Weight-bearing exercises and activities on open hands help kids build many skills needed for hand skill development and fine motor tasks. They help kids develop strong bones, core stability, upper body strength, and fine motor skills.
As a pediatric occupational therapist, I encourage parents and educators to embed as much floor time as possible in different positions with kids of all ages during play and learning. I often recommend a prone position on the floor or side-sitting positions during play and learning activities.
But the best way to add even more benefit for their bodies is to use weight-bearing exercises on the hands. These are a frequent part of my occupational therapy treatment sessions.
Benefits of Floor Time Activities for Kids
Floor time play is great for kids of all ages to promote healthy bones. Any form of weight bearing through the body increases bone density. But there are more developmental benefits than just bone health.
The firm surface of the floor allows children’s bodies to work different muscle groups against gravity using their own weight. It builds foundational sensory and motor skills that promote the development of fine motor skills.
Floor time play can involve lying prone on the stomach on the floor or sitting on the floor and leaning into the arms when playing and learning.
Easy Prone Position Activities for Kids
Prone position activities build upper back, shoulder and neck strength and they prepare the body for fine motor hand skill development. Prone activities give added sensory input through the body and they help kids focus on visual play or learning information right in front of them on the floor.
The position of the forearms flat on the floor gives pressure through the pinky side of the forearm. This pressure on these muscles is so important for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. It helps stimulate the nerve on the pinky side in the forearm in order for it to work on stabilizing the rest of the hand.
Stability on the pinky and ring finger side of the hand promotes the development of grasping skills during daily fine motor activities.
The prone position gives proprioceptive pressure input through the entire front of the body. Proprioceptive input is calming and organizing for the brain and body.
In addition, when older kids lie on their stomachs in the prone position, they tend to focus better on what they are doing. If they have to read or complete a worksheet or play a game, the visual input is directly in front of them. A prone position minimizes extra distracting visual information in the room.
Sitting and Leaning Into an Arm and Open Hand
Sitting in an upright position during floor time is a great way to work on posture during meetings, circle time, or floor lessons. However, additional time sitting on a floor for play, games or learning centers is also good for kids. When completing tasks on a floor, children have to shift weight, lean into a straightened arm, stretch, and move around to complete the task. Leaning into a straightened arm stretches and strengthens core muscles, helps with sitting posture and balance, and it gives extra pressure and weight through the extended arm and hand.
While I often encourage both of these activities to parents and educators, there’s an even more powerful floor position for kids…
Weight bearing positions on open palms!
Benefits of Weight Bearing Exercises and Activities on Open Palms
Weight bearing activities on the hands help increase bone density in children. They also give powerful information to the nervous system (brain and spinal cord) that children need for sensory and motor development. They support the development of strong proximal muscles (the muscle groups closest to the body) so that the smaller muscles can develop fine motor coordination.
Weight-bearing exercises, weight-bearing activities, and weight-bearing positions on open palms have great benefits for children of all ages.
A child’s own body weight pressing through their open palms:
- Provides calming and organizing proprioceptive input through the arms
- Improves bone density
- Supports core strength and builds strong proximal muscles for stability
- Enhances motor awareness and motor coordination within the arms
- Increases proprioceptive awareness within the hands
- Strengthens the upper back and neck muscles for improved posture and attention
- Greatly strengthens and stabilizes the shoulder girdle muscles
- Stretches the muscles within the hands
- Activates hand muscles needed for grasping, fine motor control, and manipulation
All of these benefits are important for functional hand skill development in children.
I see so many children with declining muscle strength and weak hand strength due to increased technology use and decreased sensory and gross motor play.
It’s so important that children engage in proper developmental activities to conquer weak hands! We use our hands every day. In order improve hand function in children, they need to participate in appropriate activities and exercises that support it!
Weight Bearing Exercises for Babies and Toddlers
Babies who are used to tummy time, receive pressure input to the pinky and ring finger side of the hand as previously stated to support fine motor development. (Weight-bearing in a side-lying position also supports core strength in babies, AND it helps the brain connect their eyes and their hands as they look at the hand of the bottom arm – another stepping stone for fine motor and eye-hand coordination!)
With comfort during tummy time, babies start to push up on their hands and straighten their arms when they are preparing to crawl. This is yet another important stepping stone for motor skills.
Floor time and crawling should be encouraged in babies as much as possible. Even when they’re upright on their feet, crawling can be added through games of chase, forts, and tunnels.
A fun way to work on weight-bearing for older babies and toddlers is a wheelbarrow-like position. Hold these little ones at their hips (and maybe under their belly at first) with their hands on the floor. With their hands flat on the floor, rock their bodies back and forth to “Row-Row-Row-Your-Boat.” You can also try this over a small gym ball.
Toddlers should be encouraged to continue to participate in crawling or other upper extremity weight-bearing exercises on their hands. Have them pretend to crawl like a dog on the way to their nap or crawl like a hungry bear before washing their hands for dinner!
Or, set up obstacle courses with tunnels, chairs, blankets, sheets, or safe objects to crawl through or under during play. Babies and toddlers can get weight bearing input through the hands when pushing a toy car or other toys along the ground.
Preschool Weight Bearing Exercises on the Hands
Young children in preschool benefit greatly from weight bearing on their upper extremities. They need continued developmental activities as they play. Learning continues to happen through play at this age.
I loved working in one of my preschools many years ago. We had a routine of sensory and motor exercises and activities that we did every day with the children. They received several opportunities for weight bearing exercises throughout the time they were in the preschool classroom.
The teacher incorporated much of the following exercises:
- Yoga poses during circle time (downward dog, lion, table, cat, cow, etc)
- Animal walks during transitions (bear or bunny on the way to the table for fine motor)
- Wheelbarrow walks (on the way to wash hands)
- Tunnels (as part of an obstacle course on the way to the bathroom)
- Rolling over a ball onto their hands during gross motor time
- Pulling with only the arms while lying on the stomach on a scooter board
These types of activities can easily be used in a home environment as well.
Quick Classroom Arm Weight Bearing Exercises and Activities for School-Aged Children
As a school-based occupational therapist, I’ve worked with many amazing teachers who naturally incorporate brain breaks and exercises throughout the school day. These teachers recognize that kids need the movement breaks and that they need to use their bodies in order to improve attention.
Some even understand the developmental benefits to the exercises in order to help with writing and fine motor skills in the classroom. Before a lesson, it’s easy to take less than a couple minutes to give input to children’s bodies.
Quick Classroom Hand Weight Bearing Exercises and Fun Activities for Kids
- Desk push ups
- Chair push ups
- Play a game on a carpet area
- Do work while on the floor (sit and lean into the hands)
- Plank kicks
- Crab kicks
- Wall push-ups
- Inchworm
- Lizard crawl
- Table position
- Palm presses
- Donkey kicks
- Push-ups
- Downward dog
- Cat and cow stretches
- Leaning back into the hands, while listening to a story
Weight Bearing Exercises for Kids When Outdoors or in Large Indoor Spaces
Taking advantage of time outdoors or larger indoor spaces is a great way to work on physical development in kids. And it expends energy so that they can focus better when they’re done!
Add these activities as different ways to give children exercise and physical input.
- Crab walking races
- Wheelbarrow races
- Obstacle course with tunnels or objects to crawl under
- Cartwheels
- Crab soccer
- Scooter board strengthening – kids lie on the stomach and pull with only the arms
- Sitting on the scooter with hands pressing down near the handles
- Bear walk or crab walk shuttle races
- Crab volleyball with a large oversized inflatable ball
- Backbends
- Cartwheels
- Handsprings
- Lie on the stomach over a low swing: swing and push with the arms
- Carefully go down a slide face first using the hands to control the body
- Scavenger hunts on the hands in the knees
- Mountain climbers (hands stay still and the feet run in place)
Weight bearing exercises are a great way to support development in kids of all ages! Have fun with these activities.
For related exercises and activities click the links throughout the post and click:
107+ Easy OT Hand Strengthening Activities & Games for Kids
93 Best Toys for Fine Motor Skills – 6 OT Skill Areas
Best Educational Brain Breaks for Kids
Improve Your Student Performance with This Classroom Exercise Program: Increase Core Stability, Attention & Focus, and More… (use SENSORY and sensory-motor strategies)
Gain lifetime access to a BRAIN BREAK EXERCISE SERIES that helps ALL kiddos…
Use these specific occupational therapy exercises to improve:
Attention… focus… core stability… crossing midline… sensory processing… visual development… & more… Click for more info!
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