Oh What a feeling! Learning through our sense of Touch.
By Sarah Wauchope

Tactility is the name given to the touching and feeling we experience as we explore our internal and external worlds in direct response to any one or all five of our senses.

Medical knowledge tells us that nerve development is dependent on stimulation. Nerves grow and develop towards stimulation: this stimulation is the basis for all learning and development.

In GymbarOO we frequently hear the quote ‘movement is the key to learning'. This is the basis for most of what we do in our classes. We are providing opportunities for our children to move and develop from the unconscious to the conscious understanding of their bodies through the continual stimulation of their senses.

Anyone of us involved with children will know that a child’s ability and desire to ‘experience’ is supreme. It can be a continual source of frustration and anxiety for us as we watch our little ones reach for anything and everything and place it in their little mouths for that ultimate experience - taste!

Naturally, our first reaction is to protect them from experiences that we have learned are harmful or distasteful. This is right and good, but pause just a moment. Obviously, we must protect them from danger, but a child's learning and development are only as good as his/her experience. Experts in Sensory Integration have proven that our physical and intellectual development depends on the experience and experiment of our senses and how we make sense of those experiences. It is crucial that we not only stimulate our children but also allow them to safely explore their environment.

Tactility, or our feeling and touching, is not just the messages received on the tips of our incredibly sensitive fingertips. It also involves the growing awareness of our bodies, our muscles, our limbs and how we can make them move at our will. How does a baby learn that there are ten delectable toes on the end of their feet? Or even that there are feet on the end of their legs? It is through the constant touch, caress and encouragement of their parent. Every massage, nappy change, bath, shift in position and freedom to move, gradually builds up a child's database of their own capabilities and limitations.

This is why an active ‘tummy time’ is essential for an infant' s development- the gross motor skills such as pushing up with the arms and turning the neck. can develop more easily and quickly, These gross motor skills then become the basis for fine motor skills, which are essential tor manipulating pens, tools - computers'. Being able to work out how to move our bodies is the basis for problem solving of every kind.

The more we stimulate our child's nervous system through movement and touch, the more their nervous system will grow and develop. The more experiences we offer our children, the more they will learn and the more they will learn how to learn. Encouraging the development of the senses in a happy safe environment is the foundation of every child's development. Be adventurous. Teach your child to reach out with both hands and grasp every experience with confidence and safety.

Sarah Wauchope is an Adelaide GymbaROO instructor.