The 3rd Stage Of Body Awareness - Body Schema
- Marene Jooste
- Mar 7, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 14, 2022
Welcome back to our educational series about body awareness in children. In the previous blog, we have looked at body concept and how it relates to a child receiving information from the outside of his body. This information helps a child to learn where his various body parts are and how they relate to one another.
It also teaches a child that he has 2 hands and feet as well as 2 arms and legs. This is a major milestone towards realizing that you have a midline that divides the body into 2 halves. Our next 2 articles will cover laterality, dominancy and midline crossing in more detail so that you can understand how everything is connected to future scholastic success.
For now, it is important to know that another element is necessary to “feel” that we have 2 halves and that these 2 halves can fulfil different functions. This element (and another building block of body awareness) is called “Body Schema”.
Opposite to “Body Concept” (where you mostly gather information from you skin and eyes), “Body schema” is the internal awareness of where body parts are in relation to one another. It is also the “feeling” of how they move in relation to each other.
Body Schema
It all begins as a brain map around the 9th – 12th week of pregnancy. Every time that the foetus moves, the brain receives information from the muscles, joints, skin and soft tissue (or the “proprioceptive sense”, as professionals refer to it). This sense is hidden and works like “internal eyes” to tell us:
where our body parts are in space
how slow or fast our body or limbs are moving
how much and how quickly our muscles are stretching
how our timing is when performing a skill
In short, it helps us to create an internal map of our body. This information is crucial and fundamental to every move that we make. Thus, when this hidden sense is struggling to send strong signals to our brain and we do not have a strong body schema in place, we are out of sync with our bodies and then we move in an atypical pattern.
Have you ever heard of pregnant women complaining that they suddenly feel clumsy in their 3rd trimester? Over and above that fact that they have a huge belly that pulls towards gravity, they also have a body that has gained weight and that has stretched to make room for the new little life that is about to enter our world. This has caused their internal body maps to change and now their brains need to relearn where to place their feet when they are climbing stairs, for instance.
The same goes for a child. If his internal body map or body schema is not clearly defined by his brain (due to the lack of strong messages coming from the proprioceptive system), then such a child may struggle to dress himself, as an example. Why? Because he cannot perceive or “feel” how his individual body parts must move to dress himself. He needs his vision to figure out what to do and must watch his hands to pull up his pants. He also does not know how to orientate his body to fit through his T-shirt or trousers.
The Link Between Proprioception, Interoception and Emotions
Proprioception is closely linked to the skin (tactile system) as well as the inner ear (vestibular system). It is also linked to a term called ‘interoception’. Interoception is the signals send to our brain to tell us if we are hungry, thirsty or in need of going to the loo. It also tells us if we are in pain or if we feel hot or cold. All this information has an influence on our emotions, according to various research articles published by Frontiers.
How is that possible? Well, if you have a toddler, then you might have had to deal with a “hangry” experience at some stage in your life. This is where your toddler (or you!) was angry because he was hungry. It is very typical to have an emotional response to what we are feeling inside our bodies.
Some people may become moody or even teary when they are hungry or tired (or even if they feel hot on a typical summer’s day). If you have good interoception, you will know when it is time to get something to eat, or when to take-off or put on a jersey. Children who struggle with potty-training, often have poor interoception as well as proprioceptive feedback.
The Link between Body schema And Education
Information about our body position travels through the spinal cord and into the parts of our brain that are not conscious. Because of this, we are seldom aware of where our body parts are, unless we actively think about them. But how does this information link to a child’s education?
To explain this, let’s look at a child’s posture and pencil grip. First of all, a good body schema helps a child to assume to correct posture when he sits at a table. His skin or “tactile system” then communicates to the brain how the pencil feels. The texture of the crayon or pencil is obviously going to determine how the child will grasp it. From there on, his body schema determines the automatic position of his fingers around the pencil, as well as his hand and arm placement and position on top of the page.
Based on the constant info from his proprioceptive system, the brain can make the best possible decisions and tell the muscles what to do (e.g to change the position of his fingers around the pencil for a better grasp or grip). A well-established body schema will help the child to “feel” which position is the correct one to assume.
The child’s muscles also need to constantly ‘gage’ how tightly the child should grip the pencil to prevent it from falling out of his hand. It should further “feel” how hard to press on the paper to make the necessary scribbles or write the correct words. A good body schema also helps the child to stay within the lines when he writes these words next to each other in sentences. All of this happens subconsciously.
Screening For Poor Body Schema
A child with a poor body schema, often peeks at what others are doing to try and imitate their movements. (Do not confuse this with a child that is struggling to follow verbal instructions). He will watch his feet when walking or running, and will find movements where he needs to close his eyes, very difficult. Instead, he will keep his eyes open and look at his arm or leg to “help” the arm or leg move into the right position.
A child with poor body schema (older than 3 years of age), may also present with the following “signs or symptoms”:
numerous bruises (due to him bumping into everything)
clumsy, dropping things or pushing things off the table by accident
moving awkwardly or stiffly
“hurting” friends at school if he is not an aggressive child (not realizing how hard he is pushing or banging into them)
difficulty controlling large movements (walking, running or handling a ball)
difficulty controlling fine movements (writing, cutting, grasping)
difficulty judging or grading the force needed for certain movements (e.g. using too little or too much force when opening a water bottle or pressing down with a crayon, pencil or pen onto a piece of paper)
physically weaker than other children
slouching or having poor postural stability (when sitting on the floor, working at a table or doing sports)
poor rhythm and timing when trying to catch, hit or kick a ball
poor coordination and planning of a motor task, especially if there is a sequence to follow (writing, swimming, skipping, skipping with a rope, dancing to a routine)
emotionally insecure because of a lack of “feeling” what exactly his body is doing
Informal Assessment Of Body Image In Children 4 Years And Older
If you have recognized any of the above-mentioned in a child and you suspect that a child may have a poor body schema after reading more about this development stage of body awareness, you can go one step further and informally assess the 4-year old child (and older) to see how he "perceives" or "feels" his body parts move in space.
Start off by blindfolding the child while he is standing. Then ask him to lift his preferred arm straight forward at shoulder level. This should be done three times in a row. Let him repeat the same with his other arm, and then finally with both arms together. You can demonstrate the movement before you ask the child to do it.
You can also repeat the test, but this time you can ask the child to lift his preferred arm straight to the side, also at shoulder level. (If you see that the child is loosing his balance, ask the child to rather sit on a chair. However, keep the child's eyes closed to rule out any visual input that may help him to move his arms to the correct body position). If the child varies the height of his arms, then body schema may be problematic.
If you are concerned about a child in any way, especially with regards to his body schema (and ultimately, his body awareness), rather book a consultation with a professional such as a Kinderkineticist who can do a full assessment and provide the necessary intervention.
As you can see, if poor body awareness is not addressed, it can have a snowball effect on other areas of development and prevent a child from flourishing in a formal school setup as well as the sports field.
In the meantime, what can you do to help a child establish a good body schema? Have a look at the suggestions below and get creative.
Activities To Help Strengthen The Proprioceptive System
The proprioceptive system can receive information when our body is still. Currently, your joints, muscles and connective tissue in your buttocks, hips and legs are all compressed together as you sit and read this blog. However, this type of proprioceptive feedback is not very strong.
According to Carol Stock, who wrote the book “The Out-of-Sync Child”, we get the best proprioceptive information when we actively stretch and tighten our muscles in resistive motions, against the pull of gravity. A good example will be when we do push-ups or heavy work such as carrying shopping bags. This is why movement and being active is so crucial, even from a very young age. Below is a list of games or activities that you can do to help a child develop a good body schema.
Activities At Home
A good place to start is allowing children to figure out how to move their bodies … through, around, under and over various pieces of equipment. Use steps, chairs, cushions, hurdles or a ladder for obstacle courses.
Do various animal walks with the children. Let them walk like a dog, monkey, elephant, bear or worm.
Let your child help you to pull weeds from the garden.
Let your child carry, push or pull the laundry basket to the laundry area. He/she can also empty wet clothes into the dryer or help to hang it over the washing lines.
Do “heavy work” activities. This includes pushing, pulling or carrying heavy equipment. In actual fact, everyday work around the house is great fun for little ones. Older children also benefit from helping out and keeping the house in order. Think of washing the windows, mopping or vacuuming the floors, rearranging the furniture or taking out the garbage bin. No, this is not child labor. This is helping your child to build a functional, strong body with great proprioception!
Let your child carry grocery bags, a beach bucket filled with sand or a box full of apples. Your child can push a chair or try to “push” over a wall.
Search for the perfect tree and allow your child to climb it. Supervise, if needed.
Let your child jump on a trampoline or jump in piles of leaves.
Activities At School
If you have monkey bars, let the children swing about through the ‘jungle’.
Older children can do wheelbarrow walks with their friends. Just make sure that they use the correct technique. No “dipping” of the back is allowed. Also ask them to hold “under the knees” and not at the ankles. Only move down to the ankles if a child can hold a straight plank-like position. You can do wheelbarrow walks with a younger child as well. The same principles apply. However, start by holding the child’s hips.
To further enhance body schema, ask children to play “Mirror Games”. Then have children older than 3 years of age mimic the different ‘poses’ of you (or their friends).
Parachute games are also a great way to enhance body schema as it activates the muscles in your shoulder-girdle area.
Let the children play "Hopscotch" on various surfaces.
Do "Jumping Jacks" or jump with a rope (children older than 6 years of age)
Let the children pull a wagon full of heavy books, bricks or sand.
Play lots and lots of clapping games.
The game "Twister" is an awesome proprioceptive game for older children.
Let the children play with dough as often as possible. They can snip it, turn it, stretch it, press it and roll it... Be creative!
Bounce a ball against a wall (Vary the size and weight: Use heavier/bigger and lighter/smaller balls to experience differing amounts of feedback.)
Activities In A Formal Classroom
Proprioception activities in the classroom includes:
Carrying piles of books or stacking books in the library.
Rearranging classroom furniture.
Placing chairs on top of the desks at the end of the day, then placing them on the floor the next day.
Chair or wall push-ups.
Participating in Physical Education classes and helping the PE teacher to move mats or heavy equipment.
As you can see, body schema is extremely important to help a child flourish in a formal scholastic and sport environment. It is also important to help a child who may experience difficulties in this area as quickly as possible.
In our next article, we will explore laterality, dominancy and handedness in more detail. These concepts are all part of the next stage of body awareness. Until then, happy moving moments from all of us at Kwanda Kinetics!