What is psychomotricity?

Psychomotricity is important in the first 6 years of a child's life because most neural connections are formed during this period. These connections are stimulated by the movements made within a motor activity and are very important especially in early childhood. It is also called the psychology of movement and it is a concept that brings to the fore the mental and cognitive stimulation of the child through movement.

A normal motor development

Motor activity cannot be separated from intelligence, from knowledge. Motor skills help develop intelligence. It also helps to develop the child's emotional side, because psychology is not only about intelligence but also about emotion. Wallon demonstrated the effect of muscle tone on emotional state. Motor activity will depend on the quality of the emotional exchange between mother and child. This motor activity will lead to the development of intelligence. Also, the tonic dialogue between the child and the mother precedes the verbal dialogue

The theories that explain the child's psychomotor development are those of neurological maturation and those of learning and experience. Neurological maturation and learning are inseparable. The experiences lived by the young child will act on the neurological maturation and will accelerate it, while conversely, the lack of experiences (tonic-sensory) slow down the neurological maturation.

The advantages of psychomotricity

When jumping, running or playing with the ball, the child becomes aware of his body and his position in space: up, down, forward, backward, left, right. All these movements stimulate both the physical and cognitive development of children. The advantages of psychomotricity at the cognitive level: - facilitates the child's learning, memory and ability to concentrate. Among other things, it also helps with orientation in space. The advantages at the motor level: the child becomes aware of his own body and learns to control his movements: coordination, balance. The advantages of psychomotricity at the socio-affective level: psychomotor activities allow the child to release accumulated tensions and favor group activities thus allowing him to overcome his fears, manage relationships with other children of the same age and strengthen his self-esteem.

The psychomotor benefits of playing with the ball, for the child up to 3 years old

The ball must be small, the size of the child, he can grasp it with his arms, large balls are for adults. It can even be used a little before learning to walk.

Sitting on the ball: Finds your center of gravity, learns good use of body axis. The body axis is in motion in an upright, playful experience. The child mobilizes the pelvis, dissociates it from the shoulders while the legs represent a safe support.

When he falls sideways off the ball, he experiences his lateral descent.

Elongated with its belly on the ball, the "frog" game, regroups it, balances it.

Putting the ball between the back and a hard, vertical surface: makes him feel bodily sensations that he never sees, that is, the back, of which he becomes aware. The back of his body participates in the notion of unity and closure of the body and its own bodily boundaries. It stretches because it stresses its deep muscles.

The child up to 3 years old, says I, ME, when he is able to circle his body with his arms. (to take himself in his arms). In this way, he represents himself as a round, firm, as a unit, separate from his mother, the only entity. This game allows them to feel this unity, this ME.