Balance

Who knew that balance was such a big deal.

Several months ago Shelley and I became a little concerned that Seth wasn't able to do some of the things all the books say would be beneficial if a 4 year old could do, one of those being able to peddle a bike or tricycle.

We bought Seth a bicycle for Christmas in hopes that if we just practiced he would soon get it. It didn't work and we were at a loss as what to do.

We finally took him and had him evaluated and found out he was about 6 months behind where he needed to be and it was recommended that he attend some physical therapy. They estimated that it would only take about 6 months to get him where he needed to be. We started the sessions about 6 weeks ago and it has made a world of difference.

We have learned during this process that not having a good sense of balance is a common problem with kids and it can greatly affect how they develop. Seth didn't want to feel unstable so he compensated with how he sat, how he ran, how he climbed stairs and by avoiding other activities like trying to ride a bike.

As I mentioned he has shown amazing improvement with just a few weeks of professional help and it was decided to have him reevaluated in his last session. His therapist reported to us yesterday that he was almost caught up and would only need a few more sessions. We are amazed at how well he responded.

But, he still won't ride a bike so Shelley mentioned this to the therapist and guess what it still comes back to balance. She said that even with the training wheels the bike feels unstable to him because it still has a bit of a wobble. She suggested trying to stabilize it for him. So last night I worked on getting the training wheels and rear wheel all on the same level so the bike wouldn't wobble.

I accomplished this and guess what, Seth rode his bike last night. Up until last night we could barely get him to sit on it and last night he made two loops around our neighborhood.

The coolest thing was the smile on his face.