Swings
Lyn likes to swing. If there is a playground with a swing set, she's been known to spend hours just swinging.
When she was a toddler, our parents had a swing chair in the house. It was the early 1970's, after all. Lyn would sit in the chair. Instead of swinging to and fro, she preferred to be spun in a circle. Our father would twist up the chair and let it go. She loved it! They would do this over and over. No matter how much they spun her around, she didn't get dizzy. You could spin her several times, take her out of the chair and she could walk straight ahead without falling or careening.
She also loved being held upside down by her ankles. Our father would do that for her as well. Being upside down for extended periods did not make her dizzy either.
When she started pre-school, the staff there commended our parents for these activities saying that they helped push blood into her brain.
She will still swing today though it might take a little encouragement.
When she was a toddler, our parents had a swing chair in the house. It was the early 1970's, after all. Lyn would sit in the chair. Instead of swinging to and fro, she preferred to be spun in a circle. Our father would twist up the chair and let it go. She loved it! They would do this over and over. No matter how much they spun her around, she didn't get dizzy. You could spin her several times, take her out of the chair and she could walk straight ahead without falling or careening.
She also loved being held upside down by her ankles. Our father would do that for her as well. Being upside down for extended periods did not make her dizzy either.
When she started pre-school, the staff there commended our parents for these activities saying that they helped push blood into her brain.
She will still swing today though it might take a little encouragement.
Swinging is also an activity to which people with Sensory Integration Disorder are drawn. There is something about the swinging motion that helps to regulate the SID. When I was a kid, I remember spending every recess in 4th and 5th grade on the swings, and it wasn't until I did some research on SID when M was little that I realized I was probably self-regulating without ever knowing it. I wonder if Lyn experiences the same effect?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting question, mama lemma. Thank you for the thought provoking comment. I never thought about swinging as a self-regulatory activity, but I see what you're saying. I will have to give this more thought.
ReplyDeleteWe had been told that swinging, either on a regular swing, or hammock swing etc, was good for blood stimulation to the brain. Interesting thought.
ReplyDeletemom