Teaching balance is tricky. Often children have been over supported and they don’t know what to do because they are always caught before they fall. In this situation they need to be allowed to fall safely. The feeling of falling gets a reaction- to try and respond. If we always catch them they don’t realise that they need to do something. For example. When standing at a surface and the child is gently falling to the side don’t correct them or move them. Be very close by and hold one hand on the surface and wait to see what they do. It may take a minute to realise they might want to move their leg. If they do fall, let them gently fall onto their bottom on a soft mat. This helps to understand the consequence. The trick to this is making sure there is something fun and engaging to look at if they keep their balance.
