A Holiday Gift Guide for Kids by Pediatric Occupational Therapists
It’s that time of year! Here are some holiday gift recommendations for your children by the Occupational Therapists here at Kids Place:
*All recommendations can be found on Amazon or at Target and Walmart*
Toys:
We can use toys to develop fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, matching skills, hand strength and more.
- The Rock ‘n’ Gems are a great tool to work on color matching, coordinating both hands together to open the rocks and reassembling them.
- The Alpha-pops are also a great tool to work on color and letter recognition and improving grasp strength.
- Puzzles are a go-to toy to work on matching and grasp development and sound puzzles are more motivating to place the puzzle piece in the right spot.
- Pretend-play toys like the pizza set are a fun way to encourage symbolic play or work on executive functioning skills with older kiddos by practicing taking pizza orders and making them correctly.
Games:
Board games are a great activity to complete as a family. They can work on turn taking, cooperation, impulse control, and other important skills. Remember that games don’t have to be played by the rules that are written; adapt the game to your child’s skill level or interest.
- Games like Zingo and Candyland don’t require any reading or counting for beginning game players.
- Noodle Knockout works on fine motor skills and can be fun way to talk about trying new foods.
- Games like Mermaid Island and Race to the Treasure are cooperative where everyone works together to win as a group!
Sensory Tool Gifts:
Sensory tools are a great gift for kiddos of all ages to help support their regulation needs.
- We like to create a designated “calm-down corner” with multi-sensory input like the star projector light, calming music and cuddle swing to support our kids before, during and after a sensory meltdown.
- The deep breathing ball is a great visual cue to teach kids how to inhale and exhale.
- The body sock provides deep pressure to the whole body which can be calming for an overstimulated kiddo or a sensory-seeker.
- A weighted lap animal can also provide calming input for a kiddo who has a hard time sitting still and you can bring it anywhere you go.
Gross Motor Gifts:
If your sensory-seeking kiddo is always climbing/jumping/crashing on your furniture, you may want to gift them with some gross motor equipment this year.
- We use the tactile stepping stones, tunnel and scooter board everyday in the clinic to make obstacle courses to provided regulating input (proprioceptive and vestibular) but also to work on coordination, balance, body awareness and sequencing.
- We also recommend The Floor is Lava game for older kiddos to use instead of your couch cushions and dining room chairs.
From all of us at AzOPT & Kids Place, we hope you have a great holiday season!
