12 Nov Wondering why your child is struggling to jump or hop

Is your child tip toe walking instead of walking with a heel to toe pattern 
Did you know that tip toe walking can affect your child’s ability to jump and hop

Normal walking pattern is walking with our heel first to contact the ground, then foot flat before we push off with the ball of our foot. Children who tip toe walk do not touch the ground with their heel but stay in their toes all the time. Over time, their calf muscles become tight and they lose range in their ankle movements. With tight calf muscles and reduced range of movement in their ankles, children are unable to squat to jump or hop. When children struggle to jump, hop and skip, often they are unable to keep up with their peers in the school playground and can be at risk of bullying or being excluded in the playground.

One Top Tip to help your child to keep their calf muscles nice and stretched so that they can learn to jump, hop and skip is to encourage them to squat to play with their heels down.

A few ideas to encourage squatting to play include:
1. Squatting to pick up leaves and sticks in the park
2. Squatting to put toys in and out of a box
3. Squatting to draw with chalks on the pavement 

Try out the activities above today with your child and Comment below to let us know how you go.

If you notice that your child is not able squat with their heels down or if you are concerned about your child’s gross motor skills, ring My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today.

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