Strength
Strength, the physical energy to move body parts and objects with force, is a key ingredient to interact with our environment. You can build strength in many ways to help you participate in daily activities longer and more successfully. All people should increase the time spent every day engaged in movement-based activity. Adults can build strength by spending more time walking, climbing stairs, and working on the chores of everyday life like cleaning, or gardening. You will find suggestions below for building children’s strength through unstructured and structured physical play in physically demanding postures. You do not have to be done for extended periods. Participation could be for 30 seconds or 5 minutes. The key is to make the activity challenging without the task being frustrating. A little physical or verbal encouragement always helps!
Examples of unstructured physical play include:
- Using equipment on a playground (climbing, pulling, jumping, etc.)
- Running games (Tag, Manhunt, Freedom, etc.)
- Catching, kicking, and throwing with a peer/adult
Examples of Structured physical play include:
- Soccer
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Karate
- Gymnastics
- Dance
Examples of physically demanding postures:
- Play while in the prone position. It does not matter the activity as long as they are on their belly.
- Sitting on a large ball and/or stool.
