Park life: why the experience of swinging is so good for development

Many aspects of your child’s development are described as ‘experience-dependent’, which means they develop certain skills in response to their experience. It is a key part of development, as real and repeated experiences help build and strengthen connections in the brain. As your child makes these connections, and gains strength and control of their movements, you might notice that they are able to do more things independently. 

Parks have play equipment that offer your child lots of experience to develop and build experience-dependent skills, like using a swing. 

Learning how to use a swing is a skill that requires practice as it involves balance, coordination and cognitive skills. 

It’s a difficult task that calls for your child to plan their movements and swing at a speed they enjoy.  

Having repeated experiences of getting a swing to move while staying upright helps your child understand how to coordinate their body and keep balance at the same time.  

If you go to the park regularly, your child might begin to coordinate their movements to keep a swing moving.  

If your child hasn’t used a swing very much, they might not have the experience yet to swing the swing. But don’t worry, there’s still lots of time to learn, and if they have good balance, posture and coordination from other experiences, it’ll help them master this skill!