Centre Your Child for SUCCESS! Crossing the Midline.

Sensory Motor Skills are developed during the sensory motor phase of development. Of course other skills develop at the same time. However, in the young child these skills develop fast and then form the foundation of other skills. 

These additional skills are needed for learning and to excel in tasks in school, on the sport field and during age appropriate play.  Centering, or crossing the midline, is an important fundamental development milestone for children.

The Sensory Motor Phase of Development

The following is a summary of the skills that lie within the Sensory Motor phase of development:

• Body In Space
• Crossing the Midline of the Body
• Balance
• Directionality
• Centering
• Brain Bridging

You may have heard the first four skills frequently mentioned by therapists and teachers. Centering is an unfamiliar term that we’d like to tell you about in detail today.

Crossing the Midline – Centering

Centering is the ability to cross the midline of the body top to bottom.

As we connect our bodies from left to right (as in Crossing the Midline), and top to bottom; the two sides of our brain need to communicate and develop efficient pathways for neural messages to flow smoothly.

Moving across the midline of the body from top to bottom with ease is a skill that ensures our bodies and brains stay connected. Without efficient pathways from our body to the brain, and back to the body our responses in the form of movement, language and behaviour cannot occur properly.

If messages from our environment are received by the brain incorrectly and the messages from the brain to the body are sent incorrectly, a person or child cannot effectively and efficiently move, talk or learn.

Centering is the pre-cursor to successful brain bridging. Furthermore, centering activates core muscles. In addition, centering activates our balance mechanisms through the vestibular system. Centering gives us the strong fundamental ability to move and learn.

Difficulties if Centering is Not Developed

To put it simply, when centering is not developed, a child will walk completely disconnected. It will be as though the legs are working separately to the rest of the body.

Participating in daily activities like dressing, where co-ordination is required, is a struggle. Keeping up on the playground is a battle. This is because they can’t keep up with their friends, or kick and catch the ball. Children find it uncomfortable to move fluidly in the space around them.

Organisation is often a problem for children who are not centered. Messy desks or rooms, overfull (or empty) school bags and scruffy appearance are likely due to problems with being centered.

CoordiChild moves through all the Sensory Motor Phases of Development so can assist families and children to develop the skills they need to be successfully centred in their world.

Being centred allows us to focus, attend, create and ignite our potential. Help your child light that flame. CoordiChild is a dedicated program to work with you and your child to pull together and work from the core out to develop a balance, awareness and confidence.