We Are Family!

When you work with children, you end up working with their entire family....and that's pretty fantastic.  We all know the importance of family, especially the role a sibling plays to a child who may have delays.  I believe that a pediatric occupational therapist has a lot of very important jobs and one of them is helping parents figure out the best way to promote a healthy sibling relationship.  I have lost count of how many times parents have told me that they feel terrible about the lack of attention their non-therapy children get.

There are a lot of ways to include siblings, especially those that are close in age, in the therapeutic process. As therapists, our goal is to make sure that the kids we work with meet their goals.  However, I find it equally important that I provide parents with activities that they can do at home with all of their children.  Kids spend a lot of time at home and for some parents, figuring out what to do with them at home can be difficult.  I try and suggest games, crafts and activities that can easily be done at home, especially for those times where the weather prevents kids from getting out of their houses.

Below, you will find some of the things I have done over the years to help support sibling relationships:

*whenever possible, I have siblings join in on a session...even if only for 5 minutes.  This is far more important when a sibling is close in age or a twin to the child you are treating who is always dragged from session to session and having to spend so much of their time in a waiting room.  This practice goes a long way for all people involved!  Maybe the parents or the caregivers get 5 minutes to run to the bathroom or make a phone call or maybe they can actually observe the shared time and pick up some of the language that you use to help make play time at home more successful.

*one of the things I like to do is help kids learn how to be the "masters" of a game during our sessions.  This means that they not only know how to play the game, but are able to set it up and explain the directions to people.  Once they are masters, I have the parents buy the game for home so they can play it with their siblings.  It is such a confidence booster for the kids to be able to be in charge of something as their siblings tend to be the ones in control most of the time.  It's important that the games are good for a variety of ages and that they aren't too complicated, especially when it comes to explaining the rules.  Some of my favorite family games:
-Uno
-Yeti In My Spaghetti 
-Tumbling Monkeys
-any of the matching or simple games by Eeboo
-Thumbs Up
-Spot It

*cooking and baking with kids can be a great way to not only address some of the occupational therapy goals at home, but can also be a fun way to help in developing a good sibling relationship.  You want to try and keep things simple and with not too many steps or ingredients so you can encourage as much independent and cooperative play as possible during these moments.  Something like making pizzas (put all the ingredients out and let the kids go to town) is a great choice and one of my favorites.  Need other ideas, check out this great website that has tons of videos with cooking activities just for kids.  Obviously, be there to supervise and do all the important parent things like turning on the oven, putting food in and out, etc. but really try and let kids work through any of the problems they may run into.

*arts and crafts can be a great way to have kids play together at home and if you choose the right thing, they may not even need that much help from grownups.  If you have an easel, set it up with an endless amount of paper for them to color, paint or draw all over.  Once they are done with their masterpiece, have them tell you what they did or maybe have them tell a story and write it on the paper and then make a big deal and hang it up somewhere for everyone to see.  If you need inspiration for craft activities, do yourself a favor and spend some time searching Pinterest.  It may be an easy way to procrastinate, but can help you come up with some great ideas. And check out this link on Parents that can send you to a bunch of kid-friendly crafting sites. Some of my other favorites craft ideas:
Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics (get a set of large ones that they can work on together)
Pirasta Coloring Posters-these are a huge favorite for my daughter and my nieces.  They are large enough that at least two can get involved in the coloring fun....many more if you get the super big posters!
Play-Doh Sets

*last, but not least, blocks and other kinds of building toys make a great activity for siblings to do together.  They can work together to build something and then can add characters and spend some time doing imaginative play together.  Investing in good building toys is worth it...it might hurt the wallet at the time of the purchase, but good ones will take a good beating and still last forever.  Some of my favorites (and ones that are used in my house all the time) are:
Tegu Magnetic Blocks
Magnatiles
Janod Building and Construction Toy Sets

As one of four girls, I realize how important a good sibling relationship is and how it is can be easy for one child to feel like they are getting short changed on attention.  As a therapist, I think it is important that we do what we can to help families understand how easy it is for them to play together, no matter what kind of difficulties one of their children may be having.  Try and encourage parents to take their kids outside and play together whenever the opportunity comes up.  Whether it be blowing and catching bubbles, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, kicking a ball back and forth to one another or one pushing the other on a swing, there are tons of ways that parents can help strengthen the relationship between their children instead of one feeling slighted.  Let's not forget how much children learn from each other...especially what they can learn from a sibling that they adore.

I know I am not the first therapist/professional who works with children that has faced this particular problem:  advising parents what to do to foster a healthy sibling relationship and limit the amount of guilt the parents feel about providing one child with more attention than the other.  What kind of advice or activities do you suggest?  Do you have a favorite Pinterest board or websites that you rely on for helping you come up with activities to do with your children?  Not only would I love to hear some of the things you all suggest to parents, I know that my readers would love to hear as well.  I am always a click away and love hearing from you all.

Snow Day!

With the anticipation of the impending snow this weekend, I thought I would focus today's post on both outdoor and indoor activities you can do with your little ones.  We know that kids love being outside playing with the snow...making snow angels, going sledding, building snowmen and snowball fights are the obvious ones.  But we all know that as soon as your kid has to use the bathroom or they get cold, they want to be inside STAT!  Once they are inside, us parents are all worried about what we will do to keep everyone sane the rest of the day.

Below, I have shared some of my favorite winter activities that you can do with your kids.  All are fun and have a therapeutic value to them.  Whether it be building overall body strength, working on improving fine motor skills or encouraging cooperative play and social skills, they are all fun and don't require much more than things you will find at home or outdoors.

1.  Wanna Build a Snowman?-if the forecast is correct, many of us will have enough snow to make a snowman!  Snowman building is a great activity for so many reasons.  It's perfect for encouraging working as a group with your friends or siblings.  Also great for working on improving upper body strength, body awareness and encouraging creativity.  If building with little kids, use this as an opportunity to talk to them and teach them about all the different body and face parts.

2.  Snowball Games-kids love making snowballs!  Who am I kidding....everyone loves snowballs!  Sometimes snowball fights can get out of control so you have to think of solutions for that not to happen.  How about setting up targets for your kids to throw snowballs at instead of at each other?  Or how about a snowball catch where you see how many times you can toss it back and forth to each other before it falls apart?  There are lots of fun things you can do with snowballs that doesn't have to be throwing it at another person.

3.  Make Hot Chocolate-nothing tastes better after spending hours outside playing in the snow than a cup of hot chocolate.  Let your kids help you make the hot chocolate.  Whether you have them scoop the chocolate powder into the mug and let them stir or make hot chocolate from scratch.  Check out these great recipes from this PopSugar post a couple of winters ago.

4. Blow Bubbles in the Cold-when the temperature drops below 32 degrees, really cool things happen with bubbles.  Try and dig out some of your bubbles that you have hidden somewhere waiting for summer weather and bring them out into the cold.  See what happens when you blow them and catch them with the wand!  You and your kids will all be amazed by what happens.

5.  Tic-Tac-Snow-use a stick to make a giant tic-tac-toe board in the snow.  Collect some branches to make Xs and pinecones or rocks for Os.

6.  Snow Ice Cream-this may be harder for us city dwellers, but snow ice cream is an easy and fun activity to do with your kids.  You will need:
1/2 cup half & half or whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cups clean snow
Blend the milk, sugar and vanilla together until the sugar dissolves.  Mix the 4 cups of snow and stir until the mixture is the consistency of ice cream.  Eat plain or add your favorite toppings!

7.  Paper Snowflakes-if your kids need to warm up and you aren't quite ready to plop them in front of the television quite yet, how about having them make their own snowflakes.  I remember spending hours and hours as a kid making paper snowflakes.  I loved how you could do it again and again and like a real snowflake, no two snowflakes were ever the same.  As I have been on the hunt for fun winter themed activities for my  kids at work, I stumbled upon these name snowflakes on Childhood 101.  It takes a little bit of practice and definitely better for older kids but once you get the hang of it, you will be obsessed and want to make one for every single person you know!

8.  Craft It Up-there are a lot of fun and simple crafts that you can do on these snowy days.  I don't know about you all, but I happen to have a little girl who could craft all day long and doesn't need snow days as an excuse.  Some of our favorites are:
Make Homemade Playdough
Valentine's Day Crafts
Homemade Snow Globes
Washi Tape Crafts
Coloring and Activity Books (click on the link to check out my post from the holidays for ideas)

9.  Send out Postcards/Write a Letter-one of my sisters has a job that takes her all over the USA.  One of the things that she has started with all the kids in her life is to send postcards from wherever she ends up.  My daughter looks forward to this mail and learning about new places in our country.  One thing you can do with your kids is have them pick out a friend, cousin or other family member to write a letter to and tell them all about their snowy day adventures.  It's not only a great way to work on handwriting but also a great way for kids to recall and talk about what they did with people who may not have been home to enjoy it with them.

10.  Get Physical-if your kids start to get a bit stir crazy and need to get some energy out, think of all the great games that you can play inside to get them up and moving.  I tend to suggest to parents that they have a secret stash of games that they take out on cold or rainy days.  I especially like ones that encourage movement in kids.  Here are some board games/activities that are you can save for these kinds of days:
Twister
5 Little Monkeys On The Bed
Kids on Stage
Zoom Ball
Simon Says
Charades
Hide and Seek

While I know that I will be outside as much as I can, I do know that I will need to have backup plans to keep my own daughter busy and not attached to an iPad or television once we are inside.  I can't wait to begin some new snowy day traditions with her now that she is older and doing so much more.  Do you have any favorite snowy/cold day activities, crafts or cooking/baking activities that you do with your kids?  Would love to hear what kinds of fun and creative things you all do!  I'm always a click away and love hearing from you all!

It's all in the Pop(sicle)

With summer and the heat here, I thought it was time to write about an awesome popsicle maker that the whole family could enjoy.  Last year, I was looking for a way to make my own popsicles.  I am an avid baker and thought that it would be a great activity to do with Quinn who had recently begun to show an interest in cooking and baking with me.  When I went into William's Sonoma, I spied the Zoku Quick Pop Maker and knew I had found what I was looking for.  This year Quinn is a full fledged baker and I think we are going to spend a lot of time this summer experimenting with different tasty recipes to keep us cool all summer long!

The Zoku Quick Pop Maker is the perfect accessory to make a tasty and healthy summer treat.  Not only that, on days like today, they will be super refreshing.  The process if very simple and easy for little ones to be actively involved from beginning to end.  The first step is to make room in your freezer for the pop maker (I have the two pop maker but you can get one as small as one or as large as three at a time).  Place it in your freezer for at least 24 hours making sure it is lying even.  Once frozen, place the sticks into the pop maker....make sure they are properly lined up as this will help when removing them from the maker.  Pour the juice into the pop maker and watch it freeze....it's a little like watching water boil but I think the end result will be more exciting for your little one!  Once the pops are done, you use the handy dandy pop remover tool to magically remove them from the mold.  The last, and in my opinion, the most important is to eat your delicious creation.  I am fairly certain you will have a pretty proud prince or princess on hand after their creations are completed and they get all kinds of positive feedback from everyone who eats them!

The maker comes with a handful of recipes that you can test out.  If you are not a member of Pinterest, I suggest doing so immediately.  There are hundreds of recipes for you to try that people have pinned.  In the middle of writing this blog post, I got an email from one of my favorite blogs, Red Tricycle (another must sign up for especially if you are in the NYC, Chicago, LA areas.  They do have a national edition totally worth signing up for no matter where you live), featuring 20 popsicle recipes.  While all aren't meant for this pop maker, you could easily adapt the recipes for this appliance.  This is a guaranteed good time for not only your child, but you as well.

Some of the occupational therapy goals that can be addressed when using the Zoku Quick Pop Maker are:
Improve Sequencing and Organization:  if you have a child who presents with difficulties with sequencing and organization, you can take the steps of this activity and have the child put it in order prior to beginning the actual making of the popsicles.  Go through each step and talk about what supplies you may need in order to get your child organized and prepared.
Improve Eye-Hand Coordination:  depending on the recipe you choose, you may need to cut up fruits which requires good eye-hand coordination.  When pouring the liquid ingredients in, you will need to hold the cup with the liquids in one hand and hold the popsicle maker with the other.  If you have a child who is struggling with choosing a dominant hand (but know they may do better with one over the other), encourage them to use that stronger hand.
Improve Following Directions:  if you don't follow the steps and directions, your popsicles won't turn out the way they are supposed to. This is a good opportunity to talk to your child about the importance of following a recipe.  Many activities that kids are presented with are similar to recipes in that if you don't follow the "recipe", the final product won't turn out the way it is expected to.  
Improve Bilateral Coordination Skills:  when pouring ingredients, it's important to encourage your child to use two hands; one should be used to hold the cup and the other should be used to pour.  In addition, if you are using fresh fruits, they may need to be cut up or sliced.  This is another great opportunity to work on using both hands in a coordinated manner.
Improve Eating Skills:  I am sure many of you have worked with or are the proud owners of picky eaters (myself included).  By actively engaging your child in the process of making food, you may have a positive impact on their willingness to try new foods.  And when you present something to them in this manner, it will be more fun.  I find that kids are more likely to try new foods when they are more involved in the actual process of making it.
Facilitate Social Skills:  cooking is a great social activity.  It is a great opportunity to work on taking turns by dividing up the ingredients and having children take turns putting them in.  After the popsicles are finished, set up a table for the kids to eat them and encourage conversation.  Maybe you will need to lead the conversation but have it based around making the popsicles and then let the conversation go from there.


In addition to all the other things I mentioned above, this is a great way to begin teaching your children about foods and making healthy choices.  Go to the grocery store together and pick out the different ingredients so they can truly be part of the entire process.  Talk about how healthy fruits are and how they provide your body with the power to grow and become stronger.  I don't know of a single kid who doesn't respond well to the idea of becoming as strong as a super hero!

The only downside is that the maker takes up a chunk of space in your freezer.  If you plan on using it all summer, just be prepared to have a reserved space for it in there.  The great thing about it is that the actual freezing process of the popsicles is about 7 minutes so there is instant gratification for you and your kids.

As previously mentioned, you can get the Zoku at William's Sonoma.  I have also seen it in local kitchen stores in my neighborhood.  As always, I am a big believer in supporting small businesses when possible.  If you have a kitchen supply store in your hood, be sure to give them a call before going the Amazon or big box store route.  They truly appreciate and count on every sale they make.

I would love for you to share how you use the Zoku with your kids.  Do you have a recipe you would like to share with us?  I would love to hear of any fabulous new recipes that you may have and I am sure my other readers would as well.  I am only a click away and love hearing from all of you.

Stay Cool this warm summer!