The Road to Writing and Moving in Early and Middle Childhood

Original Editor - Jess Bell based on the course by Tracy Prowse
Top Contributors - Jess Bell, Naomi O'Reilly, Kim Jackson, Tarina van der Stockt, Wanda van Niekerk and Cindy John-Chu

This article or area is currently under construction and may only be partially complete. Please come back soon to see the finished work! (4/08/2021)

Introduction

Postural control begins in the brain and ends in the hand or foot. Typically, by the age of 7 years, postural control should be consolidated and automatic and children will be “writing ready” and “sport ready”. However, some children may not develop this postural control for a number of reasons, including:

• They may be too floppy or bendy - i.e. they have low connective tissue tone with underlying weaknesses, even if they are sporty. This may be caused by conditions such as:
  • Benign joint hypermobility syndrome
  • Marfan syndrome
  • Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
  • The Beighton Scale is used to measure hypermobility
• Lack of practice, which leads to muscle weakness
• An inability to concentrate on one specific activity
• A child’s temperament
  • Too shy
  • Too nervous
  • Gives up easily
• Children who have different brain development, which affects their ability to learn from everyday experiences - i.e. children who do not learn by “doing”

Learning Through Play

Figure 1. Learning through play.

As is shown in Figure 1, children typically experience by “doing” things. The more “doing”, the more learning. The more “doing”, the stronger their muscles get. Strong muscles and exercise are good for writing, reading, concentrating and exercising. Exercise is also good for happiness, health, friendships.