Every child learns to run by falling over.
Children don’t learn to move from instructions. They watch someone do it, and they copy — and every new skill starts as a near miss.
90 minutes · one to one · Newbury · £185
They watch. They copy. They fall. They step. Then they run — at something.
A football. An opponent. Away from a friend in a game of tag.
Running is a fall, caught.
Watch a toddler learning to run. Nobody has explained anything to them. They have watched the people around them, and they are copying.
- 01
Stood still
The centre of mass sits over the feet. Nothing has to happen.
- 02
Overbalanced
The centre of mass moves outside the base of support. Without a step, the next thing to hit the floor is teeth.
- 03
Caught
A leg swings through and a foot lands under it. Still standing. The nervous system files that away.
- 04
Aimed
The fall is pointed somewhere on purpose, and caught again, step after step. That is running.
Football, Gymnastics, Rugby, Martial arts, Netball, Tag in the playground, Swimming, Tennis, Dance, Hockey, Cricket, Climbing trees.
Their nervous systems are still being built.
A child’s brain is still making and pruning connections well into the teenage years. That is neuroplasticity: the nervous system rewiring itself around what it practises.
For the curious.
Build the alphabet first.
An assessment shows what your child’s centre is doing, in black and white — and what to teach it while it is still taking in new movement so readily. I work with Cheam School as their physiotherapist and True Core™ coach.
Watch client testimonialsRun a school or a club? Seminars for organisations.
Nothing on this page is individual medical advice. If your child has pain that lasts, comes back, or stops them playing, please have them assessed properly — by me or by someone else.