6 fun exercises to improve a child’s posture + TipiToo review

Starting at 12 months, our children improve their dexterity and develop the motor skills in their feet. Having mastered the first steps, they graduate to building balance: walking without falling, bending down to pick up toys, and grabbing onto everything we parents try hard to keep beyond their reach.

The exercises contribute to the child’s psychomotor development and general progress through 5 basic activities: crawling, swinging, staying in balance, running, throwing and jumping.

6 fun exercises to improve a child’s posture

Core muscles and the muscles of the extremities can be developed through a few exercises. If done at least 3 times a week, these exercises can help maintain good posture.

In motivating the child, it is essential for us adults to accompany them in physical activity, for an enjoyable time interacting.

1. Playing with shoulder blades

Show the child where the shoulder blades are, and propose a game, asking them to imagine they have a lemon on their back and that they need to squeeze the lemon with the force of their shoulder blades to make juice for lemonade. Ask the child to sit down for this exercise, and to try to keep their shoulders down. Both the parents and children take and maintain the position for 30 seconds. 

2. Stretching at the wall

Play with the child by challenging them to lean against the wall with their entire body. To do this, you must touch the wall with the coccyx—the lowest bone in your spine—your head and the entire length of your back. The feet should be positioned slightly away from the wall, with the arms pressed against it, keeping the shoulders in line. Try to hold the position for 30 seconds to a minute to achieve proper stretching.

3. Stretching while lying down

When your child wakes up or before going to sleep, ask them to stretch their body by lying down on a rug or a towel with their back completely supported on the surface on which the child is lying; ask the child to bend their knees while keeping their feet on the floor. The arms should remain extended along the sides, palms facing up. The child must stretch slowly, remaining in this position for a few minutes.

4. Handshake behind your back

With the child standing, help them to join their hands behind the body, as if the child were shaking their own hands. Gently, with the hands still together, move the child’s shoulders back without moving the neck (and encourage the child to do it themselves), so that the chest becomes free, and there is a sensation of the muscles stretching. You can take the same position together with the child and hold it for 30 seconds.

5. Door jamb

With the child standing and facing the door, place the child’s hands on the frame, slightly above the height of their head. Project their body forward, making sure that their hands do not move. Hold the position for 30 seconds. Feet should remain slightly ahead of the door.

6. Fun with TipiToo

Playing with Ette Tete’s TipiToo balance beam does a lot to strengthen the child’s muscles, motor coordination, and balance. They will be able to change its arrangement without too much effort, becoming more active and independent. And of course, nothing stops the parents from joining in on the fun, too! 

This type of exercise normally easily works for children of 24 months and older, and with committed practice, their posture will gradually improve over time. The important thing is not to force it and to observe the child, introducing corrections in any arrangements that need them.

TipiToo review by @deltaferreiraoficial

We are huge fans of Ette Tete’s modifiable climbing frame (MOPITRI and FIPITRI), and we’re thrilled about this brand’s new release. TipiToo is a set of balance beams that promotes physical development, dexterity, and motor coordination in children, while they have a wonderful time.

We got the MAXI set and tested its initial effectiveness for 1 month (16 September to 16 October, 2022), and the stimulation that the balance beam provided is really outstanding: balance and coordination were getting better every day.

The segments are easily interchangeable by children, and Dinis was able to independently add or remove them, walk on the segments trying to maintain balance, play ‘the floor is lava’, and imagine overcoming obstacles, even reinventing these play scenarios by putting his toy cars onto the segments and making them ‘overcome’ the obstacles, too.

Seeing him so excited about the rough surfaces of the segments made me so curious that I decided to try the sensation myself, and joined Dinis in playing with the MINI set. I could see the stimulating and calming properties of the segments’ texture, creating a sensory experience important for children’s present and future.  

What makes TipiToo unique

TipiToo Balance Beam brings heaps of fun, with different sets allowing you to adjust the difficulty as your child grows and to vary the duration and type of play!

There are 3 sets available:

• MINI — 3 segments (58 cm each), 3 connecting platforms.
• MIDI — 3 segments (115 cm each), 3 connecting platforms.
• MAXI — 3 segments (58 cm each) + 3 segments (115 cm each), and 6 connecting platforms. 

Each set includes:

• 1 segment with milled horizontal lines on one side; its other side is flat and can also be used for activities that involve balancing.
• 1 segment with a nylon rope wound on both its sides and metal fasteners on both its ends.1 segment with one side dotted, and the other flat. 

All the sets are available in ivory white and wood colours, and you can interchange parts of different sets, combine them, and expand them for endless play potential.

TipiToo Balance Beam creates moments of fun and independence for children, while helping them build their posture, balance, and motor coordination.

This minimalist balance beam is made of birch, coated with a UV-resistant paint or varnish that is completely safe for children and animals (for indoor use only).

Thanks to its innovative design and the robust but light components, children can easily arrange the individual segments of the balance beam on their own, creating different shapes: a triangle, a zigzagging line, a hexagon, and many others.

Children (and their parents) will have a lot of fun discovering the sensations that the different materials and textures create in their feet: it’s like a real massage.

ADVANTAGES OF THE TIPITOO BALANCE BEAM

• as the child grows while interacting with TipiToo, they develop their balance, coordination, and good posture;
• the child can set up different ‘paths’ by changing the arrangement of the balance beams;
• TipiToo helps the child develop independence, and encourages them to play and set the toy up on their own;
• TipiToo stimulates the cognitive ability of the child, as they try to invent new possible arrangements of the beams;
• TipiToo helps the child develop their senses, thanks to the different materials and textures of the beams;
• TipiToo encourages social interactions, as the toy is playable with parents and other children;
• the toy offers a way to engage in physical exercise indoors;
• it is light, but sturdy, and you can start using it as soon as the child starts to walk, and then as they grow up. 

Article by Delta Ferreira (@deltaferreiraofficial).