How to choose a balance board
Tips for choosing a balance board
The sense of balance and the ability to maintain this balance is the most important skill when we talk about gross motor skills of children. And, accordingly, the development of gross motor skills includes the development of a sense of balance.
A balancing board will help your child to do this better than anything else. It has many advantages:
- It helps to strengthen the core and works with different muscle groups
- forms and develops a sense of balance. Which is not unimportant, including, as the prevention of injuries of children.
- stimulates brain activity.
- balance board takes up very little space and is easy to fit in a nursery of any size.
But if you start choosing a balance board, you'll realize pretty quickly that there are a lot of types of them. So what kind of balance board is necessary and suitable for your child. Let's deal together on the example of balance boards presented in our store. Let's say at once that our store's philosophy is eco-materials, so we have only wooden balance boards.
So, what kind of boards are there
Balance board in the shape of a rocker
This balance board is great for training children beginning from one year. Its task is to develop a sense of balance and stimulate the vestibular system. This board can be used as a balance board, rocker, bridge and cradle rocker. Four such boards stacked together form a circle and may well replace the playpen. Recommended age for starting to use - 18 months, but adults can easily master the exerciser.
Suitable for babies from two years. They are sold in sets of several pieces. Moving around on them, trying not to touch the floor, children develop coordination, precision movements and get positive emotions. They can be arranged in very different variations, gradually complicating the task of moving between them without touching the floor.
This is a disc with a fixed hemisphere on the bottom that does not slip. Such a board allows you to perform a wide range of exercises - from simply moving from side to side without touching the floor, to push-ups, squats and one-leg stands.
Narrow enough, to walk on they also require effort to maintain balance. Tracks can be arranged in a variety of shapes, gradually making it harder to walk.
Whichever balance board you choose, the very first thing you need to start with your child is stepping onto and off the balance board. Keeping the balance while standing on a balance board is not easy for the untrained vestibular apparatus.
Once the skill of standing is mastered, add body movements.
When standing on the balance board, perform head movements or body tilts. Which complicates the task - you need not only to catch the balance, but also to work at it. And here the brain and many muscles are actively involved. And the position of the foot is strengthened, too.
The next level is to work with the maze.
Connect work with mazes. The challenge is to try to stay on your feet and control the maze. The small movements to control the ball on this board are great to involve the whole body.
You can further complicate it by adding a small ball to be tossed and caught while standing on the balance board.
Many balance boards can be used by adults as well. Try it together with your child and it may become your favorite pastime together.
You can see our full collection of balance boards in our Physical Development Equipment collection.