A few days back, we did a post on social media on how to select an appropriate toy for your child. With Christmas approaching, we thought this would be a good topic to explore and help parents choose the most developmental toy for their child.
At JLD therapy, we believe in play-based therapy. Toys are developmental tools to use and you probably already have tons of them laying around your house! Your child can develop crucial skills when playing with toys. This makes choosing toys very important, below are some great options for you to choose from.
9 Holiday Toy Ideas from an Occupational Therapist
Here are some holiday toy ideas to help you choose the best Christmas presents for your children:
Windup Toys
Windup toys that move when you wind up their keys are great to build your child’s finger and hand muscles. It also helps them work on their pencil grasp that will come in handy for good handwriting.
Melissa and Doug Toys
We specifically like Melissa and Doug Toys, as these wooden toys spark creativity in children through role-play. There is no sound or music coming from these toys, which means the child will fill up his playtime with his own imaginary sounds and words. This makes these toys great for speech development also.
Mr. Potato Head
A classic toy, Mr. Potato head is extensively used by occupational therapists to encourage children to talk about different body parts. You can also use it to give direction to your child, such as. ‘Put the blue hat on Mr. Potato Head’s head’. Mr. Potato can also be used to develop fine motor skills as your child tries on the body parts.
Squigz
Squigz are like suction cups. They stick to each other and most surfaces. Kids love them! You can create fun structures with squigz or throw them on different surfaces to try and make them stick. They build hand muscles and require the use of both hands.
Zoob Builders
A little similar to Squigz, Zoob Builders build your child’s visual-spatial awareness as they design and build structures through plastic tube-like forms.
Pretend Kitchen Play
Kids love imitating their parents, and this is why your child might be showing interest in kitchen tools and utensils, which is a great thing. Get some pretend kitchen play toys for your child, especially ones that have tongs and tweezers.
Yeti in My Spaghetti
This is a very fun game you can play as a family. In this game, you put a yeti on top of bowl of pretend noodles. Each player gets a turn to take out a noodle without letting the yeti fall. This game allows kids to develop their fine motor skills when they carefully take out the noodle. It’s also good for social and emotional development as kids learn to take turns and play together.
Indoor Scooterboard
An indoor scooter board is a good idea if you want to build balance and coordination skills in your child.
Hedbanz Game
This is a perfect tool for a fun speech therapy session at home! This is a family game you can play along with your kids. Basically, you ask yes and no questions to guess what object is on the card. This helps build your child’s vocabulary and encourages them to ask and answer questions.
We hope this holiday gift guide will help you choose good toys for your child this season. Do tell us what you think of these holiday toy ideas on our Instagram page.