Proprioception and how it can help your child
Proprioception is our muscle and joint sense, it tells us where your body is in space. Proprioceptive input is any activity that provides deep pressure to your muscles and joints and/or provides resistance through pushing and pulling activities.
Proprioceptive input is very calming and regulating, it gives a sense of control to recognize your body sensations. These activities are useful to implement throughout the day to encourage a regulated nervous system.
Many of these activities are also referred to as “heavy work”.
Every child will respond to these activities differently, try them out and see which ones work best for your child. Don’t forget to join in, these are great for you too!
Here they are:
1. Blanket Roll-So many variations can be made with this. Roll your child up tightly in a blanket pretend they are a taco, burrito, caterpillar, present, etc.
2. Pillow Crawls-Lay some pillows across the floor and have your child crawl across pretending you are crossing a bridge
3. Animal Walks-Pretend to be various animals (bear, crab, frog, rabbit, dog, alligator, etc.)
4. Laundry Basket Push-Push a laundry basket across the floor filled with clothes, stuffed animals, toys, or a sibling!
5. Baking-Mix, roll, scoop, etc., when baking
6. Cleaning-Give your child a spray bottle with vinegar and clean the windows, surfaces, or appliances (for younger children just use water)
7. Kneading Dough-Play with play-doh, make bread, tortillas, or pizza doh
8. Mopping/Sweeping/Vacuuming-so much good heavy work here!
9. Pillow Squishes-Have your child lie on the floor and give them pillow squishes on the body. Then see if they can crawl out.
10. Rolling Pin Body Rolls-Roll a rolling pin on each other's body. To make it softer you can duct tape a towel around it.
11. Pillow Crashing-Jump and crash into a pile of pillows
12. Smoothie & Crunchy/Chewy Snacks-Drink a smoothie with a straw or eat a crunchy or chewy snack.
~ @coastalconnectionsot