The following activities aim to help your child improve their balance, stability and co-ordination.

Standing with one leg on a box

• Practice standing with one leg on a box either in front of you or to the side, whilst holding on with two hands
• Develop this by holding on with one hand and doing activities with the other, encouraging reaching forwards and sideways for objects
• When able, gradually decrease the support and progress the exercise by performing activities with your hands, for example throwing, balloon tapping or writing on a board.

Standing with one leg on a ball

• This is a progression from standing with one leg on a box
• Practice standing with one leg on a ball. You can hold on to start with
• Develop this by holding on with one hand and doing activities with the other, encouraging reaching forwards and sideways for objects
• When able, gradually decrease the support and progress the exercise by performing activities with your hands, for example throwing, balloon tapping or writing on a board.

Standing on one leg whilst kicking

• Practice kicking a football at a target
• Practice kicking over skittles one at a time with your foot.

Stepping up and over

• Practice stepping over objects such as small hurdles and obstacles.

Uneven surfaces

• Practice walking across uneven surfaces such as sand, pebbles and grassy banks
• See if you can balance on one leg whilst standing in sand or standing on a cushion.

Walking backwards

• Try to walk backwards, striking the ground with your heel with each step
• This can be progressed by trying to do this on a straight line and also shortening your stride length until you are walking heel to toe.

Walking along a straight line

• Try to walk along a straight line, striking the ground with your heel first and pushing off with your toes
• If this is easy, walk heel to toe so there are no gaps between your steps.

Crab football

• Keep your hands and feet on the floor
• Raise your bottom so you make a straight line between your knees and shoulders
• Progress this by trying to move around the room whilst maintaining this position, for example crab football.

Step ups

• Step on and off a box or bottom stair
• Aim to complete 15 repetitions on each side, then swap to the other side
• This will help improve the strength around your knees.

Co-ordination activities

Encourage your child to practise activities such as star jumps and spotty dogs to support the development of co-ordination.

Spotty dogs

• Jump one foot out and raise the opposite arm at the same time
• Then jump the other leg out and raise the opposite arm
• To start with, you may need to practise just walking through this step by step without jumping.

If any activities or recommendations within this programme cause undue pain or discomfort, please stop and contact the relevant therapist immediately.