Why Children Should Work on Vertical Surfaces

Did you know there are many benefits to children working on Vertical Surfaces?

It's well known that "Tummy Time" is an important activity for babies. Helping to develop strong neck and shoulder muscles, it is the first step towards emerging motor skills. What might be less known or at least less discussed is that gross and fine motor skills mastery continues beyond babyhood with correct posture and movement patterns being the foundation.

As adults, we know that too much sitting is bad for our health. The same is true for children but for reasons that go beyond well known risks of a sedentary lifestyle. When children spend too much time sitting or working on table-top surfaces, they may not be getting the full input they need for gross and fine motor development. We go into more detail on this topic in our blog; 6 Compelling Reasons to Introduce Vertical Play in Early Childhood.

 

Key Benefits for Working on Vertical Surfaces;

1. Providing opportunity for an upright posture

When children are given the opportunity to work on vertical surfaces, they are more likely to hold correct posture. Whether kneeling or standing, the body is driven to turn on core muscles to maintain the upright position. Overtime, this leads to core strength development.

2. Bigger range of motion

Having a larger space encourages a larger range of motion being used during activities. This will help to contribute to shoulder strength and also wrist strength.

3. Crossing the body's midline

Like with symmetrical crawling, using both sides of the body and crossing the midline strengthens the communication between the left and right hemisphere of the brain. This all helps to promote coordination and stability. All of this communication contributes across broad gross and fine motor development such as;

✦ Tying shoelaces where 2 hands work together
✦ Tracking words across a page during reading
✦ Skipping rope

In addition to many developmental benefits to using a vertical space for play, it can open another world of possibility when it comes to play.

✦ Small homes can expand the play area available to children by utilizing wall space
✦ Activities can be left up without being a trip hazard
✦ Party invitations and artwork can be displayed
✦ Use of visual scheduling prompts can be readily available

We believe that every home should work to invest in a vertical play space. Our Magnetic Whiteboards are the perfect vertical play space option to consider. Providing a beautiful aesthetic option with optimal magnetic receptiveness, Maynetic boards work perfectly in any home.
We would love to hear how you are using vertical play spaces. Let us know in the "contact us" section of this site or through socials @world_of_maynetic