Developmental Movement for Babies & Toddlers: A Body-Mind Centering® Approach

The study of developmental movement is the study of how we learn to move in our first years of life. In Body-Mind Centering®, we specifically study the basic movement patterns, reflexive pathways and integration of our senses, as well as the progressive layering of rhythms, experiences and relationships that help an infant find a sense of self, integration and ease.

All of the sessions we offer for babies and toddlers are ‘infant-centered’ and ‘baby-led.’ This means that we engage with babies at their own level of perceptual awareness, and respect their rhythms of attention and rest.

We believe that these earliest experiences of movement and play create patterns that can shape lifelong experiences of learning, and we believe that as caregivers we can facilitate these experiences for them, or we can inadvertently become obstacles to their learning.

Our sessions are opportunities for caregivers to observe and appreciate their baby’s experiences, to participate in their learning and play, and to facilitate their movement skills and perceptual development.

Based on our approach (and in our experience with more than 1300 babies over more than 13 years), we have found that if we value process over achieving milestones and if we respect each baby’s timing, they will reach the milestones in a way that supports the development of their whole self. Because of this, we don’t match milestone expectations to a baby’s age in months; instead we look at the progression and layering of skills.

A baby who takes longer to learn a movement often ends up doing the movement more skillfully and confidently than if they did it sooner.

We believe there’s tremendous value in a baby finding and exploring all of the developmental movement skills and levels on their way up to walking. This includes rolling, side-lying, belly crawling, and hands-and-knees crawling. It also includes finding their own way up to sitting rather than being sat, and finding their own way to standing and walking rather than being stood and ‘walked.’

We don’t believe there’s positive value in skipping steps in order to get to sitting or walking sooner.

WHO WE ARE

We are Infant Developmental Movement Educators, also known as ‘IDMEs’, certified through the School for Body-Mind Centering.

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer a few different ways to work (and play) with these ideas:

Online Private Developmental Movement sessions
Online Open Group Babies! sessions (by donation)
In-Person Private Developmental Movement sessions
In-Person Small Group Developmental Movement Sessions (“pods”)
Home visits

WHO COMES?

Why come with your baby to developmental movement sessions?

to ask questions about if your baby is “on track” developmentally
because you are curious about what your baby is learning, or what they will learn next
you have an interest in a movement practice like yoga, dance, somatics or Pilates
to be in a space that values agency, comfort, curiosity and movement
to spend quality time in a spacious, open-ended and supportive environment
to observe how progressive and experiential education plays out in early learning experiences
to practice touch and handling skills

We’ve also worked with babies when there are concerns about (or a diagnosis of) conditions like:

discomfort in “tummy time”
reflux and other digestive issues
torticollis
hypotonia (low tone)
hypertonia (high extensor tone)
plagiocephaly (flat head)
club foot (talipes equinovarus)
“butt scooting”

While our training as Infant Developmental Movement Educators primarily prepares us to work with babies in the “typical” range of development, our approach can help inform and support babies with special needs, often in conjunction with other therapies.

HOW OFTEN?

You can decide how often you come – and what combination of classes you come to. You might schedule a session to come:

every week to the by-donation open group Babies! sessions
every other week to a Private session
once a month, to check in about where you and your baby are
once every few months
every week with a small group for a “pod series” for 4-6 weeks

WHAT WE COVER

Through a combination of discussion, observation and practice with the babies, we cover developmentally relevant topics that apply to all age groups, such as:

using “baby ball” as a place to start from (and come back to)
supporting a baby’s sense of safety, comfort and bonding
handling and touch principles and techniques
noticing your own rhythms and timing in relationship to the baby
balancing flexion and extension
observing preferences and facilitating more choice
supporting a baby’s ability to self-regulate as it develops in relationship to caregivers presence and support
making mistakes as a caregiver – and “repairing” them

DEVELOPMENTAL AGE GROUPS

We also cover topics relevant to the developmental “age” of the baby. We look at the developmental age level of a baby in three broad groupings: Birth to Rolling, Rolling to Crawling, and Crawling to Walking. These include:

Birth to Rolling

orienting to gravity, including side-lying and tummy time
experiencing lying on all 4 sides
finding “midline” and how to support it
being with the baby
techniques for picking up and setting down a baby
supporting a baby’s crying and processing
weight-shifting and rolling
helping a baby roll

Rolling to Crawling

symmetrical and asymmetrical movement patterns
pivoting and belly crawling
head righting
pathways to sitting
techniques for picking up and setting down a baby at this developmental level

Crawling to Walking

orienting to space, including reflexes and falling
belly crawling into hands and knees crawling
pathways to sitting
side-sitting
supporting kneel sitting, kneel standing, kneel walking, squatting and cruising
pathways to standing and walking
pathways from standing back to the floor
techniques for picking up and setting down a baby at this developmental level

Read more about our values and how they play out in practice.

* * *