There are ways to re-teach our bodies to identify our right side and left side easily.

Training our right/left awareness, or ‘laterality’ doesn’t have to be hard but it needs motivation.

Here are some simple activities to try at home

1. Giving directions
   Ask the child/adult to turn left at a tree or to open the door on the right. Young children could also be asked to raise their left arm or wiggle their right foot. 
   ​
2. Bubbles: 
   Blowing bubbles is a simple activity that demonstrates direction movements to a child. Blow bubbles and discuss how the bubbles float and land, such as on top of the table, in front of the fence or over your head. 
   
   
3. Over, Under, In and Out: 
   Ask the child to find three items that are under, on and in something. 
   E.g. a teddy bear behind the chair; a spoon under the window; a book on top of the shelf.
   Use phrases that will help the child to visualize a concept. 
   Emphasize walking in and out of different rooms and areas. Point out lights and ceilings that are over your head and the carpet or flooring that is under your feet. 
   Demonstrate standing under an umbrella when the rain falls down. 

  
In vision therapy at Sindy Lowinger Optometrist, we do repeated exercises to train the brain with touch, sound and visual clues to embed the skill deep within the senses.
Here are some for you to try. Click the links and have a go. 

1. Angels in the snow
2. Directionality arrows
   *note skip to 2min30sec for this second video to begin.
*Please note that these are not instructional videos but examples for you to see how the exercises work.

Adults and Children alike, it is never too late to re-train the brain.
 
For more info drop us an email or click  HERE to find out more and book an appointment.


Good luck!

Which is your left foot?

Which is your right hand?

Have you ever been driving the car and been told to turn left? Suddenly you make the turn and... oops! You meant the OTHER left!?

Spatial awareness is knowing where we are in space:

• What is to the left and right of us.
• Which way our body is facing.

It is a skill we learn when we develop as children but it is not always solidified in our minds and it can leave our "rights and lefts" a little confused.

So why is an optometrist writing about this?

Simple.

When we can't tell the difference between our rights and lefts, then some letters and numbers can be easily confused when they look the same.

• 'b' and 'd' 
• 'p' and 'q'

They look like exactly the same letter! 

And how about words:

• 'was' and 'saw'
  
  

Reading the letters or writing and forming the letters can be easily confused when we don't know which side it is meant to start from.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
It is never too late to re-learn our right-left awareness.

CLICK HERE to see the next blog post to read about exercises to do at home to train the rights and lefts of our body!

We are all home bound and trying to stay safe in these uncertain times.

We are all trying to fill the day the best that we can.
We are all trying to keep the kids learning and engaged.

Let's be honest. We are all on screens. All. Day. Long.

There's no way around it, it's the age of IT and we are blessed to be able to tap into the outside world as we do. But how can we keep the kids eyes healthy and not create a nation of short sightedness being stuck on screens all day?


Here are top 6 tips to keep vision and eyes working to their best while overloading the screen time. 


1.The Golden "20/20" Rule.
 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.
This is the golden rule when using a device -  try to have break times, the best time space is 20 minutes of watching and then 20 minutes of break. The break time should be time to relax the eyes, look far, look out the window and take a break. 


2. Stick to a schedule
Create a timetable in the home for the kids to stick to. Allow them to enjoy their screen time, both for pleasure and for learning. Allocate times for no-screen educational activities and also for free-time. Stick to the schedules and be sure there is more free-space and less technology.


3. Make outdoor time fun
Research has shown that outdoor time helps reduce short-sighted factors in kids - a combination of sunlight, fresh air and using the eyes to look far away. Even during social isolation there is always a way to include outdoor time. Even if it involves sitting on your front step and playing a game of eye-spy looking out into the street. If you are able to use an outdoor space like a back garden, then throw a ball, do starjumps, hop in a line or try find the birds hiding in the trees.


4. Combine screen-time with exercise
Set the kids up in front of a kids yoga class or a move-and-learn activity, streaming it onto the TV or laptop and make some space for the kids to follow along and copy the instructions. This will make them enjoy the device time while moving and not staring straight at the screen. Some fun ones we have tried are "PE with Joe" on Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature+youtu.be&v=Rz0go1pTda8 and also "Cosmic Yoga" https://youtu.be/pn65ltyntp4 

5. Create "Technology-Free Zones"
Make space in your home where no devices are to be used. These zones are to be used for free space activities, chats and discussions, reading or crafts. It makes this space enjoyable and encourages free-thinking.

6. Make use of TV Time!
Yes. You heard me! Watch TV! I'm sure you didn't think I'd encourage this! But believe it or not, watching TV is a far easier load on the eyes than watching on a screen at the table or on your lap. It makes the eyes look further away and chances are the kids may get more distracted and look around the room more. If they are going to watch anyway, then give the TV a go.