08/28/2026
Why is balance important?
⭐️ Safety: Balance helps babies and children move throughout their environment with the ability to recover when a loss of balance occurs.
⭐️ Gross-motor skills and sports participation: Skills such as walking, running, jumping, hopping, and climbing all require balance. We need balance to kick a ball, catch a ball, turn, weave, and jump.
⭐️ Coordination: We build coordination from the brain sending and receiving signals to help control what the body is doing.
⭐️ Kinesthetic awareness: This is how kids learn where their body is in relation to the space and make adjustments as needed to nagivate their environment.
⭐️ Confidence: Children can build their confidence as they gain balance and try new and more difficult things such as climbing a junglegym, obstacle courses, and hopscotch.
⭐️ Independence: Simple activities of daily living like stepping into the bath, putting on pants, and even walking up the stairs all require balance. Supporting good balance also supports independence as kids grow up.
Balance is complex. Everyone has varying levels of balance. Some children sit independently, and some require a more supportive chair like a wheelchair or activity chair. Some children are mobile by walking, some crawl, and some use a wheelchair to get around. All of these activities require balance, control, and coordination. Balance is the foundation of everything we do! How can you practice balance today?
