TEACH YOUR CHILD TO… CATCH A BALL

The best way to teach a child to catch a ball is to break it down into baby steps. Before you teach your child to catch, teach her how to throw. Even if she drops the ball, praise any attempts at throwing. It will motivate her to “get” the ball and try again – “getting” the ball is the first step in learning to catch. Once you move on to catching, teach your child to hug a ball by placing it gently on her chest and getting her to wrap her arms around it. Next, get your child to hold out her arms. Guide the ball to her chest in slow motion, encouraging her to bring her arms up and “trap” it there. Then ask her to “get” the ball and begin to pass the ball to her from slightly further away, increasing the gap as she gains confidence. Even if she drops the ball but then chases after it and retrieves it, you can still praise her success in “getting” it. Keep the learning fun and give your child lots of high-fives, claps and enthusiastic “well dones”.Don’t pass a ball to a child’s face. Her natural defense mechanism will cause her to flinch or smack the ball away, and will dent her confidence. You can begin teaching this skill once your child is confidently standing on her own, but if you want to start earlier, sit with your feet touching and legs apart in a diamond shape and roll the ball to each other. The best learn-to-catch balls are reasonably large and made from soft, silicon rubber.