Discover

Be coordinated provides experiences to support children's coordination, movement and balance. It is beneficial for children to take part in a range of experiences that promote coordination and crossing their midline.

Crossing the body’s midline (an imaginary line down the centre of the body) is the movements of the arms and legs as they cross over from one side of the body to the other, also known as cross lateral movements. This is an important developmental skill needed for everyday tasks later in life, such as writing, using a bat and ball and reaching towards your foot to put on socks and shoes.

Below you will find a selection of experiences suitable for children aged 0-2.

Scooping

Support your baby with crossing their midline as they complete this scooping experience.

Safety first

Ensure your baby is supervised during this experience and ensure items used do not pose a choking hazard.

What to do

Place the items being used for scooping within the tray. Invite your baby to sit on the floor or at a table. Place the tray of items to one side of them with the bucket placed to the other side of them.

Take the tablespoon and role model to your baby how you can use this to scoop up some of the items within the tray and then transfer these to the bucket.

Encourage your baby to then have a turn.

More Information

Your baby is crossing their midline during this experience as they move their arms from one side of their body to the other. This requires and supports many skills, such as body awareness, hand-eye coordination, muscular strength and balance.

Cup stack

Support your baby with their coordination as they take part in this midline play experience.

Safety first

If using plastic cups, check these are clean and safe before use.

What to do

Sitting on the floor with your baby, role model how to stack the cups on top of each other to make a small tower. Complete this by taking a cup and holding this out in front of you, as you then place this upside on the floor. Take another cup and hold this out in front of you as you turn the cup upside and place it on top of the first cup.

Invite your baby to then copy your actions as they have a turn, ensuring they make their tower out in front of them.

More Information

As your baby stacks the cups out in front of them, this is known as two-handed and midline play. This promotes their coordination as they use their arms in unison.

Musical drums

Support your baby with two-handed play as they coordinate their arm movements in this musical experience.

Safety first

Supervise your baby as they take part in this experience, ensuring all items used are safe for your baby to explore.

What to do

Sit your baby on the floor and place the items collected together around your baby, for example have some items in front of them and some to the side of them. Role model to your baby how you can use your hands to tap the drum instruments.

Invite your baby to copy your actions, seeing if they can use both hands to tap the drums. Encourage them to try the instruments in front of them as well as to the side of them. You could also sing a sing as you and your baby tap on the drums.

More Information

By encouraging your baby to move their arms to reach the drum instruments by their sides, this helps to develop your baby's cross lateral movements, which are movements of the arms and legs as they cross over from one side of the body to the other.