The Art of the Cartwheel

Last summer, in our gymnastics summer camp era, Patti found a flyer for a short Parks and Rec Cartwheel camp. Her girls were too young for it, but got us thinking: what skills do you need to perform a cartwheel?

Growing up, no one instructed us how to do a cartwheel or somersault or handspring, or any of those moves. We just saw a girl do it on the playground and we copied until we got it right. We also watched a lot of Shannon Miller and the US Olympic gymnastics team.

Cartwheels are a combination of different movements that require body awareness, coordination, and balance. Even if your kid isn’t enrolled in tumbling or gymnastics, a cartwheel is common enough to try as they learn and master more motor skills. They are also a good challenge, especially if they see their friend or someone else do it.

As an OT, I think cartwheels can help exercise and support many other developmental skills, including:

Brain function. Learning new skills, like completing a cartwheel, activates the cerebellum which has strong ties to memory and executive functions.
Body awareness. Cartwheels stimulate the sensory systems, specifically proprioception, vestibular, and touch. Their activation gives us a physical sense of self: it lets us know the orientation of our head, the location of our limbs, and where we are in relation to the objects around us.
Balance. The cartwheel’s 360-degree rotation prompts the vestibular system which governs our balance, posture, and head/neck stabilization.
Strength and stability. This form of tumbling builds strength in the legs, arms, shoulders, and core. Like any workout, the more reps you do, the stronger those muscles become.
Mood. Accomplishing a complex skill like a cartwheel triggers positive-vibe hormones like dopamine (the feel-good hormone) and serotonin (the happy hormone). This boosts confidence, self-esteem, and a want to try new things.

Small side anecdote: There were a couple gymnasts on Patti’s crew team at UF and every now and then, they would have cartwheel and handstand time before practice to lighten the mood and have fun as a team.

What Comes First?

What’s interesting about learning cartwheels is that the factors that they promote (strength, body awareness, confidence, etc.) are the same skills required to complete them. To nail a cartwheel, your child needs:

Power and strength from their legs to push off the ground and position themselves upside-down, arms and shoulders to hold up and balance their entire body, and core muscles for balance and coordination
Body awareness to motor plan and coordinate movements in the appropriate sequence with consideration to correct foot and hand placement
Self-confidence and comfortability of being in a dynamic inverted position

It’s best to look at it as a more of level-up of the skills they already have. By challenging them with a new skill, you bring their sensory system a fresh perspective and another way to improve and refine their capabilities.

OT Tips and Tricks

Just like bike riding, cartwheeling is gonna take some time and patience. The cartwheel camp for our city was three half days during a short holiday week. Others are 30 minutes a day for one full week. Some are even done virtually. We’re pretty sure you can find a how-to video online.

Make sure you practice in a safe environment. That means mats, rugs, carpet, or grass (as long as it’s a flat surface) to soften any falls. You also want to make sure your child has enough open space to tumble across and not bump into anything.

Muscle Gains. Help build your kids gain the strength they need to complete the task. Activities and exercises that encourage pushing away, pulling up, balancing, or holding static positions all engage the muscles required to cartwheel.

Get Inverted. One fear your child may have is falling on their face while they’re upside-down. Ease their hesitation by completing some inversions (positions where the head is below the heart and hips). Think yoga poses like forward fold, downward-facing dog, or tripod headstand prep. As they become more comfortable, up the difficulty with headstands and handstands up against the wall to get used to balancing on their hands.

Work Through the Kinks. If your kid is getting frustrated because they aren’t getting those cartwheels just right, it’s okay. Chances are they are still pretty young and aren’t going for perfection. Not to mention, there are like 10 different kinds of cartwheels. This is a good opportunity for them to work on focus and staying regulated. Most of the fine tuning for cartwheels is going to be in body control, hand placement, and momentum. If you see an easy adjustment let them know, but this is also one activity that they should be able to feel out and work on their own.

Watch and learn. Like in the old days, sometimes you just need to watch someone else do it. Bring up a video on YouTube they can model, or they can practice with siblings, friends, etc. Showing instead of telling.

Practice, Practice, Practice? As they practice, they may get nervous or tired or frustrated. Remember that it’s meant to be fun, not a chore. If this challenge is intriguing to them, they will practice on their own, asking you to help them if they need it. If they determine it’s not for them, that’s okay. Don’t keep drilling it if they are tired or done for the day.

Even if your kid isn’t nailing the form, they are probably still having fun. So it’s a win-win.