Body awareness is the understanding of one’s own body components, their functions, and the methods by which they can move. Along with spatial, directional, and temporal awareness, developing body awareness is a necessary part of perceptual-motor learning.
People with body awareness are better able to navigate their surroundings and arrange their bodies to suit them. In order for movement to be successful, proprioception is crucial in transmitting information from the movement and the force applied to muscles and joints.
When newborns are learning about their body, they first pay attention to their hands. When they are able to grasp a rattle, they can use it to practice movement planning, eye coordination, muscular control, and spatial knowledge. Active exploration is the best approach for kids to become aware of their bodies.
A crucial component of body awareness is the identification of body parts. Young children can learn about their body parts by playing simple games like “I’ve got your nose!” and “Show me,” which encourage them to identify their different body parts. Most kids are aware of their big and little bodily parts by the age of seven.
Young children learn about their bodies through repeated task completion.They connect spatial awareness to physical experiences. As their awareness of how they relate to their surroundings grows, they start to judge how much of their space is different from that of others.
Being aware of one’s own body’s capabilities is a component of body awareness. These comprise manipulating motions like tossing, catching, and bouncing; locomotor motions like running, jumping, and bending; and stabilizing motions like twisting, bending, and turning.
Kids who are not conscious of their physique may come across as awkward and clumsy. Because they are less conscious of their body parts’ location in space, they could trip over their own feet. They could find it challenging to mimic another person’s movements since they don’t know how to move their own bodies in the same way. Because it makes them feel more secure to be in their familiar surroundings, they can prefer to be in little places or under covers than in wide ones. Children with reduced body awareness frequently dislike darkness and closing their eyes since they depend on their vision to sense their location in space. Since they are processing less proprioceptive information, they might prefer a firm hug in order to increase their input to their muscles and joints. Occupational therapy can help kids become more body aware and better at processing the sensation of movement.
References
- Gallahue, David L. and Frances Cleland Donnelly. Developmental Physical Education for All Children. 4th ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 2003. p. 114.
- “What Is Body Awareness?” North Shore Pediatric Therapy. < http://nspt4kids.com/healthtopics-and-conditions-database/body-awareness/ > 27 Sep. 2017.
- Poole, Carla, Susan A. Miller, and Ellen Booth Church. “Ages & Stages: All About Body Awareness.” Scholastic. < https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/ages-stages-all-about-body-awareness/ > 27 Sep. 2017.
- “Physical Activity Movement Concepts.” Go Smart. National Head Start Association. < https://gosmart.nhsa.org/sites/default/files/17._conceptos_de_movimiento_fisico_es_final.pdf > 27 Sep. 2017.
- “Body Awareness: Characteristics of Impaired or Poor Proprioception in Your Child.” Integrated Learning Strategies. < http://ilslearningcorner.com/2016-07-body-awareness-characteristics-impaired-poor-proprioception-child/ > 27 Sep. 2017.