Balance is an essential foundational skill, and there are many fun activities that can assist our kids or students in developing it. No matter the time of day, a strong sense of balance will help kids thrive in all sorts of environments.
The activities mentioned in this article will help your students establish a strong sense of balance while having a great time.
What is Balance?
Balance is the ability to adjust and control our body movement to maintain the center of gravity.
We use this important skill in everyday activities such as sitting and walking.
There are two types of balance:
- Static balance: the ability to maintain an upright position when the base of support and the ground remains motionless. For example, standing up or standing on one leg.
- Dynamic balance: the ability to maintain balance when the base of support and/or the ground move and the center of mass shifts. For example, maintaining balance while walking or hopping.
By 18 to 24 months, kids achieve a major developmental milestone, and their balance skills allow them to crawl, walk and run. But, balance development continues until late adolescence once their postural control system reaches maturation.
There are several systems and factors that affect balance:
Our body’s sensory systems:
- Vestibular system (the sense of position and movement of our head in space, which allows coordination of eye movements, posture, and equilibrium)
- Proprioceptive system (the sense of self-movement and body position)
- Visual system (the sense that receives and integrates visual information)
We receive information from our eyes (visual system), our body (proprioceptive system), and the balance organs in our ears (vestibular system)
Our brain stem makes sense of all that information and sends messages to the different parts of our body that will control our balance (motor).
Factors external to our body’s sensory systems also influence our balance:
- Support base
- Center of gravity
- Personal factors (e.g., age, height, muscle strength)
Balance skills provide a foundation for other motor abilities. As such, good balance skills will influence:
- everyday life activities (e.g., bike riding, playing, self-feeding)
- sports performance
And there is also research that links balance and spatial and proportional reasoning skills
Addressing Your Child’s Balance Issues
In today’s article, we will share many examples of fun static and dynamic balance activities for kids. But first, let’s emphasize that if you are concerned about your child’s balance issues, it is crucial to consult with the appropriate health professionals to diagnose and treat the underlying causes accurately. Please remember that while these activities are beneficial, they are not a substitute for professional medical treatment.
- Pediatricians or General Practitioners can provide initial assessments and guide referrals.
- Some of the specialists they may recommend include:
- Pediatric neurologists may assess if the nervous system plays a role in their balance issues.
- ENT specialists may focus on conditions related to the ear, nose, and throat, including those affecting the inner ear.
- Audiologists may evaluate and manage hearing and inner ear problems.
- Physical therapists may help enhance balance through targeted exercises.
- Occupational therapists will help improve the skills necessary for daily activities.
- Osteopaths use manual therapy to correct structural and mechanical imbalances.
Consulting the right combination of these experts ensures a comprehensive approach to treating balance issues in children.
For instance, during my research on this topic, Dr. Melanie Young, Registered Osteopath, explained how balance problems may improve by addressing the issues affecting child coordination. This treatment may include working on the temporal bones, which contain the semicircular canals essential for balance, improving the alignment of the feet, knees, and hips to enhance postural stability, and improving joint position awareness through gentle adjustments and targeted exercises.
What Are Balance Activities?
Balance activities are games and exercises that engage our balance skills, improving our body equilibrium, increasing coordination, and strengthening muscles.
Balance activities can be incorporated into almost any area of your life. They are games that can be a fun way to intentionally develop your child’s balance in all areas – from static balance to physical balance.
Some activities on this list are balance games that take planning, while others can be easily incorporated into everyday activities. Either way, they are valuable tools to help your students practice balance skills throughout their day.
Benefits of Balance Activities for Kids
There are many benefits to engaging in balance activities, including:
- Motor skills improvement
- Posture improvement
- Muscles strengthening
- Sports performance improvement
- Injuries and accident reduction
- Enabling participation in group activities (e.g., games, academic activities)
Helping your children develop a strong balancing act will benefit them in many areas of life.
Balance is an essential skill for human movement. Your child’s static and dynamic balance skills will help them in many everyday life activities, from sitting at their desk in the classroom to being able to kick a ball at recess.
Balance helps prevent people from getting hurt, even young children. If they trip on a curb, proper balance will help their feet catch their bodies before they fall completely.
In addition, proper balance is a sign of strong postural responses, which helps reduce the risk of early joint pain or inability to grow properly (source).
Children with poor balance may:
- Trip or fall easily.
- Present less developed motor skills than their peers.
- Avoid physical activity
- Feel “clumsy”
So, what are some effective ways to improve balance? Let’s explore our list of balance for kids.
Best Balance Activities for Kids
Let’s explore examples of balance activities for kids so that we can help them work on their balance skills while they have fun.
Dynamic Balance Activities: Gross Motor Activities for Physical Balance
Gross motor skills are essential for body awareness. Here are a few creative ways to help incorporate balance practice through fun games and everyday activities.
1.Build an obstacle course.
This is a fun way to help develop your child’s balance.
2. Play ‘The Floor is Lava’
In this popular game, kids have to avoid touching the floor at all costs, so they may end up using furniture, cushions (or whatever they can think of). If they are outdoors, swings or monkey bars are an option.
3. Walk the line
Use sidewalk chalk (or painter’s tape if indoors) on the ground to have them walk in a straight line on a pretend balance beam. Do this until they are ready to try a real balance beam at your local gym or use a pool noodle in your living room.
4. Balance challenge
Ask your student to walk in a straight line taking mini steps (one foot’s ankle just ahead of the other foot’s toes). Can you do this while looking to one side only? Now the other side. Can you do this with your eyes closed (it is difficult because you are losing one of your balance systems!)
Can you go backward?
5. Balance Board Challenge
Time how long they can stand on a balance board or a Bosu ball (this is a type of therapy ball). Adjust the body position to help create a strong base of support
6. Go on a walk with uneven terrain.
Walking on uneven surfaces like sand at the beach, dirt on a hike, or even gravel in your driveways can help improve all types of balance.
7. Tightrope walking or slack-lining.
This activity is a little more advanced, but it is so much fun and helps develop core strength – making it one of the best balance exercises for kids.
8. Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a popular playground. A pattern of rectangles or squares are drawn on the ground. The player tosses a small object like a flat stone and hops through the squares to retrieve the object
9. Balance the book
Can you balance a book on your head? Ask your kid to place a book on top of their head and have them walk across the room without it falling off.
10. Try different tricks on the trampoline
- Single leg jumps
- Bounce on your back, then stand up again
- Star jumps
11. Take a gymnastics class.
12. Freeze tag.
In this version of tag, there is one person that freezes while the other one thaws. The goal is for the freezer to freeze everyone before the thawer can get to them.
13. Ride a skateboard or scooter.
14. Go on a bike ride.
15. Walk on a log or a curb.
16. Jump the stream
This is a game that is perfect for establishing balance and perfecting movement.
Start with two pieces of painter’s tape on the ground about 6 inches apart and have your students jump from one side of the ‘stream’ to the other.
Next, make the stream wider by moving the tape farther apart by a foot. If they can’t make the jump, then they are out.
For each round, move the tape farther apart to see how well they jump and land.
To increase difficulty, have the students attempt different jumps. For example, have them jump with a ball in their hands or on one foot.
17. One-leg hopping contest
18. Animal Game
In a large field or gymnasium, line up your kids on one side of the room.
Next, shout out different animals that move differently and have them get from one side of the room to the other. Some animals that they could become are:
- Lion
- Flamingo
- Snake
- Elephant
- Meerkat
19. Swap your child’s chair for an exercise ball
Yes! Balance balls can be used as chairs.
Balance ball chairs may help stay more focused, promotes healthy posture, and keep the body engaged.
Related reading: Alternative seating ideas for the classroom / ADHD Chairs
20. Egg races
In teams of two, one person is blindfolded and must get from point A to point B by holding an egg on a spoon.
They get there by following the voice directions of their teammate. The first person to get to the finish line without dropping their egg wins.
21. Try juggling.
This activity requires not only balance skills but also good hand-eye coordination.
Toss a tennis ball and grab it with the opposite hand. Once you feel comfortable, go for an added challenge with an extra ball.
22. Play Catch (another good one for hand-eye coordination too)
Throw a ball (or flying disc) back and forth between players.
Static Balance Activities for Kids
In static balance, the body remains in a stationary position.
A great way to tell if your child has good balance is if they can stand on a flat surface and stay upright.
Here are a few fun activities that can help kids of all ages develop balance.
23. Stand on a step stool to have them help with the baking. Different heights can challenge balance.
24. Stand still
Places pieces of tape all over your living room or classroom. Whenever you say ‘go!’, kids must run from one piece to another. The challenge is the time between when they have to stand still on the tape before running again.
25. Play Simon Says.
Choose movement activities that will challenge your kids balance and coordination skills.
For example, “Simon says stand on one leg” (for single leg balance), or “Simon says squat down”
26. Practice Yoga Poses!
Yoga poses are a fun activity to test your child’s ability to balance. Each pose changes the center of gravity, and your child news to find a new even distribution of weight to keep their balance.
We love these cute yoga cards with animal poses.
27. Stand on one leg, and close your eyes (you need to do this next to a wall so that kids can hold on to something if they are about to lose balance). You can do this progressively: “Stand on one leg. Close one of your eyes. Now try to close both eyes!”
Variation: you can test your balance in many different positions. For example, kneel on all fours and then lift one hand, or one hand and one knee.
28. Stand up in the following position: of foot in line, toes of one foot touching the heel of the other. Hold that position for 30 seconds. Add difficulty closing one eye and then both.
29. Play Musical Statues / Freeze Dance
You can play this game with the whole class. Play music and when the music stops, you freeze. When the music is on, you dance.
30. Red Light, Green Light
This classic game is similar to the previous one.
When your child hears the words “Green light” they can move forward (dynamic balance), but when they hear “Red light” they must freeze (static balance).
31. Play Twister
Twister challenges you to control your balance while placing hands and feet at different places on a mat with colored circles.
32. Stand up!
In this game, the goal is to stand in different ways for the longest without falling. This can be as simple as standing on one leg, kneeling on one knee, or a handstand! This can challenge your student in a fun way.
33. Ball Balance
See how long your student or child can stand with one foot on the ground with the other on a ball. After a few minutes, switch the ball to the other foot.
Other Motor Skills Activities
- 75 Fun Fine Motor Skills Activities for Kids (Free PDF Activity Included)
- Indoor Exercises for Kids: 15 Fun Ways To Keep Kids Active Indoors
