Acquiring a new Skill

This child is „working“ on a relatively new skill: the transition from sitting to all fours. You will see it in minute 2.20 - rotating the left leg inward, lifting the left side of the pelvis, and transferring weight to the hands. The first „attempt“ is made in minute 0.20.

Please take your time to analyze this video from regular child development. Watch it a few times if necessary, until you have seen every point.

• Note that the child is in constant motion, caused by the nervous system searching for possibilities, and maintaining balance. These are the small circular motions I will be referring to during the course. They could be much smaller than this in your child.
• Orientation in space and sensation is a major part of a child's experience.
• The child seems to be moving quite a lot - especially with the arms. Other body parts - like the spine - organize more for stability.
• The child immediately slows down when it comes to more difficult parts of the movement.
• The child goes back when it seems impossible, and takes a lot of breaks, sucking the fingers, looking around. That does not mean it has lost interest.
• The kid never shows any fear. At no point, the child is forcing himself to perform something scary, or uncomfortable. It doesn`t use a lot of effort, just patient exploring while breathing evenly.
• It tries a lot of different variations - pulling to knees back, turning to both sides, shifting weight.
• It needs to try various positions for the hands before it can get up on all fours in the end.
• While the preparation time seems long, the actual movement is rather fluent.

Every video in this course will give you ideas for movement exploration. It does not mean your child has to perform these movements: they are simply positions in which a specific movement can be learned easily. This is not about getting on all fours, but about movement abilities in the spine, experiencing weight shifts, and finding ways to relax muscles in the pelvic area while extending the back. These positions are learning areas where new skills can be acquired - even if the child cannot perform the movement itself, it will gain experience, and make progress as long as we work in the spirit this child is showing here. This is the way our nervous system is wired to learn. Experience is the key, not performance.