Just scooting along

As I looked over my Annual Holiday Gift Guide, I realized I forgot to include one of my most favorite toys.  Living in Brooklyn and working in Manhattan, I see a lot of kids on scooters.  It is a great way to get around for children and parents don't have to push a stroller around with them all the time.  Even better, you can have a younger child in the stroller and the older one scooting to your destination.

There are a lot of great scooters out there now, but many of the children I work with who have difficulty with motor planning, bilateral coordination and self-regulation issues, often have trouble using them successfully.  When my daughter and I spent more time in the playgrounds, I noticed the Mini Kick Scooter and was so impressed how easily the smaller children were able to use it and safely scoot around not only the playground, but the sidewalks.  My daughter Quinn mastered the Mini Kick by the time she was two years old!  

I began to suggest it to any parent who asked me what scooter would be best for their child and I consistently heard from them how their children were able to master it easily.  While I'm no scooter expert, I believe what makes this scooter better than others has something to do with the two wheels up front and one in back helping with balance.  The wheels have quite a bit of "give" and take the uneven sidewalks and bumps with very little falling over.   If you have an older/bigger child who is in need of a scooter, Kick makes awesome scooters for you!

Scooters are great for so many reasons; they help build overall body strength, work on bilateral coordination and help to improve motor planning skills.  For children with sensory processing difficulties, I recommend that they scoot to school in the morning so they can get some deep input which helps them with organization and self-regulation.

When a child who typically struggles with these skills can master the scooter, it helps build increased confidence and self-esteem.  And when a parent can see their child master something that they typically have trouble with, they also get a boost in confidence.  There is no greater feeling than watching your child happy and successful.

Please be sure to check out your local toy stores as many of them carry this fantastic scooter.

I'm just a click away if you have any questions!  I encourage you to share this post on Facebook or Twitter. You (and your friends!) can also subscribe to this blog so you are the first to know when an update comes through!

If you have any experience with this, or another, scooter, please leave a comment and let me know how your child is enjoying it!