Body Awareness: Your Child's Foundation for a Healthy Life

During my workouts at elementary schools, I am witness to one of my favorite developmental milestones: watching my youngest students discovering how their body works. Many educators use the phrase “Body Awareness” to describe this burgeoning knowledge in young children. Simply defined, Body Awareness is the recognition of different parts of one’s own body, how those parts move, and their relationship to the environment.

When it comes to exercise, they notice that dancing around a lot makes their heart beat faster. They find that when they hold their body in a plank position, they can feel all their muscles tense up. I love watching how excited they get about it, and often hear phrases such as, “Coach Kristen, feel how fast my heart is beating,” or “Feel how sweaty I am!” Many times, this is followed by the child wiping sweat from the forehead and proudly giving me a slightly wet high-five.

One of the first lessons a child learns about body awareness is finding his or her “personal space.” If you’ve ever seen 20 or 30 kindergarteners enter a large room, you’ve seen that it takes three or four adults to help navigate the large clump of confused kids into rows with room to move. I give the cue, “If you’re touching someone, you’re too close.” By first grade, most are old pros. When a child follows my lead during class and notices they are on the wrong foot, and takes corrective action, they are exhibiting body awareness.

The next level of body awareness involves naming the different body parts and exploring how they move. This is accomplished during the workout warm-up, where we isolate four parts of the body by moving them one at a time: head, shoulders, rib cage, and hips. At this age—early elementary school—just naming the body parts and focusing on how they move is beneficial to body awareness. For those of you without a dance background, try sliding your rib cage side to side without moving your hips. My students struggle with this one, as I did as a kid. Many kids don’t even know their body can move that way. For some more reserved kids, simply shaking their hips feels awkward at first. I encourage them to bend their knees to help them loosen up. When kids feel comfortable doing these basic movements, they feel more competent in learning other more advanced gross motor skills.

After the warm-up I have the kids take a few seconds to notice how their body feels. “You may feel that your skin feels a little warmer.” A lot of kids respond by taking off their jacket or fanning their face. We do another “body check” after the cardio. “Can you feel yourself breathing faster?” I help the older kids find their pulse. My goal is for them to recognize the power they have over their own body. You can have the same effect with your own kids by asking a few questions at the opportune time. For example:

Half-time at your child’s soccer game
“I saw you running a lot out there. Can you feel your heart pounding? Are you feeling sweaty? High-five for sweat!”

Picking up school backpack
“I noticed your backpack is heavy. Can you feel the muscles in your arms when you pick it up? Is it easier or harder to pick up with one hand?”

Sitting at the computer
“Can you make yourself taller by straightening your back and pressing your shoulders down? Wow- you just grew an inch before my eyes!”

The next level of body awareness would be to introduce the actual muscle names when referring to body parts. Kids as young as six or seven years old can learn and recognize some of the major muscle groups. I introduce abdominals, quadriceps, and biceps to my young students. They especially love to roll up their sleeves and flex their biceps for me. It’s rewarding to see how proud they are of their muscles. This is also the stage where I introduce proper form, preparing them for future weight training.

Body awareness empowers kids by giving them knowledge about who they are. They learn the magnificent ways the body can move and how they can be in control of their own body. It truly is the foundation for a lifetime of good health.