Why does my child stick his tongue out when writing?
Why does my child stick his tongue out when writing?
As I write this, Wimbledon is happening. Tennis is seldom played quietly, and the players make grunting sounds as they hit difficult volleys across the net. This is a great example of how we link actions of our hands and mouths together when we perform an activity. Another one is when we get angry and clench our fists, we often feel our jaws clench too, and this is an involuntary movement that just seems to happen.
This connection between hand and mouth is an automatic response that goes right back to pre-birth and infancy. Have you noticed how a baby will open and close its hands when it is feeding? The moment is so natural it forms part of the baby signing language
The opening and closing hand of the baby’s hand is all part of what is called the Babkin Reflex, which I first learnt about it when I went to Slovenia in 2015 for my first ever Muscatova Neuromotor-sensory Reflex Integration training - (MNRI). The trainer, Palmela Curlee (a speech and language therapist), taught us about the various reflexes for three whole days.
“pre-language, the mouth can provide the best sort of sensory information about objects and the world around them.”
The Babkin Reflex is a very important reflex in infant development, because:
We first learn about the world through our mouths
Babies learn about the world by putting things in their mouths. They learn to reach for the dangling toy and, once grabbed, put it straight into their mouths. As they turn (roll over onto their tummies) and start moving via the crawling phase, it is all about picking things up with their newly developed pincher grip and putting things in their mouths. They reason they do this is because, pre-language, the mouth can provide the best sort of sensory information about objects and the world around them.
Parents have to be very vigilant not to leave potentially dangerous items within easy reach of children, and manufacturers of detergents make a point to say keep out of reach of young children. It is a natural developmental stage and the Babkin Reflex is critical for survival and thriving in the early stages of life.
When the Babkin is not integrated - writing and the tongue
Once babies reach a level of maturity, the Babkin Reflex recedes, and the coupled connection between hand and mouth is broken in everyday activities. Most of the time, infants and children will then rely more on other sensory input. However, the reflex emerges again when we exert ourselves physically, such as playing tennis or using cars with no power steering (do they still exist?!?).
The Babkin Reflex does not disappear - it just lies dormant until needed, if at all. It is a foundational building block that, if left unintegrated, can hold back the next stage of development: talking, speech and language skills.
“If your child sticks their tongue out when they are writing, this is could be a sign that the Babkin Reflex has not been properly integrated”
If your child sticks their tongue out when they are writing, this is could be a sign that the Babkin Reflex has not been properly integrated and moved into the background as it should be when they develop. Sometimes they can't write successfully without sticking out their tongue. For these children, it is part and parcel of the writing experience.
It may not seem like a big deal, perhaps it just looks a bit eccentric. However, as the Babkin Reflex is responsible for eating, developing awareness of turning the head on either side, for speech and later communication skills, those with unintegrated Babkin have an assortment of other problems.;
· can hold a lot of tension in their bodies,
· suffer from stuttering and other speech difficulties,
· bite their nails, and need to chew pencils,
· crave oral stimulation.
How do you integrate The Babkin Reflex?
If a child is showing they have a problem integrating the reflex, they should undergo reflex integration, such as MNRI Reflex Integration Therapy, to help them,. This will allow your child to reach the next developmental stage.
If they are in nursery and graduating to primary school, this is a critical time to have their reflexes checked. The Babkin Reflex is one of many interlinking reflexes, so having it unintegrated often means a developmental delay, particularly in speech and language skills.
We can offer the MNRI reflex integration programme here at Raviv Practice London, and have been successfully using it to help children for many years. I’ve been using it since 2015 alongside a variety of other programmes, and have since built up a strong network of therapist who specialize in it. If you’d like to book an appointment for your child, or just want to find out more about how it works, and how it can help, please get in touch.
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About the Author
Usha Patel is a Neurocognitive Therapist and Director at Raviv Practice London. Parents searching to help their suspected/neurodiverse child can get evidence-based solutions with results in as little as 8 weeks. Those in search of jargon-free help can get started straight away.
