In counterpoint to all this extroversion, frequent times of quiet play and "just sitting and being" need to be offered. They need to see others in their household living a balanced life, rather than just becoming a stressed-out passenger on the roller coaster many people ride today. Creative activities which do not stimulate, which are body passive, and which show them that there is also pleasure in being quiet and relaxed should also be a part of every person's life, and especially early on when energy patterns and lifestyle habits are being established. Later on, as they grow and become more conscious of their own hyped-up energy states, they do seek out times and places of relaxation and introspection of their own accord, but not until about age 4. At this age kids' yoga sessions can be easily introduced when they will love to try out all the different yoga asanas, exploring their body and discovering their postural shortcomings. This is when you will see just how shaky and wild their young nervous systems really are. Up until that time, I'm afraid they have a fairly lopsided (waking) destiny of extroverted energy. Left unmanaged, this situation can drive parents to madness, divorce or even worse - reliance on the very powerful, physically and mentally sedating combination of the lounge suite and the television for energy suppression!

Accelerating Postural Development
   Assisting a child's development by way of verbal encouragement, by way of emotional support, by way of helping when asked, by way of supporting when tired, by way of commiserating when they have fallen, by way of filling in the gaps after the time has well passed, are the automatic duties of any parent. But forced learning, accelerative methods, commercial inventions, obsessive striving, peer competitiveness, parental projections to "be the best", keeping up with (or striving to beat) the Jones's, are all ways I consider to be detrimental to a child's natural development. In the end it is best for each child  to grow at a rate which their own body / mind can support and from which they learn the intrinsic lessons. We often forget that the reason a body does not become ready for some situation is because inside, the mind or the emotions are not ready for it.And visa versa, the mind may be willing but the body not yet ready It takes a certain
 

synchronicity for that special jump to occur. This is what the yoga masters have all said, and what the modern scientists also say, that when all the little bits and pieces are set up right, there is a big explosion - a quantum leap in evolution occurs. I have seen this occur many time in the growth of children and also in adults who travel the spiritual path.
   These days there is a plethora of contraptions that parents can buy to (supposedly) enhance a child's development. Baby bouncers, special support cushions, baby walking frames, and the like. The problem with all of these devices is that firstly, they are designed to support the baby in a sitting position long before they have developed the spinal strength to do so unsupported. Secondly, they are designed to provide a form of entertainment or challenge for the child well outside the baby's present abilities. Trying to accelerate a child's development before they are ready can actually impede their progress it in the long run. An immature spine which is artificially propped up will not properly develop the self-supporting strength required for proper spinal alignment and unsupported sitting. Legs which dangle downwards from walkers and bouncers and baby chairs do not develop in the correct way to support standing and walking. It is interesting to note that many of these devices come with paediatric advice, warning parents against leaving children in them for lengthy periods of time - usually anything more than 10 - 20 minutes a day. At those rates, they would provide absolutely no benefits when compared with the usual amounts of floor play a baby of that age should have. But unfortunately these recommendations are most often ignored, as parents come to rely upon them as baby-sitting, baby-entertaining toys.

Detrimental Influences on Posture
   Parents often lose interest in the state of their child's postural development once they reach the milestone of walking. We figure that once they can run and jump and play from sunrise till sunset, that their fitness needs will look after themselves. Young children have a naturally beautiful posture, one that needs preserving for as long as possible. They can sit on the floor for many happy hours without the stiffness an adult feels,and can leap up and down quickly