Sitting on a ball or ball cushion
Either your child or you is sitting on a Skippy ball or a therapeutic ball, while your feet should find sufficient support on the floor. Make especially sure that the ball is not too large, so that not only the toes but the entire foot can touch the ground. It is also important that the knees are not clutched together, but are kept apart, approximately the width of the shoulders. The feet are straight beneath the knees. When using a Skippy ball the grip should be directed towards the floor, so that your child has to sit on the ball without holding the grip with his hands.
You can test if your child is sitting firmly by pushing against the ball, not against your child. If your child is sitting firmly, you feel resistance and the ball does not move. Do not push too hard at first. If your child succeeds in remaining seated on the ball you can push a bit harder, so that your child is challenged to sit on the ball even more firmly.
Sitting on the ball can be used for all kinds of activities, such as touching your child with cuddly toys, watching television, moving to music, drinking through a straw and blowing bubbles.
When doing activities at the table, for example at school or when he is having a meal, your child can also use a “ball cushion” instead of a ball.
When using this kind of flat cushions filled with air it is important that your child is able to keep his feet firmly on the ground or footboard for support. By sitting on a ball or cushion he is more or less forced to put pressure on the ball or cushion with his behind, to prevent him from wobbling too much. As a result he is more firmly seated.
Furthermore it gives the child the opportunity to move a little while remaining seated.
Being seated more firmly as well as being able to move a little enables some children to pay more attention.
Information about Balls and Ball Cushions.
Els Rengenhart © 2009