Let’s imagine an invisible line running down the human body separating the left side from the right called the midline. When babies crawl, they use opposite sides of their body simultaneously. When preschoolers physically use their body to cross that divide (by using their right hand to reach something on the left side of their body), for example they are crossing the midline.
In both of these scenarios’ children are using movements which cause their brains to communicate across their corpus callosum. This thick cable of nerves allows their two brain hemispheres to communicate. The practice is vital for higher level skills like
reading and writing. By moving in new ways, they build and strengthen new pathways in the brain.
Most children will naturally learn to cross their midline as they grow, but some need occupational therapy to work on this task. There are creative, fun, and intentional ways to play while practicing crossing the midline!
Here are a few to get you started!
1. Crawl, crawl, crawl
Encourage preschooler to crawl
with
a baby brother/sister by getting down on the floor to crawl. Build obstacle courses with pillows and soft toys to navigate while crawling.
2. Baby Cross Crawls
While you sing songs to your child, intentionally touch his left foot to his right hand and vice versa. You can tap to the rhythm of the music or teach body part names. In this way, you can challenge your older child to touch their left knee with their right elbow and vice versa. This is trickier than it looks!
3. Wash Large Objects
Preschooler love to help wash windows or cars with special wipes or a sponge. Ask them to hold the tool with both hands wiping back and forth in large motions as they clean so that they are crossing their midline frequently.
4. Dance, Sway, and Play with Ribbon Wands
You can create your own ribbon wands with a paint stirrer (or just hold a scarf in one hand for the same effect). Model how to cross the midline while dancing for your child by making figure eights and rainbow across with the ribbon.
