Whether your child is the next sports superstar or not, good ball skills and hand-eye coordination will help in other fields too – even in maths. Fortunately there’s a lot you can do to develop these skills…By Carine van Rooyen

Soccer balls, tennis balls, colourful beach balls or quirky bouncy balls – get them out and start kicking, throwing and rolling. It will benefit your child in countless ways.

Being able to handle a ball well can lead to a lifetime of enjoyable participation in sports as well as better health. Who knows, you may even be raising a sports superstar! But it’s not only about sport and action – good ball sense is just one of the results of good hand-eye and foot-eye coordination.

Children also need good coordination skills to carry out simple tasks such as getting dressed, putting toothpaste on a toothbrush and pouring juice.

This leads to mastering more complicated activities such as playing video games, colouring in, cutting with scissors, writing with a pen or pencil, using a computer mouse and developing spatial awareness – all of which are important skills for mathematics. So this is serious stuff!

Read the complete article in the latest issue of YOU Pulse. In stores now!

Fun and fitness for children.