Cati’s favourite toys

In our house we have a saying- therapy is play and play is therapy. We try to make therapy as pleasant as possible, so Cati would look forward to doing her exercises. Needless to say, we go through a huge amount of batteries, because her favourite toys are toys with lights and sounds. Most of our toys are either received from friends and family or bought second hand. We also borrow toys from other children and lend ours to them, so she can often be exposed to a variety of new toys.

I want to make a list of Cati’s favourites, because I LOVE to go through such lists of other children, and I hope they inspire other parents.

• The Bobby Car– probably the best thing we have ever bought for Cati. It helped her sit, stand and raise to a kneeling position. It is safe (if we secure it so she cannot fall on the side), she is entertained by the music and lights, and we can probably use it in two more ways- her pushing herself with the wheels and her pushing the car when she’ll learn how to walk.

• This tall toy– The first toy, she could make it sing when kicking with her feet (3-6 months old). We would use it for tummy time, too, because it had lights and stimulated her to lift her head. We used it to keep Cati in creep position for 2 minutes 2-4 times a day, because it was tall enough to be at her eye level in this creep position. We used it when we sat Cati in her Bumbo seat (5 minutes 2 times a day) because it was tall enough for her to play with her hands. She liked it enough to crawl and creep towards it and to sit up to play with it- https://farasastieingeri.wordpress.com/…/o-jucarie-utila/

• Tummy time mat– we used it for tummy time and used the pillow for support in the exersaucer when she needed it.

• The therapy ball– We used this type of therapy ball a lot- helped with her colics, vestibular stimulation, tummy time on the ball, sitting up on the ball. One of the best things for Cati’s development in my oppinion.

 

• We have used this exersaucer when Cati was smaller- she enjoyed it a lot- https://farasastieingeri.wordpress.com/…/copiii-cu…/

• Toys for visual stimulation– we use the lighted small toys, even toys with lights and sounds, for tracking, and the phone with short videos, mostly children’s songs, to teach her how to focus and use her central vision. The flashlight is used for several exercises that strenghten her macular vision:

• Fisher Price Baby Gym– we had the original toys, but we are always replacing them with others. We use it in  different positions, but mostly to provide entertainment when she is seated in a car seat or a Bumbo seat. It helps her hold her head up and reach up with her hands.

• Toys that encourage Cati to move– basicaly all toys with buttons to push, so they would light and sing. But besides those, we also used these ones (for instance, she would crawl towards the Fisher Price stacked cubes to tear down the tower):

• Activity table- used it for cause and effect, fine motor skills, but also to encourage her crawling, sitting and kneeling.

• Toys for fine motor skills. Most of those are hand made or recicled toys:

• Wooden puzzles– she loves them all, but her favourite is the ELC puzzle, that also makes sounds. She cannot use her pincer grip to take the pieces  out, she mostly is pulling them out with her pointer. We are practicing her pincer grip hand over hand.

• Cause and effect toys– basically, all those toys with lights and sounds, but we try to offer a variety of ways for them to be turned on, not just pushing buttons, but also sliding, pulling, spinning.

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