Activities and strategies

Core stability helps children with balance, coordination and everyday movement. You can support this by including strength-building activities in play. These activities target muscles in the shoulders, hips and trunk, helping improve overall stability.

Always supervise your child during these activities. Choose a couple at a time to keep things fun and avoid boredom. If your child gets tired, acknowledge i but aim to gradually increase their strength and endurance in small steps.

Try hands and knees games

Activities like skittles, ball games, board games or obstacle courses can be done in a hands-and-knees position. This helps build shoulder and trunk strength while keeping play engaging.

Use high kneeling for active play

Games like throwing at a target or working at a low table while in high kneeling position help strengthen the hips and improve balance.

Body wrestling for strength and control

Face your child in a half-kneeling position. Place flat hands together and gently push or pull against each other while keeping an upright posture. This builds core control and body awareness.

Vertical surface activities

Encourage your child to draw or write on a vertical surface like a chalkboard or paper taped to a wall. Big arm movements at eye level help strengthen shoulder muscles.

Balloon games for coordination

Play balloon volleyball or tennis in high kneeling. If you don’t have a net, tie a string between two chairs or simply hit the balloon back and forth. This builds coordination and core engagement.

Animal walks and movement games

Games like crab football, duck duck goose or races using animal walks, such as bear, crab, donkey kick or dog, help develop strength and coordination across the whole body.

Aeroplane and bridging exercises

For aeroplanes, have your child lie on their tummy and lift their head, arms and legs off the ground, holding the position for up to 10 seconds.

For bridging, they should lie on their back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Help them tip their pelvis backwards, flatten their lower back, and lift their bottom off the floor. Hold for 10 seconds if possible.

Tummy time during quiet activities

Encourage your child to lie on their tummy while watching TV or reading. Their forearms should be flat on the floor, not supporting their chin. This position helps build core strength over time.

Swimming and active play

Swimming is excellent for core strength, especially when using a kickboard, doing doggy paddle or treading water. General active play — especially in playgrounds or on uneven surfaces — also supports core development.

Explore structured programmes

There are several programmes and websites that offer ideas for building core strength. These include:

• SMART MOVES
• BEAM
• child-friendly yoga and pilates programmes like Cosmic Kids.