Have you ever considered the fact that bouncing on a trampoline can help to improve someone's eyesight?
We all know about the fitness and enjoyment benefits of trampolining, but a little known advantage is their ability to improve a child's ocular motor skills, which we know as our eyesight.
What are Ocular Motor Skills?
Essentially, ocular-motor skills (also known as ocular-motor control) can be defined as the eye's ability to locate and fixate on an object in the field of vision. This focus is the result of a smooth, coordinated movement of the eyes, to attend and follow objects and people.
To perceive objects clearly, the eyes must move in ways that let visual stimulation reach the optical receptors. If the eye is unable to track an object (or is unable to track it quickly), its reaction to stimuli will be skewed and the perception will be insufficient. While it is necessary for your child's growth and development, ocular-motor skills can prove to be difficult for some children.
Under Developed Ocular Motor Skills
Unfortunately, children with underdeveloped ocular motor and visual perception skills are at a disadvantage at school. They may have problems learning to read or write, as they cannot effectively focus their eyes on the required point. This might mean skipping lines of text, or easily losing their place when reading. Long-term sight issues can lead to problems in school and a possible low attainment of literacy and education.
The challenges do not stop in the classroom. Children with poor ocular-motor skills frequently have problems performing simple tasks at home. They may find hand-eye coordination to be almost impossible, as they lack the ability to synchronise their body's reaction to their vision. A child may not be able to achieve simple tasks, such as catching a ball, which can lead to their exclusion during games and activities and lead to poor self-esteem.
How Can Trampolines Help?
Fortunately, trampolines are fantastic tools for fostering sensory processing, as they foster full-body coordination and kinaesthetic awareness. The motion of the trampoline stimulates the vision receptors and is a wonderful way to foster your child's ocular-motor skills. The constant repositioning of the body actually strengthens the muscles in the eyes that are responsible for tracking objects.
Rebounding on a trampoline requires the body to be repetitively in motion, so your child's eyes must continually adjust to the different fields of vision. As a result of this constant adjusting and reorientation, the hand-eye-body coordination is greatly improved.
As a parent, you can help improve your child's ocular-motor skills by getting them to use a trampoline.
Before any official exercises begin, have your child jump on his or her trampoline to become comfortable with the motion. Because the child's perception differs from other children, this may take some time. Be patient, and positively encourage the child to continue to be relaxed on the trampoline.
Here are some of the most frequently cited exercises that we receive from our customers:
Be creative! Some suggestions may not be useful to your child, and they may need to be adjusted. Every child is different and different techniques can be adapted to best suit his or her individual needs. By improving your family's sensorimotor skills, you are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime.
Trampolines can be used as a fun, innovative teaching tool for children of all ages and skill levels. Vuly provides a wide range of top-quality trampolines and safety accessories to help your family rebound into good health.
Note: always supervise children while the trampoline is in use. These suggestions are based on customer feedback and are not intended to replace or substitute for any professional help.