Today I read an article by The Military Wife And Mom about why kids don’t listen. The article reminded me of my training in Theraplay. Kids desperately need to move, take risks, hang upside down, swing, be creative with their bodies in order to grow up healthy listeners, thinkers and learners. The article stated, “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (2013), a recent study showed that the average child spends eight hours a day in front of screens…That’s a huge amount of time spent in front of screens, which provide little to no proprioceptive or vestibular input…In order for kids to listen, focus and learn to sit still for a period of time, they must develop both proprioception and vestibular sense. The most critical time to develop a child’s proprioception and vestibular sense is before age six.” Many schools in Denmark and Sweden are engaging their young students in mostly play time activities in the early years of education. When I learned Theraplay a few years ago, the same research was quoted. Children must move in order to be healthy in mind, body, heart and soul, and preferably outdoors.
