A while ago we did a post on how to progress dribbling a playground size ball starting with two hands and working down to one hand while walking. Here is a video also explaining the process also: Another way we have worked on dribbling a ball is for kids that have a hard time understanding […]
Progressing Cruising
Cruising – what is it? This older post of ours will talk about it. We may come out with another one in the future so stay tuned! Today’s post is about how to progress cruising. Your child has mastered moving along the couch or other straight surface, what can you work on next? Here are […]
Using the Ball for Getting into Sitting
I am a big fan of using the therapy ball for helping little ones learn new techniques. I think it is great for helping them to get into sitting from their back. Using the combination of the ball rolling, gravity, and my hands, they start to learn what the movement feels like for this transition […]
Walking with a Hula Hoop
We have a lot of little ones who are working on getting independent with walking (or even just standing). I know I have shared a few ideas here before for some tips and tricks but here is another one. We have been using a hula hoop with a few of them. This has worked well […]
Toy Selection for Young Kids
There is an overwhelming amount of choices in the toy stores these days and we live in a time where digital and electronic games are increasingly being used to replace physical toys. Should we be buying toys marketed as educational? What should our developing children be playing with? As physical therapists, we get asked a […]
Single Leg Stance with a Ball and a Wall
Was walking through the clinic the other day and saw this great idea for working on single leg stance. I’ve also tried it with a few other kids and it’s great! Start with a softer, squisher ball to make it easier. We like to use a Gertie style ball. Have the child stand next to […]
Encouraging Balance Reactions
One of our therapists was recently working on balance reactions with a child and I thought it was such a great simple idea. You take some Squigz and put them on a surface. We don’t have a good child height surface so we use a wedge. The goal is for the child to pull them […]
Encouraging the Non-Dominant Leg
We will often have kids who have a very strong preference for one leg over the other when they are doing functional activities. Because they rely so heavily on the one leg, it gets stronger and that continues the cycle of them wanting to use just that leg. While it would be great for them […]
Ball Throws For Core Strength
One of our therapists recently used a ball activity to work on core strength. To make it even more fun, we did an experiment to see what was easier and what was more challenging. We took a variety of different ball sizes and then played catch with them. What made it into a core activity […]