Holiday Shopping that Promotes Development

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and so much shopping to get done, it's easy to choose any toy you might see on the shelf for the kids in your life. It may excite them in the moment, but soon enough be tossed aside and forgotten in the playroom. Giving a gift is an opportunity to help a child learn and grow! Our therapist hand-picked their favorite toys, tools, and sensory-friendly goodies that support play, learning, motor skills, confidence and overall development.

BABY TOYS

The NogginStik is such a fun early rattle toy! We love to use this for visual tracking, grasp, exploration of textures, and bringing an object towards your mouth. It is also a great introduction of cause/effect as the color of the light changes as your baby bangs or drops the toy.

O ball is another fall toy we use for visual tracking and grasping. The holes make it easy for little baby fingers to grab on to. If they drop it, it also encourages rolling/crawling to get it again.

We love using these sock and wrist rattles to encourage hands to feet play in babies! Bringing hands to feet is such a great way to strengthen baby core flexion muscles that are needed to start rolling!

This is our all time favorite thing to pull out during tummy time! Babies love faces, and it is so encouraging to see their own cute faces during tummy time. This mirror is great for visual attention for the little ones because of the black and white colors included. They all love the rolling ball and crinkly leaves and wings too!

Great for promotion of tummy time while encouraging fine motor development and exposure to different textures!

Pop up toys are fun to incorporate for little ones and is a grow with you toy. Starting young we sometimes use it as an encouragement during tummy time for visual attention. Once the child is up and sitting it is a great encouragement to reach outside their base of support to close the animals back down and challenge that sitting balance.

One of our favorite ways to use this toy is for kiddos that are working towards standing away from a support surface. We usually have them cruise along the couch and then turn to reach the toy (trunk rotation time). Then we work on standing using the toy for support (while holding it at their chest level). This way we can challenge their balance by standing at a more dynamic surface!

This tunnel is perfect for at home play, as it folds up nicely and is easy to pack away. We love to use this for little ones learning to crawl as an encouragement to stay up on hands and knees. The mesh sides make it easy to see the little one inside.

This is one of our favorite toys for learning putting in and taking out. We love to use this with babies who are working on transitioning in/out of sitting and crawling. It is also great encouragement to pull to stand and cruise along a support surface. Also, always a hit when working on that squat to stand by placing the coins next to your little one’s feet.

This classic toy develops fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and midline play.

Toddler Toys

Squigz have quickly become one of my most used toys during therapy sessions. They are easy to attach to a variety of surfaces for climbing, and make a fun popping sound. One of my favorite ways to use this toy is for my kiddos that are new standers and walkers.

For new standers I love to attach the squigz to a flat surface (wall, refrigerator, window, door) and have them try to pull them off. The pop of the pull off really challenges their balance reactions and is always a fun time!

For new walkers I love to attach them to the floor to encourage squatting from an independent stand position. This is a great way to increase their lower extremity and core strength! 

These balance pads are perfect to challenge toddlers balance when learning to step up and down off of a change in surface height. They can also be fun to stand on at a support surface to challenge balance reactions.

A trampoline with a handle is great for little ones to challenge balance and work on pre-jumping and jumping skills. Always use with supervision.

An easel is a great toy to introduce once your toddler is up and exploring. Practicing with magnets, painting, and drawing at a vertical surface is great for strengthening shoulder, arms, and grip. This will give them a strong foundation for fine motor skills once they hit school age.

This non-slip step is perfect to help toddlers work on stepping up and down on higher surfaces. You can start with practicing while holding both of the child’s hands, and work up to doing it all by themselves. Remember to practice leading with both legs for symmetry.

This wedge I love for several reasons! I give this as a classroom tool for my kiddos who are really struggling with postural endurance and frequently fall into a rounded back/slouched posture. The slope of the wedge helps put kids into a more active sitting position by adjusting pelvic tilt. It easily fits into classroom chairs, or can be used on the floor.

I also love this product for my toe walkers. Standing on this wedge not only provides a stretch of calf muscles, but also gives great sensory feedback through the bottoms of the feet!

A classic shopping cart encourages walking and balancing while promoting imaginative play. It’s a great way for toddlers to practice walking around the house, improving their gait and stability. You can add ankle weights to it for more resistance to work on lower extremity strengthening.

School Age

This is my favorite home product for my kiddos who w-sit. This gives them a target to sit on and challenges their postural and core muscles. It is also great for providing sensory feedback for little ones who have trouble sitting still during circle time or seated activities.

Another great use for this is to work on standing balance and lower extremity strength. Have the child practice standing on the disk with both feet first. You can then progress to squatting to pick up an object from the floor. This is hard work, and make sure you are in an open space safe for falls if they happen.

This game is a classic! This is a great way to challenge your child’s strength, body awareness, and motor planning. Also great for learning right and left sides. Getting the whole family involved can be so much fun!

Tricycles and/or balance bikes are perfect for building leg strength, improving coordination, and enhancing balance. A Radio Flyer tricycle is sturdy and safe, allowing preschoolers to practice pedaling and steering while developing their gross motor skills. Balance bikes are a fantastic tool for teaching children how to balance and steer before transitioning to a pedal bike.

Stepping stones are an exciting way for preschoolers to practice balance, coordination, and agility. These colorful, movable “stones” help children develop body awareness as they leap, step, and hop across them.

Great for sensory integration, core strength, body awareness, and sitting balance. Kids can sit on it, bounce on, complete tummy time on it. The possibilities are endless.

As stated in our previous blog “Books and PT,” books are an incredible tool to promote activity and movement. The Poke a Dot series help development fine motor skills such as finger isolation.

Pretend play food promotes social play skills and imaginative scenarios.