The vestibular system is a sensory system attached to the inner ear. It registers movement and head position in relation to space and the body. This is where balance is controlled, and where acceleration and changes of direction and movement are registered.
Stimulation of the vestibular sense, in combination with other senses (primarily sight, touch and proprioception), is important for a child to become good at keeping their balance while still or moving.
Proprioceptive sensors are located in skeletal striated muscles and joints, providing information about the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and the strength of effort employed in movement.
Proprioception is what allows someone to learn to walk in complete darkness without losing balance. To learn any new skill, sport or art, it is usually necessary to become familiar with some proprioceptive tasks specific to that activity.
The sense of touch recognises contact, pressure
or traction exerted on the skin, as well as in
some internal organs. Receptors on our skin relay information about the temperature, texture, shape, size, number and pressure of stimuli.
When working efficiently, the tactile senses help a child to do everything from buttoning a shirt without looking, to enjoying a hug from a parent.
The visual sense resides principally in the eye.
The eye is a very complex organ, and the visual sense utilizes most of the human brain's processing capacity.
Thus the visual sense in many ways dominates other senses.
The visual sense affords us to move: the child perceives an object and reaches for it or moves towards it. In many ways, the eye supports the direction of our movements and our interactions with objects and other humans.
When our movements need to be precise and that we stay balanced the eyes works in close collaboration with our other senses. The visual sense and the eye's ability to focus is crucial when we learn new physical gestures. The visual sense is vital for us when we communicate and make contact with others, as we train and utilize it when interacting socially. We use our visual sense to tune to other people's emotions and reactions.