Manipulative Skills

Manipulating here does not stand to signify the cunningness or wiliness that often makes for the core of a person’s character. It instead stands to throw light on the manipulative skills that a child should possess when handling objects and making his or her presences felt on the sports field. For a child to do what an adult does with ease, it takes time. It may not be as easy for a child to throw a ball as easily as an adult. What we adults take for granted, throwing a ball for example, can seem like a herculean task for a child. To help a child develop essential physical skills, it is essential to start off when the child is still young. The child should be taught to practice basic life and game movements like pulling, bouncing, catching, lifting, pushing, striking, etc. Most parents tend to be gentle with their kids, but if manipulative skills have to be developed, it is a must to push the child to his or her limits. Read on for guidance on how to develop manipulative skills in a child.

Developing Manipulative Skills In Children 

Warm Up
The first thing to do when desiring to develop manipulative skills in a child is to make him or her warm up to the activities that is to follow. Even adults when on their first session at the gym are asked to warm up to the grueling exercises that are to follow. This only means that it is that much more essential to make a child warm up before starting off any physical exercise. Warm up exercises can be those exercises that help warm up the entire body. Stretching, jumping jacks, spot jogging, etc. are examples of warm exercises that a child can indulge in.

Jet Set Go
A child is not as strong as an adult. That’s what every parent should realize. From the muscle strength to reflexes, with a child, it all still is work in progress. So make your child work on simple things like throwing or kicking a ball, jogging at a very slow pace and covering a small distance, lifting light objects and pushing and pulling too. The trick is to get the child used to these exercises and movements. It is only when the child gets used to such activities that his manipulative skills begin to develop. Here, it is also extremely important to be familiar with the physical condition of the child. Not every child is as strong or as weak as the other. It is okay to slowly and steadily push your child to his/her limits, but it never is to push him/her beyond the same! With time and sufficient practice, a child is simply bound to develop the manipulative skills that make survival only that much easier.

The Cooling Down
It is important to help a child cool down after a session of physical exercises are done with. Most parents or physical instructors tend to ignore this; it normally is not advisable to! If you are an athlete or regular at a gym, you probably will know the importance of cooling down after a challenging workout. Even a musician warms up to his instrument before a show and cools down after the same, Dream Theater’s bassist John Myung being a firm believer in this practice. This only helps indicate how much more important it is for an athlete or a child who is just being introduced to the world of physical challenges to cool down after a period of strenuous or not-so-strenuous activity even.