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Writer's picturePLAYWORK

Hand-eye coordination: effective Ball drills and new 'smart' Balls

Updated: Jul 12, 2023


Medically reviewed by Esti Naim, OTR/Lwritten by PLAYWORK.


Hand-eye coordination refers to the ability of your body to process information received through the eyes and perform hand movements based on it. Simply speaking, it's catching, grabbing, reaching. With age, of course, hand-eye coordination is deteriorating, and it's essential to use all the available tools to prevent and minimize it.


Usually, this type of ability starts developing between the 4th and 14th months of your child's life, while some advanced skills can develop by the age of 7. However, in some cases, it may come with a delay. There are numerous reasons for such delays, including autism, ASD, CP, decreased muscle tone, and more. In such cases, there are different exercises to improve the condition.


 

Exercises To Improve Hand-Eye Coordination


Some of the basic recommendations for improving hand-eye coordination are related to using balls as a therapy tool. Since games are a vital part of your child's routine, using a PLAYBALL will be an easy way to work on the issue while having fun at the same time. You can try tossing the ball and catching it. Of course, you should ensure the child is switching hands, so both of them get equally exercised.


For babies, you can try placing balls within reach and encouraging them to grab them. Besides the ball, you can use other tools, such as building a tower the baby should knockdown, and more.

For toddlers, catch and toss is a perfect choice. Besides, it's recommended to use jigsaw puzzles, bouncing balls, rolling a ball to knock the bottles down.


If a child is over five years old, you can try bouncing a ball on a racquet, kicking it into the goal, wall ball, juggling, and more.




Using Smart Balls to Improve Hand-Eye Coordination


Now imagine all these exercises we've previously mentioned, but with a smart ball. Let's first clarify what this is. A smart ball is a new tool used in medicine to cure different conditions – from physical therapy to many others, such as hand-eye coordination exercise.


Not only will you monitor your child's results more efficiently, but you will also ensure much more fun exercising and playing at the same time. Smart balls are connected to monitors that follow the results and give daily reports.


Based on that, you can see which of the exercises suit your kid the most and have helped its progress recently. Besides, there are different games to play on the monitor, making sure your kid loves therapy and goes there happily. Being in the right state of mind is halfway to improving.


Best of all, therapies are done with experts following the progress and advise you on how to work on the condition after the session is done. Also, it will give you, as a parent, the benefits of being confident. Having a stable support system for your child is equally valuable as having the right tools.


 

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