My daughter, Princess Grace

[Classical Country Mama]

I love this kid. Love her a lot. She's a bright, cheerful, imaginative 7 (almost 8) year old.

 

But heaven help me, she's the biggest klutz I know. Just sitting at a table eating dinner, she will find ways to bite her cheek, whack her knee, stab herself with her fork. Walking to the mailbox, she'll trip or poke herself with a stick. She falls out of bed and runs into doors.

 

Is there anything I can do to help her? Exercises? Dexterity drills?

 

She's got a bit of a melodramatic personality anyway (I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE SHE GOT THAT), which means I can guarantee she will spend a large part of every.single.day in tears.

 

Help? please??? I'm having a very hard time continuing to express sympathy when it's all.the.time.

[Denisemomof4]

Is she like that all the time or just during growth spurts? My kids were all like that as they adjusted to their growing and uneven bodies. They do out grow it. At least my two who are done growing have.

[Classical Country Mama]

Oh, hmm, I hadn't thought of growth spurts. Maybe? It feels like this has been a lifelong problem, but maybe growing has exacerbated the clumsiness.

 

Either way, is there nothing to be done except wait it out? The poor girl has myriad tiny scrapes and bumps and an increasingly annoyed mother.

 

 

PS. She just stepped on a toy.

[redsquirrel]

My younger son is like that, but he has a documented motor delay. it is so slight that I am sure no one would ever notice, but he has qualified for PT since his was young enough for Early Intervention. We started EI due to speech problems, and the speech therapist called in a PT due to some clumsiness.

 

The biggest problem is weak core muscles. He can't adjust if he has to switch tact quickly. And he can't catch himself after even a small stumble so he just hits the ground.

 

How is her reciprocal arm movement? Does she have it or does she go in all different directions when she runs? When she falls forward, does she put her arms out to protect herself or does she face plant? Does she do stuff like just fall out of chairs for no reason?

 

My son gets PT and we also make sure he does lots of stuff like swimming lessons and dance lessons. It takes him a bit longer do to stuff, but he is improving every day. I am pretty sure he will skill out of PT in a couple months.

 

Today he really hurt his knee. He doesn't really run in a straight line and today he was running through the house and he ran his knee full force into the corner of the door frame. Poor kid. It is a terrible bruise and he leg still hurts.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

If it seems like all the time, my guesses would be sensory (with or without sone motor problems) or maybe vision.

[gracesteacher]

My almost 6yr old Grace is the same way. She cant stand still with out falling (not that i often see her standstill) Vision is great. She does have tight heal cords so that may have something to do with it. However is she is dancing she is graceful and in the moment. She is a head of the bell curve and her mind is going a amile a min so I think it has o do with her body isnt going as fast as her mind.

[Munchkins_mama]

My 6yo was the same way when she was younger. We used to joke that the kid could fall off the floor. Her Ped suggested that I get her hearing/balance and vision checked. Turns out she has horrific depth perception and a lazy eye affecting the way she functions. Glasses have helped tremendously.

[Stacia]

Oh, man! This was/is my sister. Always. (In fact, my dad used to jokingly call her Princess Grace when we were kids, lol.)

 

In addition to being totally klutzy, she has had various pain issues (hip pain, etc...), some stemming from accidents, ruptured discs, etc.... One physical therapist finally figured out at least part of her problem -- one of her legs is shorter than the other one. I think it's between a half to an inch difference. Now, she puts shoe insert pads in her shoes for the shorter leg. What a difference it has made for her & after so many years it was so nice to find that a lot of it was a simple problem w/ a simple fix. (Of course, one time at her house, I was going to run outside w/ her dogs & just stepped into a pair of her shoes that was by the door. Because the inside of one was taller than the other, I almost fell over. Now I have more sympathy for all her klutzy moments! :lol:)

 

You could probably eyeball it w/ your dd. Have her lie down on a hard-surfaced floor & try to keep good posture. See if her legs are aligned or if one looks obviously shorter.