Is spinning a child on the floor bad for them??

[CurlyBoy]

Ok, this may sound strange. My 21 month old boy loves it when he lays down on the wood floor and I spin him around. Quickly. Of course he gets dizzy and I have to stop him from falling over afterward but is all that blood rushing to his head bad for him? I can see his eyes darting around and it clearly gives him some sort of rush. It's great fun but I don't want to harm him. Can anyone help with an answer?

Not sure but excellent thread title!

I would be a little careful about pulling arms as it can be quite easy to dislocate a kiddie elbow if you apply too much force - but wondering if you grabbing his ankles to spin him round. DD is 22mo and loves running in circles until she falls over, so your approach is probably safer

Sheesh, the lengths some people will go to to avoid buying a Roomba

I've been advised to spin, swing etc from early on to help develop their balance systems, so that they can sit still (at school), meaning they can concentrate better and learn more effectively. But the means needs to be safe.

madderhat that sounds like bonkers advice

I don't use his arms or ankles to spin him I put my hand on a thigh and push him around. He absolutely loves it! He's the same on roundabouts too. Today at the park he was so engrossed he was drooling! I'm just slightly worried that all the blood rushing to his head may be bad for him...

I believe it's good training to be a fighter pilot.

ziptoes: well, it's backed up with academic research (I saw the referreed papers, but I don't have references to hand) and it's a natural part of play - or don't you ever use swings and slides and roundabouts?

My hubby used to do this all the time with both my girls when they were little - they loved it and are fine! I used to love watching it too :)

My kids like this, as do my cats!

They (all of them) also like it when we change the bedding, as we lay them on top of a sheet and roll them from side to side. It's so funny!