Starfish Therapies

A pediatric therapy company operating in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. We provide physical, occupational, speech and aquatic therapy services in the most beneficial and convenient setting for you and your child, including our clinic, currently located in Burlingame, your home, school or daycare.

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Pretend Climbing

January 19, 2011 by Stacy Menz

Climbing is a great way for kids to not only develop strength but also to work on motor planning and coordination. Ladders and cargo nets and stairs are all great ways to work on climbing as well as rock climbing walls. If you don’t have these things available to you, have no fear you can still work on climbing right on the floor and you get to exercise your imagination as well!

Have your child lie on their belly and get into a commando crawling position.  This is when one leg and one arm is bent and the others are straight.  For example, the right leg is bend up to your side and the right arm is bent down so the hand is around shoulder level while the left arm and leg are straight out.  Have your child use flat hands and pull with their hands while pushing with their legs to propel themselves along.  Many kids may want to bring both hands to shoulder level before pulling however help them to keep their hands staggered.  Once they have propelled have them switch sides and push and pull with the other side.  Once they get the hang of this and are using flat hands in a staggered position and keeping their bellies on the ground you can even have races with them.  You can pretend that you are race cars going around a race track or spiderman climbing up a wall.

What a great way to have fun with your child while working on strength, coordination and motor planning!

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Filed Under: Developmental Milestones Tagged With: climbing, coordination, crawling, education, exercise, gross motor development, imagination, kids, moms, motor planning, Motor Smart Kids, physical therapy, playgrounds, Starfish Therapies, strengthening

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“Our experience with Stacy and the team at Starfish Therapies has been fantastic. The group is incredibly passionate, very professional, and know how to make therapy fun for a child! Our daughter looks forward to her session — whether it’s in-person or via the convenient tele-health option. The intake process is comprehensive and involves collaborative goal-setting with quantifiable measures and milestones. In addition, we get a list of activities we can work on at home, which has become part of our daily routine! We’ve seen big gains in our daughter’s movements, balance and confidence. Thank you, Starfish Therapies!”

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  Burlingame, CA 94010


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