Does your child find it hard to stay calm? These practical ideas from the Occupational Therapists at Kids First Children’s Services in Sydney’s northern beaches offer easy suggestions for home, preschool and school.
There are many strategies that parents and teachers can use to help children to remain focused and in control. The technical term for these activities is ‘heavy work’ and while this doesn’t mean that your children should suddenly become weightlifters, it does mean that they could benefit from activities that give them the chance to use the muscles that send organising, calming messages to their brains.
Heavy work represents any physical activity which provides resistance and proprioceptive input to your child’s muscles and joints.
Heavy work (proprioception) is essential in helping children’s bodies integrate and process both movement and touch information. Incorporating sufficient heavy work into your child’s day will help to promote a calm and positive learning environment for you and your child.
Heavy work activities are often very helpful for children with sensory processing difficulties because they help kids to increase attention, decrease tactile defensiveness, and maintain regulation during their day. In the same way that adults gain focus and clarity after exercise, yoga or pilates, heavy work can help ‘set’ a child’s level of arousal, activate their muscle tone and improve body awareness.
Below is a diverse list of heavy work (proprioceptive) activities that may help to improve your child’s skill development and regulate their arousal level, ability to sit still and attend to a task. These activities can be incorporated into your child’s home, preschool and school environments.
‘Heavy work’ is a very individual thing. It’s most most effective when directed by a professional (such as an Occupational Therapist) who can help to determine the amount of proprioceptive input needed to help your child manage their behaviour and learning.
© 2019 Kids First Children’s Services
Kids First’s Occupational Therapists are located in Sydney’s northern beaches. They have helped hundreds of children with sensory processing problems, and can help your child too.
Contact us on (02) 9938 5419 or use the private comment box below to give us your details. We’ll contact you to see how we can help.