1.What is balance Balance is the ability of the human body to automatically adjust its posture and maintain the required posture regardless of the position, movement or driven by external forces. 2.What is balance function training The human body needs good posture control to carry out normal activities, that is, the ability to maintain the body’s balance, to make activities to achieve smooth, accurate and coordinated, it is necessary to have good coordination function. Balance and coordination function influence each other and are very closely related. Wang Hui, Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine 3. When does the balance reaction start to appear in normal children When the center of gravity of the body changes, this reaction can be induced to try to restore the center of gravity within the original support point. The normal time for children to start to develop balance response is: prone position: 6 months; supine position: 7-8 months; sitting position: 7-8 months; squatting position: 9-12 months; standing position: 12-21 months. When does the protective stretch response begin to appear in normal children. When the body is deflected from its original point of support by an external force, the upper and/or lower extremities are extended or abducted to support the body to prevent a fall is called the protective stretch response. The normal time for children to develop protective stretch response is: upper limbs: 4-6 months; lower limbs: 6-9 months. 4.How to train balance function Balance disorder is mainly due to lack of visual information input, vestibular dysfunction, lack of proprioception, limb deficiency, paralysis (such as paraplegia), cerebellar dysfunction, etc. Before balance training, the child should first be asked to learn to relax and reduce tension or fear; if there are muscle spasms, they should be relieved first. Next, decide whether a mirror is needed and what position is best to start the training. The basic principle is to start training from the most stable position and gradually progress to the most unstable position, from static balance to dynamic balance, in order to gradually increase the difficulty of balance. The main points of the method are to gradually reduce the body support area and improve the body’s center of gravity; gradually increase the head and neck, trunk and limb movements under the premise of maintaining stability; gradually transition from open-eye activities to closed-eye activities. The training should be conducted on a stable support point, requiring a functional position (e.g., sitting on the side of the bed) to ensure the safety of the child, with support or the child’s own upper limb support if necessary. During the training process, the child should be encouraged to move his or her head, help transfer weight in a small range (e.g., weight transfer from the left hip to the right hip), transfer weight from one upper extremity to the other, rotate the trunk, and gradually decrease support, first moving the upper extremity unilaterally and then bilaterally. Gradually increase the range, speed and difficulty of trunk movements. The above training allows the child to adopt different positions that are comfortable, such as standing and kneeling. When the child can maintain the stability of the support point, a certain amount of external force can be applied. Under the premise of ensuring the child’s safety, the scapula can be gently tapped from different directions, or the child can be placed in an unbalanced position and then allowed to correct himself/herself. Train balance on movable support points, such as balance board, tossing and catching ball, etc. Train forward activities in a safe environment, such as running “8” from left to right and jumping up a ladder.