The 2nd Stage Of Body Awareness - Body Concept

Welcome back to our educational series about body awareness in children. 'Body Awareness' is a term that is often used by teachers and professionals. We have decided to jump in and demystify this broad topic.

As mentioned in our previous post, body awareness can be separated into different terms or "building blocks", if you like. In our first blog, we have covered the first development stage of body awareness called 'Body Image'.

We have explored body image as a concept and have looked at how you can informally assess a child if you suspect body image difficulties or problems. We have also looked at activities to help enhance a child's body image and have provided details of when you should see a professional for further guidance and intervention.

In this blog post, we're going to delve into the second development stage of body awareness called “Body Concept”.

Body Concept

Body Concept is the knowledge of body parts and where exactly they are 'placed' on our bodies. This knowledge is closely tied to the information that we receive from our tactile sensory system or skin, although our visual and proprioceptive system (muscles) also play an important role in helping us gather information about our body.

But why is body awareness, or more specifically body concept, important? Well, it provides more information to help us relate to objects and people around us - at home, at school and when we are outdoors. Body awareness is also closely related to spatial awareness.

Is my nose under or above my eyes? Is my hand next to or on top of the paper? Is my arm or leg close or far away from the person standing next to me? Believe it or not, these skills are crucial building blocks for visual perceptual skills needed for reading and writing. It even links to future maths!

Knowing the various body parts and understanding how your body moves in space in relation to other limbs and objects, is also fundamental to gross motor development. This is why poor body awareness or body concept may contribute to a child being clumsy, uncoordinated or having delays in their motor skill development.

According to research done by Cheatum, children with an average or above-average learning ability were more successful in identifying body parts than children who were below average in learning ability or who had experienced learning problems.

How Does A Child Develop A Good Body Concept?

The good news is if you engage and actively teach babies, they can correctly start identifying their nose and eyes from 9 months of age. At 12 months of age, babies understand vocabulary well enough to point to their eyes, nose, mouth and hair.

A baby also knows his body well when he/she can give an appropriate response or action, not just pointing to it. For example, if you ask “where is your mouth?” and the child opens and closes his mouth, this would be considered a correct response from the child.

Babies usually add other major body parts by 18 - 20 months of age. This includes ears, hands and feet.

It is interesting that the earliest learned verbs of children are also body-part specific. It progresses from mouth-related verbs (e.g., kiss, bite) to leg-related actions (e.g., climb, kick) and hand- or arm-related acts (e.g., hug, tickle) between 21 and 27 months.

Another interesting fact is that young children can better identify the body parts that they can see (e.g. hand) compared to non-visible body parts (e.g. back).

The Stages Of Developing Body Concept

It is important to know that babies first learn body parts on themselves. Because vision plays such a crucial role at this age, they love to watch themselves in a mirror. It is also the ideal time to practice the body parts that they can see.

As they become toddlers, they will then progress to identifying body parts on others. A simple but great idea is to use a doll to teach toddlers (3 years and older) about body parts and where they are 'placed' on our bodies.

Let them first touch a body part on themselves and then identify the same body part on a doll. Once they have practiced it on a doll (or you), you can move on to using pictures when they are 4 years and older.

Between 3 and 4 years of age, children should be able to identify at least 11 body parts - ears, nose, neck, hands, thumbs, feet, arms, legs, knees, back, and stomach. By 5 years of age, they can identify their heals, elbows and shoulders.

Children who are 6 years old can identify most minor parts. This includes ankles, shins, wrists, hips and the middle or waist. By 9 years of age, children should be able to recognize and correctly name all their body parts.

It is good to know that body concept follows a specific developmental trend: first children can identify body parts from their head to their feet (upper body to lower body), then only can they identify body parts from the centre to the outside of their body.

It is also easier for young children to recognize and name the body parts with ‘pointy’ shapes (e.g. knees, shoulders and elbows) compared to body parts with a circular shape or ‘sphere’.

Think of your middle, ankles and wrists. It is not a specific location that indicates or points to one of these body parts but rather a ‘ring’ or ‘sphere’ that involves one of these specific body parts.

Because of this, it is more difficult for younger children to ‘feel’ and understand this concept compared to a ‘pointy’ shape on their body. It is also one of the reasons why children only start to correctly identify or name their middle, ankles and wrists when they are a bit older, as explained earlier in this post.

Now that we have covered all the basics of body concept, how can you easily assess it in a child?

Assessing Body Concept In A Child

Technique 1

A popular way to evaluate body concept is to give a child the name of a body part. For example: “Show me your knees”. The child then goes ahead to show or points to his knees.

However, some children may show the “wrong” body part. This may be because they still do not know their body. It can also be that they experience difficulties with hearing, auditory processing or perceptual skills.

This can be seen when a child touches his “teeth” instead of his “knees”. Why? Because “knees” and “teeth” may sound the same to the child.

There is nothing wrong with this technique. This technique is very useful for assessing non-verbal children or young children whose speech is still not fully developed yet.

Technique 2

In addition to the above technique, you can go one step further. You can tell an older child that you are going to place your hand on your own body. Now you can ask the child to touch the same part on his body and tell you the name of the body part.

Alternatively, you can point to a body part on a picture, then ask the child to identify it on his body and then name it accordingly. This is more applicable to children 5 years and older.

If the child moves to or shows a different part of his/her body, there may be a problem. Body concept is also not “in place” if the child hesitates or mentions the wrong body part. With this technique, you can also hear the child’s speech!

Technique 3

Another technique is to ask a child to draw a picture of himself. If a child 5 years and older is not drawing specific body parts (leaving them out of the picture) or drawing them in the wrong place (e.g mouth above nose), he/she may have trouble getting the right information from either his/her skin, eyes or muscles to form a proper concept of his/her body.

It is best to combine as many techniques as possible when assessing a child's body concept. Just make sure to remember the guidelines with regards to a child's age, as discussed above.

Techniques And The Environment

Combining the above-mentioned techniques will give you a much clearer indication if the child knows his/her body well. However, it will also help you identify possible hearing, auditory processing or language difficulties.

Also remember to assess a child's understanding of his body parts across multiple settings and time points rather than at one point in time and in a single setting. Take in mind that children can also suffer from stress and anxiety, and that this can lead them not to answer or produce the correct results.

Research has indicated that children know far more body parts when they are in a familiar setting or with their parents, than if they are in a clinical setup with a relatively new person assessing them.

Shy or anxious children will also respond better when you ask them to 'show' a body part compared to them 'telling' you the name of the body part.

Nevertheless, if a child continuously struggles to identify body parts correctly, it is good to contact a paediatric professional such as a Kinderkineticist. They will be able to help determine what they underlying problem may be and can provide additional support and intervention strategies, if necessary.

Activities To Enhance Body Concept

One of the easiest ways to enhance body concept in children is to mention and touch various body parts of a child throughout the day. “Put your foot in the shoe”. “Look at the big muscles in your arms!” “Your knees need some lotion”.

It is important to know that very young children are more likely to comprehend and understand 'body talk' when the words that you use refer to their own bodies rather than to the bodies of someone else.

Here are more ideas and activities that will help children 'feel' their body parts better, and ultimately help a child to identify and name it correctly:

• Let little ones play with different textured toys. It does not need to be expensive. Use everyday household items such as a textured orange bag, a sponge or bath glove, wool blanket or a silk scarf. Take babies outside whenever possible and let them experience the texture of mud, leaves, grass and pebbles. Always supervise your baby!

• This suggestion may drive some parents up the wall, but let your older toddler or child play with slime, 'goo' or kinetic sand. This will help them gather crucial information and will help desensitize their hands. If they are not fond of having "dirty hands", take it slow and easy. The key is to play with the slime yourself and then let them touch or feel the texture. They can help you put the slime back into the plastic container or throw it from one plastic cup to another. Next time, ask them to hold the "goo" for you while you fetch the container. Think of creative things to do with the slime, goo or sand (like cutting 'cookies' with cutters from the sand). Eventually, they will be able to tolerate the texture well.

• Mention a specific body part and then go ahead to rub, clap, tickle or softly stroke the body part instead of only pointing to it or touching it. Older children can perform this activity by themselves. You can give instructions like: "Rub your ear", "tickle your tummy", "clap your feet", "stroke your arm", "softly pinch your elbow", "pat your leg", "shake your hand" or "wiggle your nose".

• Use a warm cloth followed by an ice-cube to touch various body parts of the child. Again, older children can do this by themselves.

• Allow children to play or walk through various sensory boxes filled with objects like jelly, spagetti, cobble stones, sand, leaves, coloured rice and cold or warm water. Make sure to also expose body parts other than the child's hands and feet to the various textures. (Focus on the parts that the child does not know that well yet).

• Blow bubbles and ask the children to pop it with different parts of their body.

• Let children punch a balloon with the body parts that you call out.

• Blow up a balloon and “let the air out” on a specific body part.

• Use face paint to turn the little ones into super-heroes.

• Trace body parts such as hands or feet on printing paper. Better yet, go all out and trace the whole body!

• Let children step in water or paint, and make imprints of their hands and feet.

• In summer times, let children stand against a wall and lightly spray them with water. This will create different silhouettes of their bodies.

• Play games like “Simon Says” where the children have to touch a specific body part with their hand. Older children can use one body part to touch another body part. For example: "Put your nose on your knee". To make it even more difficult, you can ask older children to put their right ear on their left knee, or their left pinky on their right foot. You get the idea.

• Dance to songs like “Hokey Pokey” and perform all the actions.

Conclusion

Now that you know what the term "Body Concept" is, how to assess it and what you can do to help your child become "body smart", go on and put your knowledge into action. As a parent, you can "assess" your child subtly without making a big fuss about it.

Once you know which body parts still require more attention, start bringing their specific names into the everyday conversations you have with your child. Of name them together as you rub lotion on them after a nice warm bath. "Wow, your have beautiful elbows! Let's make sure they stay that way by putting extra lotion on them".

If you are a teacher, start experimenting with techniques that you may not have used in the past to assess a child's body concept. Once you have feedback from the combined individual informal assessments of your class, start implementing some of the above games in your classroom. The children will love it and so will you!

In our next blog, we dive right into the next development stage of body awareness: Body Schema. Until then, happy moving moments!

PS If you have a partner who would rather enjoy watching videos than reading a blog, let them watch the videos below. It will give them a quick glance of what body concept is, how to assess it and what they can do to enhance it. Children also love to watch these videos. Enjoy!