Spinning

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My son is always spinning around. Well, almost always. It's definitely his preferred mode of being.

(I am not--generally--having any parenting difficulty with it at all. I've always just helped him find appropriate places to spin and labeled places where he could not spin. I know he needs to and I've never fought it. For instance--open area under the front of the school that is much less populated--okay to spin. In the hallways of the school--not okay to spin, etc.)

It got me thinking, though, isn't spinning the natural state of everything in the universe?

When I went into a sensory deprivation tank, I could not feel gravity, temperature or anything touching me, and after a while, all I wanted to do was spin. It made me feel natural and normal and reminded me of the way objects are in space. (I do not have the affinity for everyday spinning that my so does.)


What do you think?

Personally, I get dizzy when I spin too much. I prefer gentle rocking.

But I do believe that movement, rather than stagnation, is the natural state of being....though, at tines, we need to stop to rest at times.

I like rocking better, too.


On a somewhat related note: I've read from multiple sources that movement is needed for learning. Most schools have not incorporated this new insight into the human brain into their teaching methods.

I always wonder how other people are able to remain still and learn at the same time...science is on my side...but clearly, people do it all the time.

Only loosely related to your post...when my daughter was a toddler/preschooler, she was a spinner. She would spin for so long that it made ME dizzy to watch her.

She is 9 now, and self-reflected the other day that she can no longer spin the way she used to. She said when she was younger it felt good...not dizzy...good, from her description, I would say it felt exhilarating. But now she says she feels dizzy. This is the first year I have ever heard her use the word dizzy. When she was younger she did not understand what I meant. This year at a carnival, we went on a spinning ride, and I notice that she walked like she was unbalanced afterward.

I find it funny, that when I was taught to teach adults, we were taught to include fidget toys and movement breaks for those who need it. I have yet to see a fidget toy used in any childhood setting, unless the kid has one as part of an accommodation. I have seen a few wiggle cushions, though, and am considering getting one for my daughter.

When I'm in motion or hyper, I have trouble learning. I need to sit still to concentrate well.

If I sit still I cannot concentrate. At all. In fact, an almost sure-fire way for me to comprehend something I am reading when I am not getting it is to rock slowly. In a meeting, if I do not move in some manner, I lose what is being said in a very short period of time. I wouldn't say it makes me feel hyper, though, but rather that it makes me feel...properly stimulated.