Condition : Postural control and balance issues in children

Postural control (also known as core stability) is the ability to control the position and movement of the central part of the body. This mainly involves the muscles in the trunk (stomach and back), shoulders, and hips. These are necessary to help maintain good posture and give a stable base to develop good balance skills that allow controlled movements of the arms, legs, and head.

Children with poor postural control and balance may:

• often trip while walking or running
• find it hard to stay sat upright on a chair
• lean against a wall, furniture, or people for support when standing
• find it difficult to walk long distances, up or down stairs, or on unfamiliar or uneven surfaces
• perform balancing activities, such as standing on one leg for two to three seconds or riding a bike
• struggle with activities that involve having their feet off the ground, such as accessing playground equipment

If a child is unable to sit upright in a chair, it can impact their ability to learn fine motor skills, such as writing, and they can find it hard to concentrate.

For some children, postural control and balance issues may be a result of lack of practice, so they can be improved through exercise, such as:

• regularly trying out balance beams, swings, and climbing frames while playing in the garden and parks
• walking on a variety of surfaces such as gravel, sand, pebbles or wood chip
• playing hopscotch or stepping stones
• learning to ride a bike or scooter
• holding certain positions while playing aeroplanes (lying on their tummy with their head and arms lifted) or bridging (making a bridge by lying on their back and lifting their bottom up off the floor so a ball or toy car can be rolled under)
• animal walks, such dog, bear, or crab
• using space hoppers or gym balls, or tummy skateboarding (lying on a skateboard and propelling themselves around with their hands)
• taking part in sports, such as swimming, trampolining, ballet, gymnastics, and martial arts
• drawing on an upright surface

If your child is struggling to develop postural control and balance, speak to your health visitor or GP. Children’s rate of development can vary widely, so there might not be a diagnosable problem, but they may still benefit from support.

If they are experiencing problems with postural control and balance after the age of five, they could be assessed for developmental co-ordination disorder (dyspraxia).

• Read more about developmental co-ordination disorder