Now that Mara is walking (hmmm…pretty much running), I get tons of questions on Instagram about tips to get your child walking, even more so if the mom asking the question has a child who has Down syndrome. Often times, these moms are thinking proactively and addressing this concern as early as 7 or 8 months of age.
Do you know what is the problem with that? That by focusing on walking, it is ignoring the many critical steps that need to take place for adequate development for your baby. Once your baby’s neck is strong, you need to focus on core strength and for more reasons than one.
The video below shows my absolute favorite core exercise that we used with Mara. It is called brachiation preparation. (Brachiation is, basically, using monkey bars.) We started brachiation preparation when Mara was about 5-months-old. Why is brachiation important? Brachiation is important because it helps the child to create a bigger, better chest. As a result, the baby breathes more deeply, regularly and maturely.
Mature breathing gives the baby greater resistance to upper respiratory infection. That resistance, in turn, makes the baby healthier and improves overall fitness. Mature breathing helps with speaking, as the lungs and breathing play key roles in our speaking ability. Brachiation also encourages both development of visual convergence and fine manual coordination, which will help with writing skills in the future.
As always, consult your pediatrician before starting any physical activity with your baby.
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