Why Do Kids Move in the Ways They Do?
Why Do Kids Move in the Ways They Do?
Understanding Children's Senses
In this newsletter, we provide you with notes on Pave Highways in a Child’s Brain Through Nature Play with Kim Wilson, Nature’s Path O.T., an episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast.
Hosted by Ginny Yurich, an author, speaker, and creator of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast. She is joined by Kim Wilson, a pediatric occupational therapist and creator of Nature’s Path.
Read our notes below.
Topics Covered in this Summary
Why Do Kids Move in the Ways They Do?
Balancing Life as Our Children Age
Why Do Kids Move in the Ways They Do?
Everyone knows about the five senses: vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. But there are three other senses you should know about:
Proprioception
Proprioception is the awareness of where our bodies are in relation to the environment around us. In short, it is involved with every movement you consciously make. If a child has a good sense of proprioception, they move with grace, are well coordinated, and rarely get hurt.
It is basically sensory input through your joints and muscles. It can be through climbing on things or kids pulling themselves up on the rope through the snow, and that's deep proprioceptive feedback.
Interoception
Interoception is the body’s sense of what is happening internally. It helps us understand and feel what’s going on inside us. For instance, you know if your heart is beating fast or if you need to breathe more deeply. You’re able to tell if you need to use the bathroom. You know if you’re hungry, full, hot, cold, thirsty, nauseated, itchy, or ticklish.
If kids are not aware of what's going on internally inside of them, we cannot expect them to be aware of all of the other sensory things that are going on around them and be able to process them.
Vestibular System
The vestibular system is responsible for our sense of balance and movement. It tells us where our body is in relation to gravity, where it is moving, and how fast.
Children can be very hypersensitive; they can get motion sickness in the car, constantly spin in your living room, or flip all over the place in the playground. These children are seeking out that type of input in order to regulate their central nervous systems.
Balancing Life as Our Children Age
When it comes to sensory processing, as parents, we want our children to be able to process sensory information in a real-world setting.
It's fine that they can process that sensory information within a home setting, but we need to be able to transfer those goals outdoors in nature. The unpredictability of nature and what it provides is such an amazing therapeutic setting because you never know what’s going to happen.
When we put them in an environment like nature that’s constantly throwing unpredictability at them and having them problem solve and push them through when things are really hard, that more than anything is so therapeutic.
In that way, we're working on goals and things that are challenging for a child. It just naturally puts them in this space to work on things that are difficult.
Useful Links
Follow All Star Parent on Facebook
Follow All Star Parent on Instagram
Follow All Star Parent on Twitter
Listen to the original episode