Wearing a VR headset and a movement sensor on their back, children are asked to play two games. In both experiments, children show control abilities similar to adults' when using their head, but have difficulty using their torso to control the games, unlike adults.
The scientists believe that head control is easier in VR environments because the desired orientation is aligned with the visual input. The torso control, on the other hand, requires the user to separate vision from the actual control, which requires complex head-torso coordination. Young children tend to rely stronger on the visual input than the internal sensation of body posture. The novelty of the VR environment appears to overwhelm the child's brain, which pays less attention to the internal signals.
See the full story here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929582