The question, "Should my child continue with Catrobatkidz next year?" is one we hear frequently, and it's a valid one for any parent considering their child's development. The brief answer is an emphatic "Yes!" However, the reasons behind this recommendation are multi-faceted and deserve a more detailed exploration. Children are not static; they are dynamic beings constantly evolving and growing. Their physical capabilities, cognitive understanding, and social-emotional skills all develop in a series of stages. Therefore, during these formative years, it's essential to provide children with a consistent stream of enriching, age-appropriate learning experiences and challenges that match their increasing abilities.

Remember, W-sitting can be one simple sign that the child may have a retained primitive reflex, which is neurological. Sometimes, the insufficient trunk strength is a result of a retained primitive reflex called the Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR). This reflex impacts actions, which makes changing a muscle habit difficult.

Children learn through interactions with their environment. W-sitting inhibits much of that exploration, discouraging integration of balance reactions, sensory input and muscle activation. It is very important that a child gains strength and control in their abdomen and back. This allows for greater capacity to run, jump and move with coordinated control, which helps with visual planning, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

What do brushing your teeth, shaking someone’s hand, and reading this article have in common? A skill called “crossing the midline”. Around 3 months, babies can cross the midline with their eyes as they visually track an object moved in an arc in front of them. By 6 months they begin reaching across the body with one hand, and around 8 months they cross the midline with both hands by transferring objects from one hand to the other. By age 4, children should generally cross the midline with ease. Crossing the midline is very important to a child’s learning development. It’s an essential key element to helping children flourish and learn in the classroom as they get older. Our ability to reach over our midline with our arms and legs to perform tasks on the opposite side of our body plays a huge role in our day-to-day functioning.

Parents play a big part in shaping children’s eating habits. In a fast paced world where most parents have to juggle their time between work, play and home and are faced with all the latest food fads, it is no surprise that some parents may need some help understanding what healthy food for their little ones is. Getting children to eat what’s best for them can be a challenge, and giving in to their pestering for less-than-nutritious food can make it awfully confusing. Remember you are the parent and you do the shopping. So, how do you strike the right balance between food that is good for them, and food that they enjoy? You’ll find the answer here…

Anyone who’s ever seen a child jumping knows what the face of true joy looks like. Children are typically ready for jumping between 16-18 months and will begin by jumping in place. Jumping is one of the simplest, cost-effective workouts that combine fun and fitness together, providing physical, health and educational benefits to children, young or old. Best of all is that jumping is enjoyable and can be done any time of the day, anywhere.

Ball skills are an important activity for all children to practice consistently. It is not just an activity for boys only, or for the athletic child. No matter the child’s interests or abilities ball skills will benefit all children in developing bilateral skills, eye-hand / eye-foot coordination, timing, sequencing and motor planning, plus it is a great way to spend quality time together and build relationships.

It doesn’t matter if your child is an athlete or an artist, core strength is important no matter who you are or what you’re doing. All children need core stability in order to be functional in daily school and home tasks. You need a strong core to do everything from playing games with your buddies to participating in sports…. and for controlling your paint brush in art class!

What on earth is a growth mindset and how can it turn your child into a regular Super-boy or Super-girl? Of course, you want your children to be happy and achieve their dreams! Developing a growth mindset early on has been strongly linked to greater success in life. When children know their brains are capable of growing, they feel empowered, more confident, resilient, get better at things and can push through the fear of failure. Amazing things can happen!

We often hear messages in the media that children aren’t getting enough physical activity. But what exactly does “being physically active” mean when you are an infant, toddler or pre-schooler? And is it important for their health now and in the future? When we talk about physical activity for young children we don’t mean going to the gym. These ideas of physical activity aimed at adults, are not suitable for young children. They are still learning to inhabit their bodies. For young children, physical activity is about active play and exploring their environment. They are learning how to manoeuvre themselves physically and how to orient themselves in space.

More and more parents get called into the school office and get the bombshell dropped on them…. “Your child has Low Muscle Tone!!!” What does this really mean? Muscle tone is the amount of tension (or resistance to movement) in muscles when they are at rest. Our muscle tone helps us to hold our bodies upright when we are sitting and standing. Changes in muscle tone are what enable us to move. Since tone only describes a muscle when it is inactive or resting, it is quite possible for a child with low tone to still be very strong when they exert themselves and activate their muscles. There’s a big difference between muscle tone and muscle strength. So, what are the symptoms, and how can you help a child with low muscle tone? Read further……

Research suggests that thousands of parents are causing permanent damage to their children’s feet by buying them the wrong shoes. At Catrobatkidz, we’re all about encouraging and inspiring children to be active. In other words, to be on their feet and taking part in activities that help them become stronger, fitter and more confident. Most of the times we ask children to remove their shoes for our classes to allow their bare feet to “feel” the exercise and use the foot muscles. A lot of parents find shoe shopping for a pre-schooler downright overwhelming. The fashion options are endless, from rubber to leather soles, flip-flops to boots to Crocs, but not all children’s shoes are created equal. Making the right choice is more important than just style and colour. It’s especially important to make sure you are choosing the right shoes for your children because their feet are still growing and their gait is still developing...

As parents, you have lots of options when it comes to choosing extra-mural activities for your children. At first glance, they all seem to offer the same benefits, such as developing strong, healthy bodies, improving co-ordination and providing children with an outlet for all their energy. Children benefit from physical activity in many ways - a topic we explored in our previous blog, but that doesn’t mean that all extra-murals are equally good. There are a few reasons why the Catrobatkidz programme stands out as it offers some benefits you probably haven’t thought of. Here are just a few of the advantages of enrolling your child in Catrobatkidz:

Movement is a powerful tool for developing the minds and bodies of young children. As a parent, you looked forward to seeing your baby start crawling, you waited to catch their first step on camera and you’re looking forward to cheering them on at school sports events. Reaching these milestones are all indicators that your child is growing and learning. What you might not know, is that movement contributes to more than a child’s physical development. There are many other areas where movement plays an essential role in developing a well-rounded individual.