As a child, a grassy hill was a slice of heaven.  Its location was shared among neighborhood friends and bragged about among schoolmates.  A hill meant one thing and one thing only: rolling.

Rolling like that is the ultimate in vestibular input and children used to find log rolling down hills among the most sought-after thrills of play: Rolling down, standing up and staggering around before running up the hill to repeat the process.

Ring any bells?

Rolling over is the first real gross motor accomplishment human babies conquer.  As a stepping stone to other motor milestones, it is a thrill for parents to see their newborns have flipped themselves over.  But what is important to note is rolling over is also the first crossing the midline activity humans do.  As we roll, our arms and legs must cross the midline to catch our bodies as we move from front to back or back to front.  In so doing, we begin some heavy lifting in the wiring of our brains and the conversation between the left and right brain across the corpus callosum.  This lays the first foundational stones that support writing, logic, math, language, and problem-solving.

Just from rolling over.

What is concerning, however, is that children today don’t log roll down long grassy hills like their parents and grandparents did.  And if you ask a young child today, many will not be able to do it.

Log rolling isn’t just about crossing the midline.  As children age, log rolling is one of the best ways to build core and upper body strength.  It is also a really important tool for developing the vestibular system which lays a steadying hand on the eyes helping letters and numbers to stay still on the page when we read and write.  The vestibular system also helps children develop a data management system so they can filter important data from unimportant data.  Many children today can’t “hear” as well as they should and it could be because this system isn’t well-developed.  Learn more here.

More of this kind of big-body play is crucial for the development of so many strengths and skills kids need to learn and behave, manage their bodies, and calm their minds.

Need a log-rolling idea?  We gotcha! Log Roll Bowling.  Get it here.