Crossing Midline Activities for Kids

What is Midline Crossing?

As you cross the centerline, move your arms or legs through the middle of your body to perform the task. Before midline crossing is well established, children are typically observed to perform tasks on only one side of the body. Example: Reach for an object on the left with only your left hand. Crossing the midline is important for developing joint use of both sides of the body. B. Wearing shoes and socks, writing, and cutting. Promote left and right brain coordination and communication. It also facilitates the process of developing handedness and the development of fine motor skills.

IMPORTANT SKILLS

  1. Good control and use on both sides of the body.
  2. Sufficient body awareness.
  3. Ample trunk control.

DIFFICULTIES IN MIDLINE CROSSING:

  1. Change hands during the activity. Examples: write, cut.
  2. Rotate your torso instead of crossing your body and reaching for the object on the other side.
  3. It is difficult to take care of yourself according to your age

PRESCHOOLERS’ MIDLINE CROSSING ACTIVITIES:

  • Passing relays
  • Back-to-back passing
  • Lazy 8 exercise
  • WINDMILL. Instruct your child to stand up straight, bend at the waist, and touch your left foot with your right hand. Return to standing position and repeat with the other hand and foot.
  • Self-care activities like grooming tasks (combing, brushing)
  • Instruct your child to stand straight and hold the bat made a zig-zag way and ask the  child to move zig zag with a bat
  • Shuttlecock games

Crossing Midline is a developmental ability that is important for so many gross motor tasks. When a child has difficulty with crossing mid-line, they will demonstrate inefficiency with fine motor skills. The Midline of the body is an imaginary line that drops from the middle of the head, straight down over the nose, to the belly button and divides the body into left and right sides. Crossing midline refers to moving the left hand/arm/foot/leg across this line to the right side (and vice versa). Crossing midline also refers to twisting the body in rotation around this imaginary line, and leaning the upper or body across the middle of the body.


The activities are:

  • Crawling and climbing on playground equipment.
  • Throwing and catching a ball or bean bag, sitting back to back, and passing a ball to each other.
  • Exercises – cross crawls, windmills, side bends.
  • Rotate the body in a twisting motion.
  • Bend the upper body side to side.
  • Play Simon Says.
  • Thread lids on a long string.
  • Wash a large wall with big swooping arm motions.
  • Erase a large chalkboard.
  • Scoop balloons in a water bin.
  • Wash a car. Encourage the child to use large circular motions with the sponge.
  • Kick a ball.
  • Toss bean bags. (Encourage upper body movement!)
  • Squirt gun activities at targets.
  • Play with magnets on the garage door.
  • Play Twister.
  • Hit a ball with a bat.
  • Play flashlight tag.
  • Show the child how to write their name in the air with large arm movements.
  • Bend over at the waist and swing the arm side to side, in large circles, and in figure 8 motions.
  • Painting on an easel
  • Drawing a figure 8
  • Drawing rainbows
  • Wiping the desks