Have you noticed your baby picking up things that are heavier than you thought they could handle? There's a reason!

Not only does all this heavy lifting strengthen their muscles, it's activating their proprioceptive system. "WHAT IS THAT?" I hear you shout? Well basically it's a fancy word for our body awareness. It's how we feel where all of our limbs are in relation to each other and where we are in space. When your baby lifts things, pushes things or open and closes things their proprioceptive system is activating, helping them to learn how much FORCE they have to use to successfully complete a task.

AND IT'S NOT JUST LEARNING. 'Heavy work' like this can be incredibly calming for children. It's used as a strategy in schools across the land to calm children down and stabilise their behaviour. If your child is getting frustrated, try giving them a 'Heavy work' job to do. It's likely that their behaviour will become more relaxed and organised. This applies to ALL AGES. So giving them something to take to daddy or to put on the shelf or carry to the kitchen can be the little pick me up their sensory system needs.

HOW:
Have heavier things available for your baby to try and lift. Try not to jump in and do it for them or predict they're not strong enough. You could even make heavy things by filling bottles or containers with sand or water.

Does your baby lift? What do they use?!