Do you know of any good resources or exercises for developing balance in kids age 6 and 9?

Question

My 9 year old son loves to play sports but he has no balance.

Does anyone know of any specific exercises that will improve his balance?

Answer 1

riding his bike should help. Walking a line or balance beam.

Answer 2

gymnastics or martial arts.

Answer 3

Possible keywords:  the ADHDs, the CAPDs, the dyspraxias, the apraxias, possible side-effect subtle brain injury/concussion, hemiplegia, hemiparesis, other.

There are a few reports that the right medicine (often classified as an anti-motion medicine) such as Bonine can, in a few persons temporarily and dramatically improve the sense of body balance.  It is not a cure but it can temporarily reduce symptoms for some persons (not everyone).  Bonine is not for everyone and it can have side-effects (in some persons along the lines of changing sleep patterns, etc.).

The best educational book I've come across on the topic you mention (body balance) is the How to Cure Hyperactivity book (1981) about ADHD by C. Thomas Wild with Anita Uhl Brothers, M.D.  Good luck.

Answer 4

Here's some ideas to get you started.

In my family we do a lot of balance training for figure skaters.  Without equipment, that would be lunges, split 1-legged squats, regular 1-legged squats.  Some yoga positions are great for balance - I don't know all the names, but tree pose is one.

Also, the one where you stand on one leg, lean forward with a flat back, chin up, extend your leg behind you at hip height.  Your arms should be out at your sides.  Then go back to tree pose.

Next, bend forward at the waist, one arm forward, one arm behind you grabbing your leg at the ankle and pulling it up behind you (your right hand should grab your right leg).  

With equipment, we do 1-legged calf rollers.  We also have a spinner and an inflated "dot" that you stand on with one leg in your landing position.  You could do something similar without specialized equipment, it could be any unstable surface that rocks a little like a mattress on the floor.  Anything that similates a low balance beam would help too.  One thing my daughter does in class is stand on a low beam, then jumps up and lands facing the other direction with her feet in the same position (right foot forward in both directions, then the opposite).  The point of it is to not lose your balance after the jump.

Answer 5

Buy an exercise ball. The big ones. Have him sit on it while watching TV, playing games, doing homework. They increase core strength and ability to balance. Also have you had his inner ear checked he may have an issue that interferes with balance.