What you might see
Balance helps us stay steady when we move. It lets us do all the things we need to do every day without falling or getting hurt.
A child who has trouble balancing might show these signs:
- Tripping a lot.
- Not being able to ride a bike.
- Find it hard to do activities with their feet off the ground.
- Find it hard to sit up straight in a chair.
- Struggle with going up and down stairs.
- Not being confident with playground equipment.
- Find physical activities and games difficult.
- Find it hard to walk on new, unfamiliar, and uneven surfaces.
- Difficulty learning new physical skills.
- Not able to pay attention for long.
- Find it hard to join in games with other children.
Strategies and advice
Encourage your child to try different movements to improve their balance, strength, and to become more confident on wobbly or uneven surfaces. Some fun ideas are:
Playground equipment
Playing on swings, slides, balance beams, climbing frames and ladders.
Rolling
Let your child roll down a grassy slope. Roll at home with use of a blanket or large sheet.
Hopscotch
Let your child try jumping with both feet and then try to hop on one foot.
Walking along a length of tape
Start by placing 2 parallel lines of tape on the floor for your child to walk along.
Then use 1 line of tape and pretend it’s a tightrope. Encourage your child to walk forwards and backwards, heel to toe along the line. Take turns and make a game of it by keeping score of how many times someone steps off the line.
Balance stilts
The ones to start with are shapes that support the whole foot with a length of rope to hold onto.
Stepping stones
Place cut-outs of circles, squares or triangles on the floor. See if your child can follow the course by placing one foot on each ‘stone’. Change the distance between them.
Obstacle course
Set up an obstacle course. For example, you could use stepping stones (see above), cushions to jump over, cones to weave around or a sofa to climb over.
You can also draw an obstacle course in chalk outdoors or get your child to design their own. Include challenges such as jumping, hopping and line walking.
Balance in crawl position
Let your child practise balancing by lifting up one leg or one arm. Make it more difficult by getting them to lift up a leg and arm at the same time.
Statues
See if your child can keep still a few seconds, like a statue. Can they hold a pose and keep still.
Standing on one leg
Hold your child’s hands while they stand on one leg. Then try holding just 1 hand. Then balance with just a finger touch.
Let them rest one foot on a block or box while standing on one leg. Next, have them rest their foot on a ball supported by a small hoop, then on an unsupported ball, and finally on a balloon.
Ask your child to balance on one leg with hands on hips. To make it trickier, have them swing their free leg and try making shapes in the air.
Aeroplanes
Have your child lie on their tummy on the floor. They need to lift their head, shoulders, and arms off the floor and count to 10. Next, have them lift their legs off the floor while keeping the legs straight. Count to 10 again and relax. When they get better, try this position while lying on their tummy on a therapy ball.
If you have tried these activities and not seen improvement after 4 months, please contact the Children and Young People’s Therapy Service.
Last reviewed September 2025