Spinning and Twirling
Spinning and twirling helps with balance.
Have you ever noticed how much fun children have spinning around and around and around? I remember growing up, my friends and I loved going in circles and making ourselves silly dizzy. Even some adults still like to twirl. Look at the Olympics for example. We are always amazed at the power, focus, and balance that figure skaters have when they spin at amazing speeds.
I heard recently that spinning is good for a child. I mentioned it to a father at the park, and he responded: "Yes, I heard it was good, too." So, when I got home I did a bit of research and found out that yes, it is in fact good for you in some respects, but it can also be (that's why our body sometimes tells us to stop by causing us to get nauseous). Here are a few tips that I found from the website www.asensorylife.com and thought I'd share.
- Spinning needs to be controlled, supervised, and monitored with our children who have sensory differences and SPD (sensory processing disorder)
- Teach your child to spin no more than 10 times in one direction at 1 spin per second...then stop briefly, then spin the other direction
- For those children who do not get dizzy, encourage spinning in prone extension (on tummy) to help the brain learn to register the feeling of rotary input, along with following the two items above
- Spinning is incredibly powerful and the brain may need a long time to process the input
- Swinging in linear planes in prone extension and full body flexion are so much more important and beneficial for the brain in regards to the power sensation of vestibular input. Focus more on this type of swinging rather than so much spinning.