These are occupational and physical therapists’ favorite therapy toys and games for kids!
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Have you ever wondered how therapists keep things fresh and fun in therapy sessions week after week? I always tell my friends that my job is the best, because even though I’m working hard – I get to play all.day.long!
Pediatric physical and occupational therapists are very good at taking common toys and games and turning them into prompts for achieving child development goals.
We are also pros at determining the therapeutic benefits of toys and activities that may not have necessarily been meant for things like fine motor practice, hand strength, bilateral coordination and more.
Here is a list of some of our favorite therapy toys and the developmental skill we might use them to promote. We hope this inspires you to think outside the box and recognize that promoting developmental skills in your child can be fun and playful!
The Best Therapy Toys & Games for Kids
Therapy Toys and Games to Promote Gross Motor Skills
These games are awesome for promoting movement, strength, flexibility, hand-eye coordination, bilateral coordination, balance, and motor planning through movement! And the competition can get pretty fierce, which takes the movement fun to the next level!
Therapy Toys & Games to Promote Fine Motor Skills
There are massive amounts of games on the market that promote fine motor skills. These are some of our favorites for promoting grasp, hand strength, finger opposition, hand-eye coordination, and grasp and release.
Squigz
Therapy Toys & Games to Promote Bilateral Coordination
Using both sides of the body while playing a game is like getting a BOGO deal at the grocery store! Kids will never know the benefits to their body that they are getting while having so much fun with these games and toys.
Zoom Ball
Therapy toys & Games to Promote Hand-Eye Coordination and Cognition
Sometimes kids need a little hand-eye coordination practice in an activity with less whole body movement to really learn how to use their vision to control their hand movements. These games are also usually a great cognitive challenge and can be played in prone or in all fours on the floor, or on a tabletop to promote optimal concentration! As an added bonus, most of these are also great for fine motor practice!
Do you have any favorites to add to this list of therapy toys? We’d love to know about them! Leave a comment below or drop us a message via email or Facebook!
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