“ Learning balance helps children develop better concentration needed for sitting and paying attention in class.Balancing uses mechanical principles and helps kids understand concepts such as gravity, equilibrium, counterbalance, and other sports skills.”
– Deborah Stevens Smith at Toyfair
You know what they say about striving for ‘balance’ in everything we do? The term ‘balance’ takes on a whole new meaning when the focus is shifted onto itself. Balance skills are integral, especially for toddlers who find themselves controlling and maintaining multiple body positions on a daily basis. Simple activities like going to the toilet, sitting down to eat meals and playing, all require fine balance skills.
Further, good balance skills are integral when it comes to engaging in sports, in order to minimise fatigue and injury.
There are several creative exercises that work on that sense of balance, and they don’t always require one to stand on one foot.
20+ Easy Balancing Activities for Preschoolers
Here’s a look at some of the most amazing ways to cultivate that sense of balance.
- The Freeze Game
- Crab Walking
- Laundry Basket Ride
- The One-Legged Bunny Hop
- Bubble Burst
- Riding a Bike
- Walking in your Shoes
- Bowling Fun
- Walking on Stairs
- Moving like Animals
- Twister Time
- Pillow on The Floor
- Trampoline Balancing
- Bean Bag Walkway
- Skipping Rope
- Walking on uneven terrain
- Doing the Wheelbarrow Walk
- Soccer
- Fly like Superman
- Tight Rope Pretend
- Therapy/Exercise Ball Sitting
- Flamingo Leg Lifting
- Toe Gripping
- Balance the Book
- Knee-Up and Extend
- Juggling
Balancing activities that involve music are always a blast! The freeze game is one of the amusing balance games for kids.
Play music and have your toddler groove to the beats. They must freeze in the position they find themselves in when the music stops.
Tip: Upgrade this game to play while kids are standing and then, while they move around the room.
Activities for kids that involve ‘claws’, not a ‘clause’! It is also one of the best balance games for kids.
Have the kids sit on the floor, with their feet in front and their arms behind. To walk, they have to lift their hips and move forward alternating their legs and arms. This one’s really good for improving bilateral coordination and strength.
Let your toddler go on a ride in a laundry basket! Push the basket with them in it on the floor, and watch them balance themselves in several positions. Needless to say, sitting will be the easiest and standing, the most difficult. Balancing games for kids to take them ‘for a ride’! It is also one of the amusing balance activities for kids.
Who wants to be Bugs Bunny? Balancing activities like this one can be quite challenging! Have your toddlers hop on one foot, multiple times. When they get adept at this, up the challenge by getting them to hop back and forth, backwards or even sideways. It is also one of the fun balance activities for kids.
Balancing activities for preschoolers with bubbles? You got that right! Bubble burst is also one of the best balance activities for kids.
Blow bubbles and have your toddler step on a bubble to burst it, when it lands on the floor. In time, move from one bubble to two, then three, and so on. A really fun way to hone those balancing skills.
Riding their first ever cycle provides a thrill for kids unsurpassed by many balancing activities. Start them with a tricycle and watch them hone their sense of balance, working on their trunk, arms and legs as they steer, pedal and stop. In time you can move to a small bicycle. It is also one of the fittest balance activities for preschoolers.
Want your toddlers to emulate you? Have your children walk in a pair of your shoes. This is a great way for them to improve their fine balancing skills, while walking and stepping. It is one of the joyous balance activities for preschoolers.
No need to go to the bowling alley. Bring the alley home! Use pins made from recycled plastic bottles. The only other thing you need is a sturdy ball. Watch your kids as they walk, lean and then roll the ball to knock the pins, thereby sharpening their balance skills with one of the best balancing activities out there. It is one of the amusing balance activities for preschoolers.
Activities for kids can be far simpler than you think. Like this one. Have kids walk up the stairs with a foot on each step. Upgrade this later to have them play freeze on the stairs, with one foot a step above the other. It is one of the best and easiest preschool balance activities for kids.
Balancing activities are fun in a makeshift jungle! Let your children ‘gallop like horses’ or even ‘hop like kangaroos’. Get inventive and have them move like other animals. It is one of the amusing preschool balance activities.
Who can resist a good game of Twister? Making use of the spinner from the game of Twister, tell your kids which colours they have to place their hands and feet on. This one’s truly one of the best balancing games for kids as it improves hand-eye coordination and strength, as well as that all-important sense of balance, of course. It is one of the fun preschool balance activities for children.
One of the best bedroom balancing activities. Simply place a pillow on the floor and have your toddler step up and stand on it. Then watch them challenge their balance skills. It is one of the amazing balance games for children.
Balancing activities for preschoolers like this one pose quite the challenge to your child. Have your toddler stand with one foot on a trampoline. Count to see how long they can hold that position. Then, up the activity a few notches by having them do it with their eyes closed. It is one of the happiest balance games for children.
Bean bags can be used for a variety of activities, including balancing activities like this one. Place beanbags on the floor in a line close enough so that your toddler can walk on them with alternating footsteps. A most safe way to improve that sense of balance in your kids. It is one of the best balance games for children.
A great way to nurture those budding athletic skills in toddlers. Just use a small rope if you don’t have a proper skipping rope, to get kids to twirl and jump. Later, they can use a longer rope with one child at each end and the other kids taking turns jumping the rope that can overtime be lifted higher.
Time to take those balancing activities outdoors! Have your kids walk on uneven terrain (grass, rocks, dirt). You can even have them walk barefoot in the sand on a beach!
Plenty of fun, this activity! Have your child lie on their stomach. Holding their legs, get them to walk forwards with their hands. They will become ‘wheelbarrows’ and love every bit of this balancing activity.
We all know what soccer is, but how can we use this game for sharpening balance? Simple, really. Have children kick the ball while standing on one foot!
As if being a junior Messi wasn’t enough! Using an inflatable ball, kids lie on their stomachs. Lifting their arms and legs, they ‘balance’ as they fly.
Did you know that balance games improve overall coordination of kids?
A game of tightrope walking without the fear of falling? Watch how kids sign up for it! Have your kids walk on their toes in a straight line, on that imaginary tightrope.
Balance Questions Answered: Static and Dynamic Balance
One of the most common balance-related questions is, ‘What is Static Balance and Dynamic Balance?’
Simply put, Static Balance refers to the ability to hold our body in a specific position or posture. On the other hand, its counterpart, Dynamic Balance, refers to our ability to maintain our balance whilst our body is moving – like in the case of us walking. Both types of balance are equally important components of that Balancing Exercise Regimen of your Preschooler.
Additional Balancing Activities for Preschoolers
Want to take things a step further, where it comes to honing those preschooler balance skills? You might want them to try the following activities.
Get them to master the art of balance, by sitting on an Exercise Ball while they perform mundane activities, like eating a snack or even watching TV!
Did you know about balance games for children?
Have them stand on one leg ‘like a flamingo’ for 60 seconds, before they switch legs. Tip: To begin with, you can allow them to use a hand to hold a fixed surface, as they stand on one leg.
This one’s a super fun activity! Place some pebbles in a large tray, that you set down on a flat surface. Then ask your child to take off their footwear and try and ‘grab’ the pebbles with their toes.
Get your child to balance a book on their head, as they attempt to walk in a straight line. Not only is it incredibly fun for them, it also works wonders when it comes to improving their posture.
Yet another fun activity to indulge in when they are walking. As they walk, get them to raise the knee of one leg up, before switching to the next.
No, not the mind-boggling kind you see in the circus! Start them off with this simple juggling exercise. Sit on the floor with your child, and exchange two balls with each other, by rolling them across the floor.
Conclusion
Besides improving their sense of balance by indulging in the activities listed in this article, there’s far more positives here than meets the eye. The mere participation in physical activities help boost kids’ energy, happiness and self-esteem. Who’s up for a great balance challenge?
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Which of these balance games are you going to try today with your kids?
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