Nursery Equipment: Vestibular System - In the swing

Children enjoy the sensation of being on the edge. They spin around poles; they walk along narrow curb stones; they look for things to jump on, hang off or roll around on. And they often seek opportunities to accentuate these feelings by, for example, tipping and falling off walls or milk crates rather than jumping off.

All of these natural activities that a child's body is biologically programmed to do are stimulating the vestibular system and, in turn, stimulating the brain for new learning. Early years settings should provide opportunities to help children develop and master this system, which is vital for later functions such as reading, writing and being able to sit still.

The vestibular system helps us to maintain balance and allows us to control our body in relation to gravity and movement. It is the first of the sensory systems to mature and is in place at eight weeks after conception. It needs to be trained through movement and the more opportunities a child gets to use it the better, because many other sensory systems, such as vision, hearing, and proprioception function in co-operation with it.

Sally Goddard Blythe MSc, director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology, says that the balance mechanism responds to 'remarkably slow movements' but to different 'planes' of movement.

She says, 'It responds to rotation around a vertical axis, such as spinning, being on a carousel, or a turning movement of the body; or to forwards and backwards movements like a swing or a see-saw; it involves the left and right tilt plane such as wobble boards that go from side to side; and it responds to up-and-down movements like trampolines.'

PLANNING

Children will automatically train their vestibular systems by changing position and moving into different planes, but settings need to ensure they give children the time, space and opportunity to move freely.

Babies, for example, need lots of opportunities for floor play so they can move in a horizontal position - on the tummy or back - or in a sitting and standing position. Older children benefit from equipment like swings, spinning disks, balance boards and areas dedicated to movement play with select props (see case study).

A child who has a good vestibular system feels comfortable in space, in gravity and in their body so they are likely to be emotionally balanced. But a child with a condition such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is likely to have an underdeveloped vestibular system.

ACTIVITIES

• Turning, spinning, rolling, swinging, rocking, tilting, falling, jumping, bouncing, sliding and moving fast all help stimulate the vestibular system.

• Slow movements such as gentle rocking are also important (see case study).

• Being able to move freely and push, pull, stop and start, as you would when doing the actions to accompany nursery rhymes, is also great for vestibular stimulation (see below).

RESOURCES

Almost any physical activity that children like to do - from hanging off the back of the trolley at the supermarket to jumping on the sofa - is feeding their vestibular systems and helps them with their relationship with gravity. Up to the age of seven, the earliest age that the vestibular system can mature, children crave rapid stimulation to the three planes of movement that are situated in the inner ear and control balance.

Here are some ideas for resources that work on the specific motions needed for vestibular stimulation:

Spinning and turning

• Children love to twirl and spin. Indoors, offer props like scarves or superhero capes that children can attach to their bodies as they spin around. Or let them use ribbon sticks as they make twirling movements with their hands. A set of six Dancing Ribbons, with strands of colourful ribbon and a strong hand strap made from woven nylon is available from Reflections on Learning (£12.99).

• For indoor or outdoor use, try the Spinner (£70 from Jabadao), a sturdy plastic cone that a child can sit in, then tip and tilt until it makes a full revolution. Or, for younger children, there is the Large Bilibo (£18.30) or the Mini Bilibo (£6.10) from Wesco, that children can sit in and turn, sway or spin. For a similar piece of equipment that includes handles, Spacekraft sells the Rotation Board (from £37.80). Alternatively, the Ikea PS Lomsk Spinning Armchair (£45.99) has a hood that can be pulled down to make a secret hiding place.

• Try the Bumparound (£55.95) from Galt Educational, a manoeuvrable form of transport with four castors that spins, rocks and rides.

• If you are contemplating redoing your outdoor area, the Whirligig from Playgardens is a micro roundabout suitable for young children.

Forward and backwards

• Swinging is an important vestibular activity children crave. Look for ways to offer it indoors and outdoors and try to offer it as group activity to save space. Try the Sensory Swing from Playgarden (£495.99) a circular swing with three suspension chains that hangs from a tree or from a hook indoors. Designed and hand made in Denmark, the stainless steel swivel coupling allows the swing to also have a carousel effect without tangling the ropes. Indoors, try the Ekorre Hanging Seat (£23.99 from Ikea).

• See-saws don't have to be permanent fixtures in the playground. The Large See-Saw, from Spacekraft (£235) is a flat-top wooden see-saw big enough for several children to stand or sit on. Or try the Combi Rocker (£225) excluding seats, from Special Needs Toys (see also page 26).

• Old-fashioned rocking horses are ideal for gently stimulating the vestibular system, but in the absence of one of these at your setting, try 'Rody' the Pony with Rocker (£36.60), an inflatable rocking horse from Wesco.

• Rockers are an ideal starting point for developing balance and co-ordination. The Rocker Disk (from £27.40) available from Wesco, is a wooden platform that a child can stand on and move backwards and forwards.

Up and down movements

Trampolines and bouncy castles are ideal for satisfying children's desire to jump up and down. But in a nursery setting, where safety is paramount, think about trying these alternatives.

• The Mini-Trampoline (£131) from Wesco has two handles and a safety strip.

• The Twister See-Saw (£89.95) from Hope Education goes up and down, but also round and round.

• Gym balls are ideal for children to sit on and bounce on, hurl themselves off or lie and rock on. Giant Balls (from £13.10) which can be fully or semi inflated, are available from Wesco, or try one of the three sizes of Body Balls (from £20) by Jabadao.

Tilting movements

This plane of movement, from left to right, is the least stimulated in everyday life. It involves movements such as standing on a wobble board that goes side to side or being on a boat on a windy day. Sudden motions like this can cause some people to experience sea sickness.

• Another resource for young children who are not yet confident to stand up on a board, is the Wooden Rocker from Metalliform (£68), which they can sit in and rock from side to side. Older children can stand on the Two-Way Balance Base (£29.99 from Reflections on Learning) and experience tilting with two levels of difficulty.

CLOSE CONTACT

Ultimately, the child's body is all that is needed for vestibular stimulation but, as more babies spend hours a day in static equipment like car seats or baby bouncers, they are missing out on opportunities to crawl, a phase of movement vital for later years.

Anna Daly, who specialises in movement play for early years and families, says the best piece of equipment is the practitioner's body. 'Being in contact with the child offers them close support while gently stimulating the vestibular system. For example, holding them and swaying them from side to side; spinning them around in your arms; giving them a horsey ride or a piggy back; or sitting on the floor and doing simple seesaw moves.'

Sally Goddard Blythe advises practitioners to sing nursery rhymes like 'Here we go round the mulberry bush' or 'Ring a ring of roses', and to include all the actions. She says, 'This will teach body vocabulary and vestibular training together, which is how normal development and natural development should be.'

CASE STUDY

A group of movement play specialists are working with a small group of children at a children's centre. A movement area has been set up with black jigsaw mats, and a few select props, including semi-inflated large body balls, elastic rings, ribbon sticks, body-roll cushions, a box of feathers, some beautiful gold fabric and a length of Lycra.

The specialists, without speaking, are entering into a movement conversation with the children. They start by waiting to see how each child wants to be in their body, then they mirror the children's actions. Quickly the play becomes interactive and within minutes the children are dipping into the resources, playing pulling games with elastic rings, rolling with the fabric, hurling themselves on and off the body balls while the adult catches them or rolling on the body rolls.

One little girl gravitates towards the soft-body ball and melts into it on her tummy. The adult, seeing she needs to relax, gently rocks the ball beneath her body. After 45 minutes of gentle vestibular stimulation, in which she is tipping on and off balance, the child, who is Bangladeshi and has never spoken a word at nursery, feels confident enough to turn onto her back on the ball with her tummy exposed, at which point she starts to sing - in English. The nursery practitioners are amazed: they didn't know she could speak any English.

Penny Greenland, director of Jabadao, the charity that runs these Follow My Leader sessions across the country, says, 'A lot of children use the time with us to be in their body and settle. The vestibular sense is to do with equilibrium in the world and if we don't have equilibrium we don't have balance - emotionally or physically. So this girl found an equilibrium that allowed her to let the words out.'

The resources highlighted above can be purchased through the charity's online shop at: www.jabadao.org

MORE INFORMATION

Carla Hannaford Smart Moves: Why learning is not all in your head (Great Ocean Publishers)

SUPPLIERS

• www.galt-educational.co.uk

• www.ikea.com

• www.jabadao.org

• www.metalliform.co.uk

• www.playgardens.co.uk

• www.spacekraft.co.uk

• www.specialneeds toys.com

• www.reflectionson learning.co.uk

• www.wesco-eshop.co.uk

• www.hope-education.co.uk