For the Wee Ones!

Baby and toddler toys are always the hardest for me to recommend.  Not because there aren't a ton to choose from, but more that I want to make recommendations that may end up lasting a longer time.  When kids are really little, you can end up acquiring a ton of products that only get used for a very short amount of time.  But there are a ton of great products out there that can grow with your kid....can be adapted to make it better to use depending on their age and skill set.  Here are my top 10 (with a little help from some of my new moms out there!):

Bolli-I am a huge fan of OgoSport so when I saw that they had created the Bolli ball I was psyched.  I was initially drawn to it because of its shape and design.  I loved how the open spaces in the ball encouraged manipulation and grasping skills in younger children.  But the more I looked at this ball, I realized just how great it really is.  It can also be used for teething without parents worrying because it is made of materials that are 100% nontoxic, BPA and phthalate free.  It's soft and pliable making it easy for young kids to squish and stretch it which is great for working on bilateral coordination skills and hand-eye coordination.  As kids get older, you can work on throwing and catching skills with it! For all you parents concerned about how you clean this thing, it can be thrown in the dishwasher!  Each pack comes with 3 varying colors so you don't have to worry if one gets lost.

Rainbow Cone Tower-I am pretty sure that most everyone knows about the original Fisher-Price Rainbow Stacker.  I mean, I remember it from my childhood and have used it during my career.  Some people aren't always open to having plastic toys and would rather spend a little more to have a toy that may last longer.  One thing to keep in mind with baby/toddler toys is that less may be more...bells and whistles and lights and flashes may actually be more over-stimulating for young children.  When I saw this wooden rainbow stacker at Norman and Jules, my local toy store in Park Slope, I kinda fell in love with it.  This is the wooden version of the Fisher-Price rainbow toy from my childhood.  It will work on improving grasping and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills, color recognition, motor planning and organizational skills.  This toy is made out of the highest quality and naturally harvested wood, colored using non-toxic dyes, paints and finishes meaning it's okay if your kid starts to chew on it!

pipSquigz-I have been a fan of the regular Squigz for a long time.  Their bright colors drew me in at first but then I fell in love with the popping sound they made as you pulled them apart from each other or off a mirror or wall.  The developmental skills that can be worked on while using them are amazing.  Then I discovered the pipSquigz and my mind was blown.  pipSquigz were created for younger kids and their little hands.  They are meant to encourage sensory exploration and awareness, stimulate bilateral coordination skills, hand-eye coordination and fine motor and manipulation skills.  Suggested for kids 6-months and older, but can be used as a teething device for younger children since they are BPA-free.  These are also great for speech and language development because you can teach kids color, sounds, feelings, etc. while they are playing.

Rody Horse-I've always loved Rody because he is super cute and the kids are always drawn to him.  They don't realize that they are actually working on developing trunk control and strength, balance and coordination skills and providing themselves with body awareness through the bouncing up and down while sitting on it.  Kids can also work on improving grasp strength and manipulation skills while holding onto Rody's ears.  While initially intended for children 2 and older (it can hold up to 100 pounds of weight), younger children can use it as well.  Rody comes in a variety of colors and is easy to pump up with a hand or foot pump.

Shape Sorter-a shape sorter is a really good gift to get for those younger kids because they will last a long time.  There are a lot to choose from which can make it confusing for people as they try and decide.  Over the years, they have evolved and I have found myself being more drawn to the wooden ones.  My new favorite shape sorter is by Hape (I love so many of their toys) because there is a sensory experience as well.  Each shape not only has balls/bells in them to make them rattle when shaken, they also coordinate with a color on the sorter.  You can start using this with kids as soon as they begin to sit up and are using their hands to explore the different shapes.  As they get older, you can start having them work on matching the shapes and colors.  Great for working on improving grasping and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills and focus and attentional skills.  Made from all natural woods and painted with nontoxic paints, parents don't have to worry about kids putting the pieces in their mouth.

EZ Grip Massaging Teether Fruit-one of the biggest concerns I get from parents of my younger clients is that their sweet babes are putting everything in their mouths.  I've loved the vibrating fruit teethers by Innobaby for a while.  Babies get to soothe the pain from teething while working on grasping and hand-eye coordination skills.   I don't know from personal experience, but many people have said that by introducing kids to these fruit-like teethers that they have kids who are more open to trying a variety of fruits.   BPA, Phthalate, PVC and lead free, these are truly safe for your baby.

Poke-A-Dot Books-I discovered these books when my daughter was a baby and just loved them.  At the time, there were only 2 to choose from so I am happy to see that they have expanded their collection.  These books are interactive books that help in developing fine motor skills in babies and toddlers.  Each page has raised buttons that are part of the story (for example, you have to push a button down as you are counting the monkeys in 10 Little Monkeys). Using their pointer finger, kids push the buttons down as they are counting or finding objects on the pages.  Kids love the popping sound and that they get to be an active while having stories read to them.  Poke-A-Dot books are also great for working on improving hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, focus, attention, counting skills and language development.

Peek N Peep Eggs-sometimes the simpler the toy is, the better it is for kids.  This set of six eggs and chicks is an example of this.  Each chick is a different color and has different facial expressions that match one of the shells.  Great for working on improving fine motor and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination, visual motor and perceptual skills, focus and attention.  For toddlers, it's a great way to help them identify feelings and emotions. Oh, and they squeak when you push them down which is sure to make your wee one giggle!
*Be sure to check out your local toy stores for this product.  I have seen and purchased it from Little Things Toys in Park Slope.

Chomp and Count Dino-this toy was highly recommended to me by another occupational therapist who also happens to be the mom of 8-month twins.  The interactive dinosaur comes with eight play pieces that you feed to him.  It has a counting and a food mode.  As he "eats" them, he will respond with different phrases that will help your children learn about colors, numbers, shapes and food.  There is also an option of pressing a button that will ask your child a question about what they have just learned (this is obviously something to do with older children).  While this is intended for children 12 months and older, my friend has been doing hand-over-hand with her babies to have them put the pieces into the mouth.  This is great for not only learning a lot of important concepts, it helps to develop fine motor and manipulation skills, hand-eye coordination and visual motor/perceptual skills.  Another great feature, it comes with a pull string so as your kids begin to walk, they can take the dino for a walk!

Oball Products-the classic Oball was my daughter's first favorite toy and I have been recommending and gifting it to people ever since.  Six years ago, they just had the classic ball but since then, they have evolved and developed a bunch of new products that are just as wonderful.  The concept is simple:  each ball is made up of holes which make it easy for those little hands to grab onto them.  They help in developing fine motor and grasping skills and encourage bilateral coordination and hand-eye coordination.  They are super durable and made from non-toxic materials making them safe for teething.
Some of my new favorite products:
Oball rattle-just like the Oball Classic but has 3 rattles built in
Rattle and Roll Toy Car-this should be every babies first car!  It is easy for even the youngest child to grasp onto the top (which is made of an Oball) and push it back and forth
2-in-1 Roller Toy-this is a walking toy.  As kids begin to walk, they can push this.  They are rewarded with a fun sound as they push it all around
*again, be sure to check out your local toy stores to see if they carry them.  There isn't a single toy store in New York City that I have walked into that doesn't carry the Oball products.

If you are looking for gifts for older children, don't forget to check out the 2016 Holiday Gift Guide.

The Monster Mash!

Halloween is just around the corner and it's really beginning to feel a lot like it in the air.  All around New York City, decorations are up (I'm ignoring the fact that Christmas decorations are also popping up everywhere as well), kids are talking about trick-or-treating and their costumes and I'm going a little crazy with arts and crafts projects with my kids at work.  However, some of the kids I work with aren't into crafts but still want to get into the Halloween Spirit.

For those of you who read my blog, you will know that I am a big fan of using the iPad during my sessions.  When used in conjunction  with other therapeutic activities, it can be a highly motivating and educational tool.

Go Away, Big Green Monster-I've been a big fan of the Ed Emberley book of the same title for years.  I love the way the kids can interact with the story and how it helps some of the younger kids I work with learn about body parts.  The app brings the book to life and allows the kids to add and remove all the parts of the monster. Once he is put together, they can poke at him and see how this scary looking monster is nothing to be scared about.  I like that the kids can choose to read along with either a 4-year old narrator or hear the book be read by Ed Emberley himself. 

I like that you can add a hands on activity once you have finished playing with this app.  You can have all the pieces cut out of construction paper so you can have the kids make their very own Big Green Monster.  If you are working on teaching kids how to draw people, this can be a fun activity to reinforce where all the parts of the face go.
Sago, Sago Mini Monsters-Sago Sago has been a long time favorite of mine and children love all of the apps that they create. Each of these great apps are colorful and engaging and stimulate language, fine motor and visual motor/perceptual skills.  In Sago Min Monsters, children are able to create their own colorful monsters.  They can add details to make their monster their very own.  When they are all done creating them, they can interact with the monsters with pain, food and decorations. Kids think it's hilarious that they can feed the monsters and if they don't like the food, they will spit it out at them.  They can have them play with toys and instruments.  All of the interactive components make this a great app for working on following directions and language development.
You can add a fine-motor/craft component to this by cutting out similar monster parts and having the kids create a paper monster that they get to take home.
Labo Halloween Car-the kids I work with love the racing games so when I saw the Halloween Car app by Labo Lado, I had to have it.  I've used it with a few of the kids I work with and they really are loving it.  They get to choose from 12 different cars, several of them being Halloween themed (think bat, pumpkin and ghost).  They get to color it any way they want, add wheels and then add details and a character to make their car their very own.  Once they have completed designing it, they get to take it on a ride through different spooky racing routes.  

This app is great for working on improving graphomotor skills, encouraging creativity and visual motor/perceptual skills.  Also great for working on executive functioning skills, such as focus and attention and organizational skills.   

Stella and Sam Halloween Band-I've been a longtime fan of all things Stella and Sam by Zinc Roe Design since they are so interactive and work on so many occupational therapy goals.  If you haven't checked out their other apps, do yourself a favor and do it!  In this Halloween themed app, you get to join Stella and Sam in their band!  There are 6 different instruments to play.  You can change the sounds by moving the band members side to side or up and down.  If you look carefully, you will see bats, spiders and other characters floating around that you can interact with.  Great for preschoolers or young school-age children.  You can work on color recognition by having the kids hit the different colors when you ask them to.  As they get more familiar and comfortable with their colors, you can make this more complex by having them follow sequences.  For some kids, you might want to make them remember the order just by telling them and for others you may want to put out a visual for them to follow.  Kids will creating their own music while learning at the same time.  

Spooky Letters-I have a ton of great handwriting apps, but thought it would be fun to spice things up with this Halloween themed writing app by MadeByEducators.  In this app, children can practice writing upper and lower case letters, cursive letters, shapes/pictures and words.  What I really love about this particular handwriting app is that there is a big focus on phonics.  After practicing writing each letter, the kids then have to put letters in order for a word that starts with that letter or put together a simple puzzle that reveals what monster is hiding in the box.  For example, after you write the letter "K", a jumbled up word (key) comes up and they have to put them in order.  During the whole thing, the kids are hearing the letters being sounded out which is great for those who are struggling with learning how to read.
**one thing I noticed is that some of the letters that we typically start at the top (M and N for example), actually start at the bottom.  Could be confusing for some kids but there are a lot more positive things about this app that make it a good one to add to your handwriting app choices.

If you are concerned about using an iPad during therapy, keep in mind that there are a ton of ways to make it more therapeutic.  I also can't Here are a few examples of things you can do to make using the iPad more meaningful, whether it be at home or during your therapy sessions:

*use a stylus-many of the apps can be done using a stylus.  So even though the kids are absorbed in the app, they are working on developing a proper grasp.

*many of the kids I work with need to work on increasing their overall body strength, particularly upper body and neck/head.  Have them go on the net swing and play the apps.  

*if you work with groups of kids, almost any of these apps can be good for a small group setting.  They will have to compromise about colors for their cars, what to feed the monster, take turns playing instruments, etc.. There are a lot of great social opportunities available when using the iPad in a therapeutic setting. 

I would love to hear if any of you have some great Halloween or fall-themed apps that I should check out.  I like to take advantage of holidays and mix things up during my sessions.  Between the great arts and crafts activities, baking activities and the iPad apps, I have been rejuvenated the last couple of weeks during my sessions.  The kids are also having a great time and excited for new things at the gym.  So if you have any fun things to suggest to me or my readers, please share them!  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all!