Imagine your child crossing the mat as a bear. Hands go down, bottoms lift, and there may be a giggle before anyone gets very far. It is a playful glimpse of the connection between gymnastics and body awareness.
These playful movements have that wonderful invitation built in: come and play. Within the play is an opportunity to notice how the body moves — where the hands are, what the feet are doing, and how it feels to shift weight from one place to another.
At Gym Wizards, these small discoveries have a place in our gymnastics curriculum. A movement does not have to look impressive to be worth learning.
Gymnastics and body awareness: why animal walks?
Body awareness is our sense of where our body is and how its different parts are moving. Think of finding a sleeve with your arm without watching every centimetre of the journey.
There is a name for the information we receive from our muscles and joints: proprioception. Put simply, it helps us sense our body’s position.
For a little more background, see Children and Family Health Devon’s guide to proprioceptive activities. It also stresses that activities should suit the child.
In her analysis of the Gym Wizards curriculum, occupational therapist Tiffany Heaney describes how animal walks involve children supporting their weight through their limbs. She identifies this as a way of providing proprioceptive input — information that contributes to body awareness.
For a parent watching from the side, that can be a useful change of perspective. Beneath the bear’s careful steps or the crab’s sideways adventure is a child exploring where their hands and feet are and how to move them. Body awareness also goes hand in hand with balance, which we explore in Balance for Kids: Why the Wobble Matters.
Leave room for the little discoveries
A child might pause to work out which hand to move next. They might take two steps, stop, and try again. Those pauses can be part of exploring the movement, rather than something to hurry past. For more on this, read why repeating a gymnastics skill level can still be progress.
You do not need to turn every attempt into a performance. Try noticing something specific: “You moved your hands and then found a place for your feet.” It is a suggested way to encourage your child, not a test they need to pass.
And leave room for their version of fun. Some children enjoy naming their animal. Others want to watch first. The invitation can stay small: a little curiosity, a little movement, and permission to go at their own pace.
Bring animal walks home with curiosity
If your child comes home talking about an animal walk, ask which part they enjoyed. Invite them to describe it, draw their animal, or tell you what felt new. You can share the experience without turning the living room into a gymnastics lesson.
For trying the movement itself, ask their instructor to show you a version suited to your child. Use a clear, non-slip space, stay nearby and keep it comfortable. Stop if there is pain or distress; there is no prize for pushing through. If your child has an injury or receives therapy, ask their treating professional about suitable activities.
The lovely part is that you do not need a big milestone to have something to talk about. “Which bit did you work out today?” can open a very different conversation from “Were you the best?”
A place to explore in gymnastics
Gym Wizards uses a progression-based curriculum, with opportunities for children to learn at their own pace. Animal walks in gymnastics are one example of the purposeful movement discussed in our occupational therapist’s report. They make the connection between gymnastics and body awareness easier to picture: a child supporting their weight, moving their limbs and noticing what happens.
Next time your child mentions being a bear, a crab or a frog, you can meet that story with curiosity. There may be a little discovery tucked inside it.
Ask your Gym Wizards instructor which movement your child is exploring and what you can notice together.
New to Gym Wizards? If you are exploring gymnastics classes in Cape Town, ask about a trial class. Our team can help you choose between Kenridge, Pinelands and Llandudno and explain the booking and payment steps.
Source note: This article draws on Tiffany Heaney’s October 2020 occupational-therapy analysis of the Gym Wizards programme, especially printed page 15. It describes opportunities to practise, not guaranteed developmental results. Gym Wizards does not replace occupational therapy, physiotherapy or speech therapy.
