Movement & Infants
By Rae Pica
Then, once the child is performing
voluntary actions (for example,
rolling over, creeping, and walking),
the circle completes itself, as these
skills provide both glucose (the
brain’s primary source of energy)
and blood flow (“food”) to the
brain, in all likelihood increasing
neuronal connections.
According to Rebecca Anne Bailey
and Elsie Carter Burton, authors
of The Dynamic Self: Activities to
Enhance Infant Development, whenever
babies move any part of their
bodies, there exists the potential
for two different kinds of learning
to occur: learning to move and
moving to learn.
Still, recent evidence indicates that
infants are spending upward of 60
waking hours a week in things—
high chairs, carriers, car seats, and
the like! The reasons for this trend
are varied. Part of the problem is
that more and more infants are being
placed in childcare centers, where
there may not be enough space to
let babies roam the floor. Or, given the
number of infants enrolled, there may
be little opportunity for caregivers
to spend one-on-one time with each
baby. This means, in the morning, an
infant is typically fed, dressed, and
then carried to the automobile, where
she’s placed in a car seat. She’s then
carried into the childcare center,
where she may spend much of her
time in a crib or playpen. At the end of
the day, she’s picked up, placed again
into the car seat, and carried back into
the house, where she’s fed, bathed,
and put to bed.
Even when parents are home with
baby, they seem to be busier than
ever these days. Who has time to get
on the floor and creep around with a
child? Besides, with today’s emphasis
on being productive, playing with
a baby would seem almost a guilty
pleasure! And if the baby seems
happy and safe in a seat placed
conveniently in front of the TV, in a
bouncer hung in a doorway, or cruising
about in a walker, then what’s the
harm? It’s a win/win situation, isn’t it?
In fact, it isn’t. Being confined
(as one colleague says: “containerized”)
affects a baby’s personality;
they need to be held. It may also
have serious consequences for
the child’s motor—and cognitive—
development.
Other trends in today’s society having
an impact on infants’ opportunities
to move are the inclination to restrict,
rather than encourage, freedom of
movement and the misguided belief
that early academic instruction will
result in superbabies. (In 1999,
770,000 copies of infant software—
“lapware”—were sold!)
Humans are meant to move and play.
The inclination—the need—is hardwired
into them. Babies, in fact,
spend nearly half of their waking
time—40%—doing things like kicking,
bouncing, and waving their
arms. And while it may appear all
this activity is just for the sake of
moving, it’s important to realize a
baby is never “just moving” or “just
playing.” Every action extends the
child’s development in some way.
Rae Pica has been a children’s movement
specialist for 24 years. A former
adjunct instructor with the University
of New Hampshire, she is the author
of 14 books, including the text
Experiences in Movement, the Moving
& Learning Series, and Your Active
Child, written for the parents of children
birth to eight. Rae is nationally
known for her workshops and keynotes
and has shared her expertise with such
groups as the Sesame Street Research
Department, the Head Start Bureau,
Centers for Disease Control,
Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues, and a
number of state health departments
throughout the country. Rae served
on the task force of the National
Association for Sport and Physical
Education (NASPE) that created Active
Start: A Statement of Physical Activity
Guidelines for Children Birth to Five
Years. She is also the author of “Kids
in Action,” a booklet of movement
activities parents can do at home with
their children, sponsored by Kellogg,
NASPE, and the President’s Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports.
www.movingandlearning.com
Moving & Learning
Rae Pica, Director
346 North Barnstead Road
Center Barnstead, NH 03225
Phone/Fax: (603) 776-7411
Email us at
raepica@movingandlearning.com
pathways
By Rae Pica
Then, once the child is performing
voluntary actions (for example,
rolling over, creeping, and walking),
the circle completes itself, as these
skills provide both glucose (the
brain’s primary source of energy)
and blood flow (“food”) to the
brain, in all likelihood increasing
neuronal connections.
According to Rebecca Anne Bailey
and Elsie Carter Burton, authors
of The Dynamic Self: Activities to
Enhance Infant Development, whenever
babies move any part of their
bodies, there exists the potential
for two different kinds of learning
to occur: learning to move and
moving to learn.
Still, recent evidence indicates that
infants are spending upward of 60
waking hours a week in things—
high chairs, carriers, car seats, and
the like! The reasons for this trend
are varied. Part of the problem is
that more and more infants are being
placed in childcare centers, where
there may not be enough space to
let babies roam the floor. Or, given the
number of infants enrolled, there may
be little opportunity for caregivers
to spend one-on-one time with each
baby. This means, in the morning, an
infant is typically fed, dressed, and
then carried to the automobile, where
she’s placed in a car seat. She’s then
carried into the childcare center,
where she may spend much of her
time in a crib or playpen. At the end of
the day, she’s picked up, placed again
into the car seat, and carried back into
the house, where she’s fed, bathed,
and put to bed.
Even when parents are home with
baby, they seem to be busier than
ever these days. Who has time to get
on the floor and creep around with a
child? Besides, with today’s emphasis
on being productive, playing with
a baby would seem almost a guilty
pleasure! And if the baby seems
happy and safe in a seat placed
conveniently in front of the TV, in a
bouncer hung in a doorway, or cruising
about in a walker, then what’s the
harm? It’s a win/win situation, isn’t it?
In fact, it isn’t. Being confined
(as one colleague says: “containerized”)
affects a baby’s personality;
they need to be held. It may also
have serious consequences for
the child’s motor—and cognitive—
development.
Other trends in today’s society having
an impact on infants’ opportunities
to move are the inclination to restrict,
rather than encourage, freedom of
movement and the misguided belief
that early academic instruction will
result in superbabies. (In 1999,
770,000 copies of infant software—
“lapware”—were sold!)
Humans are meant to move and play.
The inclination—the need—is hardwired
into them. Babies, in fact,
spend nearly half of their waking
time—40%—doing things like kicking,
bouncing, and waving their
arms. And while it may appear all
this activity is just for the sake of
moving, it’s important to realize a
baby is never “just moving” or “just
playing.” Every action extends the
child’s development in some way.
Rae Pica has been a children’s movement
specialist for 24 years. A former
adjunct instructor with the University
of New Hampshire, she is the author
of 14 books, including the text
Experiences in Movement, the Moving
& Learning Series, and Your Active
Child, written for the parents of children
birth to eight. Rae is nationally
known for her workshops and keynotes
and has shared her expertise with such
groups as the Sesame Street Research
Department, the Head Start Bureau,
Centers for Disease Control,
Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues, and a
number of state health departments
throughout the country. Rae served
on the task force of the National
Association for Sport and Physical
Education (NASPE) that created Active
Start: A Statement of Physical Activity
Guidelines for Children Birth to Five
Years. She is also the author of “Kids
in Action,” a booklet of movement
activities parents can do at home with
their children, sponsored by Kellogg,
NASPE, and the President’s Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports.
www.movingandlearning.com
Moving & Learning
Rae Pica, Director
346 North Barnstead Road
Center Barnstead, NH 03225
Phone/Fax: (603) 776-7411
Email us at
raepica@movingandlearning.com
pathways
