How can I improve Core Stability of my 4yo

[LargeLatte]

DS (4y 9m) needs to improve his core stability.

Can you point me in the direction of somewhere I can print off exercises to do at home? Is a wobble board worth buying? And what about the Wii Fit board - do they do any games for kids?

Any help much appreciated.

A wobble board really helped with my ds1's core stability. As did a trampoline and swimming (albeit with lots of floats for support).

Its surprising how many things can help actually, from simply kicking a ball, to practising standing on one leg, throwing and catching and any exercises that involve being on all fours (plank position).

Stomach crunches with knees bent and elbows behind ears, sit ups with legs out straight and arms outstretched in front.

My boys like to have competitions to see who can stand on one leg for the longest and who can hold a plank position the longest (all fours with arms/hands directly under shoulders - either on hands and knees to begin with, keeping stomach held in and back straight and progressing to the position you would use to start push ups from - so on hands and toes - make sure arms are directly under shoulders).

An exercise ball is also a good one, just sitting on one to watch tv can help, but you can also do exercises on them as well.

This is a good article for simple exercises.

Wii Fit is brilliant. Ds had an OT assessment a couple of years ago and she said his excellent balance was probably due to his daily use of Wii Fit and doing the body tests. I'd encourage him to do the daily balance test and have some time on the exercises too - some of them are ideal for his age.

Martial arts is excellent for stability too as they have to contort themselves into some tricky positions, and it takes practice.

Anything you do with him will get better results if you do it daily in small amounts, rather than a longer session a couple of times a week, IMO.

Latte what work you do with him kinda depends on how much core strength he has now....this is a good resource www.ot-mom-learning-activities.com/core-exercises-for-kids.html.
As streaky says a little and often will be tolerated better and show better results.
Martial arts and horse-riding are two activities that improve core too.
Finally, try to keep it fun, time limited if you are doing it at home- like maybe 10 minutes and can he do better than you?

Good advice, and links, thanks.

Streaky - I have a Wii but not the board so I need to get one. Does it come with a game or is there a particular one I should look for. Time on the Wii is rationed so shouldn't be too hard to persuade him onto that.

I like the idea of 10 mins a day of those simple exerices too - we can do them together.

Yes, you get a game disc with Wii Fit and another one with Wii Fit Plus that builds on the skills from the activities in the basic disc. It's probably worth investing in as it's something you can do every day without outside intervention, which I reckon is invaluable.

We used to do ours together, especially the daily balance test and weight. It was good fun .

Thanks - I've just looked at the cost of Wii fit boards and nearly keeled over, so I've added it to my wish list and invested in a Wobble board for a tenner that will do us for now. Thanks for all your help.

I think a Move n Sit cushion wedge also helps with core stability.

Both my boys have one to use at school. DS1 to stop him wriggling so much, and DS2 because he can't sit up without it (he has to support his head in his hands, elbow on the desk....)

Oh yes, forgot the Move n Sit. Ds1 has one at home as well as at school - its revolutionised meal times!