We actually have more than five senses.

We actually have more than five senses.

One of them is our vestibular sense, which is vital for not only our sense of balance but also our overall cognitive and physical development... This sense develops in our inner ears... To over-simplify it, there is a little chamber filled with liquid in our inner ears... 

As children move their heads up and down, and left and right, and spin around and go upside down this liquid moves around over the little hairs... When stimulated, these hairs send messages to our brain about the position and movement of our bodies in space... 

This area also serves as our brain’s air-traffic control system, receiving, sorting and relaying sensory information from our other sensory organs and passing it on to the corresponding areas in our brain... This means our vestibular sense has crucial implications for children’s ability to concentrate, behave and respond to others... 

Swings are too rare a sight these days, with worries about litigation nearly killing them off entirely... It is on us to advocate and educate the necessary people in our settings to help bring them back... Swings won’t magically fix all of the problems of modern life, but it is high time they took their place again as a fixture of our early years settings and schools...