With the heat of summer upon us, including the 3rd massive heatwave for those of us in the Northeast, I wanted to share some of my favorite toys to help you beat the heat while promoting fun and development! Below are some of my favorite products with a short blurb for each. Questions?! I'm happy to answer. Just comment on this post or email me and I'll get back to you within 24-48 hours.
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WATER REQUIRED! FUN WATER PLAY TOYS
When it's hot outside, anything involving water play is the first go-to at our house. What do I love about water play as a peds OT? LOTS OF THINGS! Water play provides endless sensory input, which usually means increased attention for my kiddos. At the same time, I am able to sneak in a ton of great skills that they don't even realize they're working on: bilateral coordination, midline crossing, grasp prehension, strengthening, following directions, visual perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination, and much more. Here are some my absolute FAVE toys for outdoor water play!
We first found these during the summer of 2023. My boys, especially my youngest, love water balloons. But the amount we were going through was crazy and I wanted something more sustainable and less "messy." Then I found these! We tried 2 different types: these magnetic ones and others that are non-magnetic (which are cheaper). I will spend a little more for these magnetic ones any day! The non-magnetic ones caused lots of frustration in our house since they were very difficult to close, even for me. The magnetic ones are still great for developing lots of skills and are definitely fun. (Just be careful if you're having a water balloon fight - they sting just a little if someone throws them with some force!)
Who doesn't love a good water table?! This one isn't quite a table, but has been a favorite in our house. I love it because you can work on so much strengthening and reaching, as well as eye-hand coordination and 2-handed skills. What I love most is that kiddos can be creative and set up their own "designs" by placing the pieces into a different opening. Great for promoting spatial skills, as well as problem solving!
What is summer without a sprinkler? I am all about getting the most "bang for my buck" as both a mom and a therapist, so toys that are multi-purpose or that can be used in other ways are definitely in my wheelhouse. This one is no different! Have fun using this as a traditional sprinkler or, start working on some eye-hand coordination skills with the ball catch game. Kids will be so engrossed in the fun of the water play they won't realize all of the skills they're working on, including shoulder strength and stability! And, for those of you with kiddos of varying ages or if you're a therapist treating across a large age-span, you can use this as a rolling ball game (outdoors OR indoors) for the tiniest littles!
In the pool or in the yard with a bucket of water, the basic water blaster is a timeless classic. I have found these to be the most durable (just take them out of the pool or water between uses to help the foam last longer). These also offer a "just right" amount of resistance for kids of a variety of ages to fill and shoot. Add in some targets (yes, ones that aren't people!) such as stacked cups or a beach ball, and you can create endless games while working on hand and shoulder strength, bilateral coordination, and more.
There is just something a fishing game set that appeals to most kids. This is one of my favorites as it has a large variety of pieces and can be used on land or in water. Think pool, water table, splash pad, large storage container filled with water - you get the idea. You can also set it up inside to play as well.
This brings us to the end of my favorite water play toys to keep cool this summer and beat the heat! (I could keep going but 5 seems sufficient for now.) Remember, growth and development for kids is all about fun and play; after all, play is a child's occupation! <3
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