Why does my kid keep banging into everything?!?!
It’s a common challenge with parents. Suddenly your child is walking through the house and banging into walls that have always been there, or reaching for a glass of water and spilling it all over the table. While many people get frustrated and may chastise their children for these things, in reality there may be a few developmental challenges that are going on.
As children develop, they do not typically grow at a steady pace. Most children grow in spurts, where they won’t grow for months and then suddenly shoot up seemingly overnight. These changes in their size affect their ability to judge distances between where they used to be to reach things and where they are now. Stubbing toes as they walk into a room, reaching further than they need to grab something with their hands can result in them knocking things over accidentally, or banging into doorways as they walk through them are a result of their change of size and their muscle memory that they have “always used” to complete these routing tasks is a big part of the problem.
They also still are developing their fine and gross motor skills. The majority of their motor skills develop between birth and age five, but they will continue to build and improve on these skills until they are eight or nine. Being able to automatically grab something like a glass with the correct force and speed is still building though this time. It is also possible that they may be doing very well with these tasks one moment, yet as their bodies change, they get longer, taller and develop more muscle and strength, they lack the ability to adapt to the changes. Working on these skills is extremely important as they continue to grow and develop.
While this can be a challenging time for parents, understanding the changes they are going though, having patience with them when they do have these accidents and helping them improve and build these motor skills is key. Getting them into programs designed to help build their balance, coordination and strength are crucial in helping them move past these challenges.
