Why Baby Gym?

Baby Gym provides a strong foundation for your baby’s critical early years. This period of your child’s life will INFLUENCE their movement abilities later. Baby Gym is perfect for babies aged 4-10 months & up to 12 months.

The development areas the program focuses on are;

• Brain Development
• Body Awareness
• Social Interaction
• Vestibular Stimulation
• Balance
• Core Strength
• Fine Motor Skills & Sensory System

CROSS PATTERNING
Assists in organising your baby’s brain function.

Activities like crawling increases concentration and attention
Cross Patterning actions strengthen communication pathways in the brain assisting in improved coordination
Crawling also lays the foundation of upper body strength for other activities later in life.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Assists in developing the following abilities;
Stabilisation of the shoulder and wrist
Good thumb development
Development of the arches of the hand
Strength of the hands
Touch pressure

VESTIBULAR SYSTEM

The information that is sent to the brain from the eyes, muscles and joints;

Vital component of the brain’s ability to maintain alertness
Stimulating the Vestibular System helps to wake the brain and prepare it for new information
Vestibular stimulation can happen by taking the body off-balance and back again – rolling and rotating The Vestibular System sends messages to the brain; helping us to be aware of where our body and limbs are in space
Spatial awareness relates to the ability to locate and place letters, numbers and symbols on a page.

AGES & STAGES:

1-3 – months Smiles, regards face, visually tracks to midline, lifts head, vocalises ah / uh / eh / ooo, bicycle kick, brings hand to mouth, rolls to side lying & plays with feet
4-6 months – turns to your voice, recognises mum and dad, recognises happy and sad faces, reaches for objects, good head control, visually tracks objects past midline, regards his / her own hand, plays with feet more frequently, rolls from back to front and may also roll front to back, can hold head up to 90 degrees in tummy play, can sit with support or while propping on own hands
7-9 months – able to get into sitting position, goes from sitting with support (7 months) to sitting independently (9 months), indicates wants, says baba / dada / mama, creeps or crawls, pulls to stand, stands holding onto someone or something, understands object permanence; plays peekaboo, bangs things together, can finger feed, holds two object, transfers objects from one hand to the other, waves
10-12 months – stands alone, pulls to stand, walks holding your hand, understand object permanence; uncovers toy from under cup, rotates well while cruising, can roll a ball to a person, understands questions in context, may produce two or three words, imitates activities, uses push toys, points, assists with dressing and undressing, turns pages of book, looks for you, shakes head for no, throws objects, tries to build a tower

ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN BABY GYM:

Group activities using balls, bubbles, scarves, a parachute, tapping sticks & hoops.
Arm exercises with your baby including birdies, chest press, shoulder press, swimming arms, hand to knee, wrist rotation & hand massage.
Leg exercises with your baby including knee bends, leg presses, straddle stretch, leg crosses, left to right, hamstring stretch & ankle rotations.
Skills with your baby including partner log rolls, rocking on a bun / cylinder, independent log rolls, supported forward roll, forward rolls over a bun / cylinder, mini handstand, wheel barrow, wheelbarrow to forward roll, swinging & pull overs on the bar………….PLUS LOADS of singing, dancing, cuddles and giggles with your baby.

About Baby Gym classes

Suitable for 4-10 month olds and up to 12 months and their parent / carer.

Check our Facebook page for our Baby Gym timetable. 

We are Breast Feeding Friendly and also have changing facilities available.

GROUP BOOKINGS AVAILABLE (Mother’s Groups, Father’s Groups, Group of friends)