How can Kinesiology help kids transition into Kindergarten?
In clinic, I am passionate about working with children & young adolescents. Why? They have not yet developed their logical brain which means many challenges they face often are misunderstood. This leads to behavioural challenges with children branded as ‘naughty’, whereas deep down they are doing the best they can in a world they aren’t able to fully understand.
A key transition period for young children is transitioning into primary school, each child can respond differently. No one talks about it at orientation or at the drop off lines and you’re left wondering if your child is the only one facing these challenges, there’s a good chance they are not alone. For some, the lead up can be a thrilling concept filled with excitement and anticipation; others may feel clingier and concerned with what school has in stall for them. Then once they start school, kids respond in different ways; some navigate without any issues, others can regress in many ways such as coming to parents bed at night, bedtime battles and behavioural changes.
Let’s firstly unpack childcare vs. primary school, there are vast differences between the two environments which make the transition into primary school harder for some children:
Adult to Child Ratio, the learning environment goes from 1:10 to over double to 1:20 which reduces the engagement per child.
Structure, childcare allocates more time to play based activities with an adaptive routine; primary school has some structure with selected times to do certain things.
Learning, childcare focussed on play with an emphasis on child development; kindergarten still focussed on play but the curriculum is focussed on English, maths, science, art & sport.
Rules and boundaries, childcare is more flexible; primary schools establish social rules and expectations are defined.
Developmentally, at school age children are navigating their own natural development exploring who they are, understanding feelings & building independence.
In a nutshell, children are going from an environment where they get more attention, have more freedom, play more to a world they perceive as being big, scary, controlling and structured; add to that a young, developing mind which cannot completely comprehend how this new environment is making them act, feel or respond.
How can Kinesiology Support Children’s Behaviour?
Kinesiology is the science of energy balancing and is grounded in the study of anatomy and physiology. Using muscle monitoring directly or via surrogate we can identify what stressors are present for the child, we then use methods to rebalance their mind & body. Kinesiology is not about “fixing” the child, it is about accessing information from their body & reduce the stress response naturally occurring in their body - which is driving the behaviour.
Results parents and caregivers have seen post a kinesiology session, include improvements in their childs behaviour, less meltdowns or out of character outbursts. Often the clinic becomes a safe place for child & parent to explore challenges & collectively move towards an improved state physically, mentally & emotionally. More often than not, a child will need 2-3 sessions to see consistent results.
Has your child had challenges this year? If so, reach out for a chat!