I believe that working with kids provides an opportunity to make the most lasting impact.
Why? The answer is two-fold.
First off, it provides me with an opportunity to educate the parents about paediatric-specific health concerns, injuries, and injury prevention.
Secondly, as you may have heard before, the habits you learn as a child last a lifetime. Those skills/habits are not always good.
How kids move is important
Bringing awareness to bad postural/functional habits is paramount, especially when it comes to children.
From birth until adulthood, your child’s movement history is like a step-wise progression that gets more and more complex with time. A baby’s motor milestones are a perfect example of this, but movement maturation extends well beyond the first year of life.
Your child spends the first year (or so) of their life building their movement repertoire, strengthening their muscles, shaping their joints, and solidifying their brain-to-muscle connections, in order to be able to play, stand up and walk. Over the next 3 or so years, they refine their skills as their nervous system matures and their body develops. As they age further, they expand their movement vocabulary and begin to learn specialized skills (such as those used in complex play and sport)
Just as it is important to ensure a baby follows the ideal path of development through their motor milestones, it is also important that the quality of a child’s movement is developed as they reach adolescence, and navigate massive growth spurts while spending a large portion of their day sedentary (while in school, and at home).
Why you can trust me with your child’s movement and paediatric injury needs
I have done extensive training related to paediatric care and rehabilitation and have spent years working with babies and kids of all ages. My training was obtained through the world-renown Prague School of Rehabilitation in Czech Republic, the leaders in paediatric care.
My training has roots in developmental kinesiology, which is the study of human movement during paediatric development. Understanding how our movement develops as we age gives me unique insight into how injuries occur as we age and what needs to be done to get the body back on track.
I find that the key to effective paediatric care is properly relating the information to the parent and the child in a meaningful way.
Teaching a child how to move or perform a skill properly helps them build the awareness they need to avoid future injury and improve performance.
Do you ever wish that someone took the time with you while you were a child to properly assess the quality of your movement, to address your injuries, and to help you understand how to prevent them?
As a father of two, I know you want your kids to have the best opportunities in life. And if you feel they need help, we should talk.
