During quiet standing on a force platform, centre of pressure frequency characteristics of normal and visually impaired children were investigated under four conditions: normal surface, eyes open and closed; foam surface, eyes open and closed. Total power was calculated between 0 and 4Hz. Slopes of logarithmically transformed data were used to compare relative power at high and low frequencies. Younger children had greater total power and relatively more high frequency power. The results suggest that young children (four to six years) do not normally use immediate vision in postural control. Visually impaired children have greater instability than sighted children, with greatest differences between the two groups at 10 to 12 years.