As we head to the end of October the shops are already filled with glitzy decorations, fairy lights and new toys. You might be overwhelmed at the thought of having to choose toys for your own children, never mind someone else’s. You don’t want to spend a fortune on a toy that gets tossed aside with the wrapping paper, when you could have spent less money on a “big hit”. And sometimes it’s the wrapping paper that is the big hit!
I recently went shopping for a little boy who was turning two. I knew what his favourite toys at the time were, but wanted to get him something a little different, and something that could last a while. I walked up and down the toy aisles for ages, bombarded by bold statements in broken English on the various boxes about how the toys could promote just about any facet of development. As an occupational therapist I didn’t really need help analysing the inherent value of the toys, but I’m not always sure what will hold the greatest appeal.
I ended up choosing a branded (against my usual judgement) train set, with tracks that can be set up in various ways and trains with trucks that can link together. Although the trains were rather small for little hands, I knew his dad would help him build the track, and he’d enjoy taking the train through the tunnel or operating the signal. On the way to the checkout I passed some typical party favours – bubbles, whistles etc. I picked up a pack of whistling balloons and headed to the car.
Time to visit the little man for his birthday. As much as he enjoyed opening his presents and discovering the trains, the main attraction for the little guy was the balloons. He couldn’t contain himself when the balloons were released an sent squealing into the air. Again and again and again. They zoomed around in such an unpredictable manner, darted under bushes and tables and jerked to a halt – all while producing the most hideous noises! What a delight.
I must just make a note that I would not leave a toddler to play with balloons unsupervised, but he needed an adult nearby to pump them up anyway so it wasn’t a solo activity.
The point of the story above is that sometimes an activity, and spending time with a child, is of much more value than a fancy toy. Toys break. Toys are affected by new crazes in the media. But a good laugh and time with mom are priceless. So here are some ideas of toys that you can find anywhere, that hold universal appeal:
- A bouncing ball: Often found at the checkout of toy stores
- Chalk (large ones such as sidewalk chalk): These can be used to draw on the paving or on a trampoline, and will be washed away in the next thunderstorm.
- Pipe cleaners: Often found at the cigarette counter of supermarkets. They can be bent into little men, animals etc only limited by your imagination.
- Bubbles: Look out for touchable bubbles, extra large bubbles and bouncing bubbles!
- Squishy tactile animals: Can be found in toy shops or discount plastic shops.
- A sticky hand: You must remember this one from your childhood.
- A magic-erase board or Etch-a-sketch: Hours of drawing fun that can be erased and re-used. Use for drawing, or even paper-based games such as tic-tac-toe, hangman and pictionary.
- Markers and paper: Especially for little girls aged 5-7 years.
- A jumbo colouring pad: For when the adults need a break…
- Flying toys or balls: To get everyone out of the house.
The best toys are often the ones that get you all up on your feet after a long Christmas lunch, and have the grandparents out on the lawn with the children, reliving the games they played as children. Happy playing and good luck with the shopping!
Babywearing: The controversy of forward-facing carriers from a paediatric OT’s perspective
Posted on: September 29, 2014
- In: Babies | Debates | Early intervention | Hot topics
- Leave a Comment
While babywearing is one of the more valuable celebrity-driven crazes, there is much debate in mom’s groups and forums about whether forward-facing carriers are beneficial or harmful to your baby. As such, I have done some evidence-based research into this topic for new moms who might be overwhelmed at the strength of people’s opinions regarding the topic. You may even have had someone lash out at you for suggesting that you want to carry your baby in a forward facing position to watch the world.
Let’s start with the basic benefits of babywearing. While Westerners got used to the idea of rocking a baby forwards and backwards in a pram, many other cultures have long since identified the benefits of babywearing, not only to soothe the baby and provide a womb-like space for the baby to sleep, but also free up mom’s hands when she desperately needs some time for chores. The book Baby Sense, by Meg Faure and Ann Richardson, outlines some of the benefits as such:
- The baby is comforted by the close presence of the mom-space, and is kept calmer than if left alone to self-soothe
- As mom moves around, the rocking motion that the baby was used to in the womb is simulated, which is more calming than traditional side-to-side rocking
For more on babywearing you can read here…
There are two main types of carriers, i.e. slings and upright pouches. Stretchy and woven wraps can be used in a variety of ways.
Slings and stretchy wraps are best for newborn babies, as the baby can be properly supported while they have not yet developed head control. If the baby is positioned facing mommy against her chest in a stretchy wrap, it is important to ensure that the baby’s legs are also supported in a froggy-like position, that the baby is close enough to kiss (so that mom can check baby is not getting smothered) and that the neck and back are well supported.
Pouches are a viable possibility, although I would only recommend their use from about 6 months of age, when the baby has developed adequate head and neck control. From this age their hips should not be affected by hanging down for a short period of time (20-30 min), provided there is no pathology or history of hip dysplasia, low muscle tone or the like. Check that your child has adequate thigh support, so that the legs aren’t just dangling down. Thighs supported and knees bent should ensure a good position. Although many pouches do not have a “seat” for the baby to sit on in this position, some have now been developed exactly with this in mind. Face the baby forward to observe the world only if it is an appropriate time for baby to be awake, and face baby inwards if she should be sleeping. It is unnecessary to guilt mothers into thinking that carrying their babies facing forward at an appropriate age is responsible for all sorts of horror stories.
As goes with all “gadgets” and “baby equipment”, do not position your baby in one way for too long. Not only is it uncomfortable for your baby but places strain on your back. Take your baby out, place them on a towel, mat or blanket and let them explore different environments and positions. Too much of one thing is never a good thing, and if you’re out of ideas rather rely on the basics – common sense and gravity – rather than buying too many “extras” to stimulate your baby. Lastly, go gently when giving advice to anxious new mommies, but if in doubt, always err to the side of caution.
Popping paper!
Posted on: September 10, 2014
Sometimes kids have much better names for things than we do – they look with all their sensory systems, not just their eyes. Today I wanted to do a finger strength activity with bubble wrap, and when I asked the little boy if he knew what it was he said, “Yes of course, it’s popping paper!” What a lovely name 🙂
Here’s what we did with it:
– I cut two strips of equal length, careful not to pop too many of the bubbles. The size depends on the age of the child but for him (5) I cut them about 5 cm x 30 cm.
– He sat on a small therapy ball, I sat on a large one.
– I said, “Ready, steady, GO!” and we raced to see who could pop all the bubbles in their popping paper first.
This is a great activity for finger strength, web space development as well as physical endurance. I must admit that my left hand started to ache before I was done popping the bubbles, but there is an inherent joy in the activity that motivated my little opponent to keep going, and to ask for more that he could pop in the car on the way home!
What are your favourite “popping paper” activities?
Midline crossing in a bathtub!
Posted on: February 20, 2014
I have some of the coolest clients, but as all therapists know, some days it’s easier to connect with our friends with ASD than others. One little visitor, although 7 years old, is really showing little hand preference at all and avoids my attempts at getting him to cross his midline. When my homework activities didn’t work, his mother came up with a bath time activity that he just loved.
1. Throw all the bath toys into the bath.
2. Add bubble bath.
3. Using a small fishing net, scoop the toys out one by one into buckets, one on his left and one on his right.
The activity turned into a half hour of giggling chaos, scooping up more bubbles than toys but there was more midline crossing happening than in other of my regular suggestions.
To all the Moms with kiddies struggling with ASD we say “Well done Moms, you’re the best!”. And as therapists we need to live with eyes wide open – there are always more and more ideas.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Posted on: January 9, 2014
Happy 2014 dear followers! With all the exciting changes in the toy industry that have grabbed hold of me during the last 6 months, therapy-related posts have certainly taken a back seat. If you’d like to read about that, have a look at the recent posts on http://www.straightzigzag.wordpress.com 🙂 Well the little people will be returning tomorrow, and I’m sure their heads will be filled with fantastic stories and play ideas from their summer holidays – so that means you can expect lovely new ideas on this blog.
For now, let me take this opportunity to wish you the very best 2014 that you wish for yourself – may you use the challenges that come across your path to build a better you for 2015.
Happy playing!
Babywearing
Posted on: July 23, 2013
The term “babywearing” seems to be cropping up all over the place. Maybe it’s just because many of my friends and clients have tiny ones at the moment. But as society becomes more hi-tech by the day, sometimes the low-tech traditions of yesteryear are really best. In this case, let’s take a little advice from the kangaroo, and hence the development of Kangaroo Mother Care, or KMC.
It is a well known fact that skin-to-skin contact between a mother and a newborn baby has many positive benefits. Not only does it assist the vital bonding process between mother and child, but has many physiological benefits too. It steadies the heart and breathing rates, as well as normalises the baby’s temperature. Mothers are amazing machines- their body can adapt to the needs of the newborn, raising their core temperature if the little one is too cold, or lowering it if the baby is too warm. Studies have even shown that the breasts of moms with twins can adapt to the individual needs of each baby!
Slings and carriers come in many forms. Tiny slings made from cotton can be made in a matter of minutes to carry a premmie under the mom’s clothing. Other models are large sheets of stretchy material which practically require a degree to wrap around mom, and can be used from tiny to toddlers. However, these may be too warm in summer and warmer climates. Slings are like hammocks which carry the baby in a sleeping position while mom gets on with her day.
The benefits of “babywearing” stretch beyond the physiological ones mentioned above. The confined space simulates the womb environment, allowing the baby to feel secure. The movement the baby experiences as mom (or dad) moves around, has a gentle and calming effect on the baby’s vestibular (or movement) system in the inner ear. And the proximity of mom’s heartbeat assists the baby to move from a calm alert to sleepy state when it’s time for a nap.
What have your babywearing experiences been?
I have a reluctant colourer/writer/drawer, a little boy and he’s not the first. I’m not sure what it is about girls that draws them to a task that boys just couldn’t be bothered with, yet today we made a chalk monster and I have never seen such perseverance to complete a colouring challenge.
1. First, we drew a large squiggle all over the black board, weaving up and down, from one side to the other, criss cross. The black board is wide and almost as tall as he is, so he knelt on a cushion and got some great shoulder work and midline crossing.
2. Next, he had to colour in each section of the monster by choosing a colour that had not been used in any of the adjacent shapes (good for planning too)
.
3. Although the grip in the picture isn’t great, for most of the task he had a reasonable grip thanks to the use of jumbo sidewalk chalk.
4. Ta-da!
What’s great about this activity is that working against an upright surface encourages wrist extension rather than flexion. And colouring requires small finger movements while the shoulder has to be kept stable to maintain his posture.
He was so proud of the final product.
Can you see the monster’s eyes?
Hot Topic: ADHD
Posted on: June 21, 2013
![1345250668763_9443664[1]](https://bigideasforlittlepeople.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/1345250668763_944366411.png)
Have any of you seen this e-card doing the rounds? It certainly gives us some insight into how challenging ADHD can make the simple task of falling asleep.
Rather than rewriting what others have said, every now and again I come across someone who’s done a really good job and saves me the trouble. This is one such article I’d like to share with you for a look at ADHD, some background and a variety of options available.
I found a blog (Play create explore) by a fantastic mom who shares her brilliant and creative ideas with others. While some ideas never really work, here is one that people are raving about. I tried her ice-cream dough recipe yesterday and the kiddies (boys and girls alike) just couldn’t get enough of it!
NB Just to note: it’s NOT edible so watch out with the littlies!
It’s a ratio of 1:2 parts conditioner (the cheapest you can find) to corn flour (good ol’ Maizena here in SA). Add a little more corn flour if the children don’t like the stickness. We used vanilla essence to make it smell more like ice-cream. Use the recipe and let the kids help you make the dough, a great sequencing and listening activity.
While we really liked the ice-cream look of the dough, I didn’t have cone moulds as described in the original post, so we used cupcake papers. This is how we adapted the activity to make it more focused on an asymmetrical bilateral integration activity for the older kids:
1. Scoop out some “ice-cream” using an ice-cream scoop.
2. Use a spoon in the non-dominant hand to rotate and lift the ball of “ice-cream” out of the scoop.
3. Use both hands (and utensils) to carefully place it into the cupcake paper.
And it keeps in an airtight container for a while. Have fun!
bigideasforlittlepeople 