swings and vestibular stimulation

Published January 17, 2009 by Nancy

Young children loves swings because their bodies need to develop their vestibular sense. They stand on the swing, jump off, swing on their belly, and swing high to kick the sky. Up, down, around, through.

Kids with sensory issues often need to swing a lot too, even past this early swinging stage. Swinging before school, during recesses, and after school helps them get through their day. They crave swinging sensations more than regular kids, and it helps calm them down.

So do you need a swing in your house?

First, do the easy thing and put up a swing in your backyard. Make sure it has a variety of swing structures, such as a regular plank swing, a swinging monkey-bar, a glider, and (if possible) a disk swing (one rope down the middle). You can add objects for the kid to kick while swinging, such as a bottom-weighted punching-bag balloon.

But if you live in a winter climate and want a swing indoors, here is my best suggestion.

Visit an IKEA store. They have great vestibular play structures for kids.

One is the hanging seat (soft version and hard version). These are swinging sack-chairs that can go in a kid’s room. They need to be securely anchored to a crossbeam, so you can’t hang them just anywhere.

There are also hand rings, which work well in a basement. We have ours hitched to the beams in our laundry room, right above a small trampoline. This creates opportunities for swinging, arm stretches, high jumping, and bouncing tricks. We added an IKEA punching bag three beams away. One game we play involves swinging the punching bag toward the hand rings, so that the kid has to jump, swing, and kick the punching bag. This helps develop timing in movement.

For much younger kids, IKEA has small vestibular toys, including a spinning disk (like a mini merry-go-round), a rocker (like a rocking horse), and a see-saw. If you think your child has sensory issues, these toys are a good investment.