2015). Stability and balance, in particular, is vital to achieving success in almost every physical activity and is fundamental in the proficient learning and performance of motor skills (Rudd et al., 2015). Stability emerges from the interaction of an individual dealing with the constraints of the physical environment. Balance and coordination are also important in developing social skills. Children with good physical skills can master activities such as sports and playground use giving them even more opportunities to interact with their peers. With these skills, they can more easily make friends and become part of different social groups. Coordination and stability are also important to minimize fatigue (Rudd et al., 2015). When children are just learning new skills such as independent walking, they expend large amounts of physical and mental energy to master these abilities. As these skills become more evolved, they become automatic, so an older child can walk without expending much energy and without thinking much about it. Once children can walk naturally, they can focus on other aspects of development. Mastering stability skills can also help a child reduce the likelihood of injury (Rudd et al., 2015). Children with strong balance and coordination are less likely to fall over when climbing stairs or walking along an uneven surface. Stability can also help children build their core muscles, which helps them stay more stable during movement and when sitting, reducing the likelihood of injury. If these basic motor skills are underdeveloped in childhood, a child's ability to participate in and enjoy physical activity can be greatly diminished (Mombarg, Jelsma, & Hartman, 2013). Delayed motor development not only directly affects children's motor skills and their physical health, but also has an impact on children's cognitive, emotional, and social development (Mombarg et al., 2013). An important contemporary issue to identify is that caregiving practices can delay postural stability control and the development of new motor skills that follow.

The development of postural control in young infants instigates new skills and opens up new possibilities for looking, social interactions, manual actions, and locomotion (Dusing & Harbourne, 2010). Limited development of postural and movement control in infants has been shown to limit their progression to more complex motor experiences in the first years of life. Routine caregiving contributes to the development of skills as caregivers provide infants with experiences in a variety of positions, including supine, prone, upright carrying, and sitting with decreasing amounts of support. In light of this, researchers propose that caregivers implement interventions for infants and young children with postural control deficits that facilitate opportunities for them to experience a wide variety of movements requiring different levels of postural control (Dusing & Harbourne, 2010). Caregivers should understand the need for appropriately timed experience and exploration to foster development and therefore should be encouraged and educated on how to provide children with varied movement opportunities that will support the development of postural stability (Dusing & Harbourne, 2010).

An example of the importance of early caregiving practices and the negative effects it can have on childhood movement experiences is shown by a study conducted by Roeber and colleagues (2013). This study is based on adopted children who had lived all or most of their lives in institutional settings with variable caregiving conditions. The environments experienced by children in institutions often fall well below what is needed to sustain typical development (Roeber et al., 2013). The deprivation in these settings is known to negatively affect physical, cognitive, and emotional development (Roeber et al., 2013). As stated earlier, acquisition and maintenance of stability and movement depends on the learning and repetition of different movement activities in active play settings. For this reason, institutional rearing may be problematic for motor development (Roeber et al., 2013). Because of poor adult/child ratios in many institutions, infants spend long periods supine in their cribs. Objects to manipulate, when available, are provided for limited periods and floor time is rare (Roeber et al., 2013). The results of the study examining the effect of institutional deprivation on the motor skills of children showed that balance and bilateral coordination were impacted, with pre-institutionalized children demonstrating delays in both skills compared to the non‐institutionalized control group. Duration of institutional care predicted balance delays, while severity of caregiving deprivation was correlated with decreased bilateral coordination skills (Roeber et al., 2013). These findings suggest that institutionalization does not provide the early life experience needed for the development of stable motor skills later in childhood. Thus, early childhood educators should be aware of the importance of the environment a child develops in, as it can have a direct impact on the development of stability skills which in turn, can impact the healthy development of the child.

As recognized above, when children struggle with adapting to their varying bases of support, their balance and coordination may suffer a lack of development (Kid Sense, 2020). As childhood educators, it is essential to recognize that inexpensive activities that can be conducted from one’s home can dramatically improve such skills (Tarence, 2020).

Practical Applications

What practical activities can be used for the purpose of improvement and development of children's balance and coordination skills?

When children fail to adapt and adjust their bodies to varying bases of support, such developmental delays around balance and coordination can majorly impact the later emergence of fundamental gross motor skills, their participation in sport, as well as inability to engage in certain games and activities alongside their peers (Kids Sense, 2020). It is essential that as childhood educators, we develop age-appropriate, affordable, and effective activities and games to develop both static and dynamic balance of the child. Appropriately developed balance and coordination skills limit the likelihood of injury, minimize the amount of effort spent on movement activities, as well as expand the range of physical activity opportunities that a child can partake in (Kids Sense, 2020).

So what are some examples of activities that are beneficial for the development of balance and coordination in children?

Clean-Up, Clean-Up, Everybody clean up!

Incorporating balance practice into daily tasks can look as easy as getting a child to pick up their toys. While this activity may not seem as the most evident way to improve a child's balance skills, it can be surprisingly effective (Tarence, 2020).

Purpose for improvement of balance: The purpose of incorporating balance tasks within a regular day activity such as cleaning up, is to form a habit that the child can partake in daily, while unknowingly improving both their coordination and balance skills. When paired with a task that needs to be completed regularly (such as cleaning), balance activities can be viewed as a fun "obstacle" or "challenge" added to the task that the child must accomplish. Rather than a form of physical therapy, or "treatment" this balance activity can now serve as both motivating and enjoyable.

Target Age: Due to its wide purpose of uses, balance tasks incorporated into cleaning can serve any kids that can comprehend and follow instructions. Most children learn how to follow three-step instructions such as "put the ball on your foot and carry it to that bin without letting it fall" by the age of 3-4 (Kid Sense, 2020). Due to such developmental limits, the target age of this activity would be for children aged 3-8. However, this range is flexible and can be extended to earlier or older ages, based on level of development.

Equipment needed: For this activity, you will not need any extra equipment aside from the child's already existing and in-use toys. It is however recommended that a basket, box, bag, or any type of "holding case" is placed in a corner of the room as a target for children to aim for when carrying their toys to be dropped at the instructed destination.

Items needed:

•Child's toys

•Box or Bag to hold toys

Instructions:

1. Make the child aware that it is time to clean up (ie. their toys).
2. Instruct them to place one of the items (such as a doll, a bouncing ball, a toy car, etc.) on top of their foot.
3. Point to where the child must walk to with this item balanced on their foot, before dropping it in the bag.
4. Ensure that they are motivated to reach their "finish line", or designated drop-bag by encouraging them throughout or with a small prize like a piece of candy if they can successfully complete the task.
5. If the child is with peers, transforming the clean-up balance task into a race could serve as further motivation (ie. you could tell the children that whoever can balance-carry all their toys to the bag first gets a piece of chocolate).
6. Repeat steps 1-4 as many times as felt needed, but without forcing the child into an uncomfortable task.

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: If balance skills of the child are not developed enough for dynamic balance activities, get the child to stand directly in front of the bag they are told to drop the toy in. Get them to place the toy on their foot, balance it for 2-5 seconds while stationary, then drop it directly into the bag.

Modification #2 within Step 3: If the child feels that they can reach their destination by performing the above task while walking and balancing simultaneously, offer an assist by their side to catch the toy if they lose their balance. By walking next to them, you may offer the necessary emotional support the child may think they need to successfully perform the task, until they feel comfortable doing so independently.

Essentially, through partaking in this type of balance activity, the child is given an opportunity to strengthen their quadriceps group, key core muscles, as well as develop ankle and foot strength in both legs. Such developments are essential in their improvement of balance and coordination, as well as awareness and adaptability to narrower bases of support through exposure to both static and dynamic balance experiences (Tarence, 2020).

Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a great play-time activity for children to engage in to not only learn fundamental motor skills such as balance, coordination, and agility, but also engage in outdoor play with peers while developing social, communication, and cooperation skills.

Purpose for improvement of balance: While engaging in hopscotch, the child is required to quickly and efficiently switch their feet from a wide (both feet on the ground) base of support, to a narrow (balancing on one foot) base of support. In addition, while engaging in hopscotch, the child learns to both increase and decrease their speed while hopping between squares either on one or both feet. This type of movement skill encourages the development of both static and dynamic balance, all while providing the child with a pleasurable and purposeful experience. In addition to the above, while following the quick transitions hopscotch requires, the child is subconsciously learning other essential components contributing to the skill of automatic balance such as hand-eye coordination. Hand-eye coordination is reinforced during this activity along with muscle strength and body rhythm, providing a solid foundation for their future development of balance (Kid Sense, 2020).

Target Age: Hopscotch is a very widely-used game by all - its purposes ranging from recreation play, to a recess activity with friends, or even teaching your child how to count from 1-10. Any child who is capable of independent walking can begin to learn the rules and movements associated with hopscotch. While walking age varies, this game is appropriate for most children aged 12months - 10 years old. However, based on the individual educators purpose for providing this activity, this age range may vary to older age groups starting around 4-5 years of age, where children are more capable of following complicated commands.

Equipment Needed: For this activity, you will need:

1. A flat, concrete surface
2. Chalk
3. A small rock or ball (a piece of chalk will also work)

Hopscotch is meant to be an almost costless activity that can be set up almost anywhere with minimal time and set up for families, school programs, and caretakers with a busy schedule.

Instructions:

1. Use chalk to draw alternating one and two-square blocks ranging from #1 through 10.
2. Give the child a piece of chalk or a small rock and direct them to throw it at any of the squares without aiming at any particular one.
3. After tossing the piece of chalk, the child begins by starting on square 1 with the foot of their choice on the ground, and the other in the air.
4. The child hops onto the second block of two squares with both feet landing on the ground.
5. On the next jump, ensure the child hops onto it (square #4) with the opposite foot that they started with on square 1.
6. Continue steps 4-5 until the child has reached the last square, picked up the rock and turned around.
7. The child continues to hop back to the start as instructed above (back towards you).

Modifications

The above activity can have various modifications based on the age, skill level, and developmental needs of a child.

Modification #1: If the child is younger (ie. age 1y-3y), do not place emphasis on their feet remaining within the lines of the hopscotch squares. Rather, emphasize on the overall skill and balance required within the game.

Modification #2: If the child is younger (ie. age 1y-3y), allow them to always hop onto one-square blocks with their dominant foot. This will allow them to develop and gain a sense of what both static and dynamic balance feel like , while improving their coordination and muscle strength.

Summary

Stability refers to an individuals ability to maintain a controlled body position while performing a task. It requires muscle strength and body awareness to gain balance whilst both moving and standing still. It is divided into dynamic balance (ability to maintain balance while moving) and static balance (ability to balance while stationary). Stability acts as a prerequisite for the development of higher-level gross movements and is essential to the development of fundamental movement skills. It is important for caregivers to facilitate the acquisition of this skill during early childhood so that the child can develop it correctly.

References

Adolph, K. E., & Franchak, J. M. (2017). The development of motor behavior . Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science, 8(12), 102-143. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1430

Dusing, S. C., & Harbourne, R. T. (2010). Variability in postural control during infancy: implications for development, assessment, and intervention. Pediatrics Special Issue 90(12), 1838-1849. doi: 10.2522/ptj.2010033

Jiang, G., Jiao, X., Wu, S., Ji, Z., Liu, W., Chen, X., & Wang, H. (2017). Balance, proprioception, and gross motor development of Chinese children aged 3 to 6 years. Journal of Motor Behavior, 50(3), 343-352. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/00222895.2017.1363694

Kid Sense. (2020). Balance and coordination: What activities can help improve balance and coordination? Retrieved from https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/gross-motor-skills/balance-coordination/

Mombarg, R., Jelsma, D., & Hartman, E. (2013). Effect of Wii-intervention on balance of children with poor motor performance. Research in Developmental Disabilities 34(9), 2996-3003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2013.06.008

Roeber, B. J., Gunnar, M. R., & Pollak, S. D. (2013). Early deprivation impairs the development of balance and bilateral coordination. Developmental Psychobiology, 56(5), 1100-1106. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1002/dev.21159

Rudd, J. R., Barnett, L. M., Butson, M. L., Farrow, D., Berry, J., & Polman, R. C. J. (2015). Fundamental movement skills are more than run, throw and catch: The role of stability skills. PloS One, 10(10). doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1371/journal.pone.0140224

Tarence, J. (2020). 10 ways to improve your child’s balance skills (without buying extra equipment). Retrieved from https://eyaslanding.com/10-ways-to-improve-child-balance/