These prone position play activities are great for building core strength and endurance to support fine motor development.
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Tummy time isn’t just for babies! It can be just as beneficial for older kids, too!
Recently, we have come across several kids who just don’t have the muscle endurance to stay on their bellies and play! Why? These are the kiddos that spent very little time on their tummies as babies and, often, didn’t even crawl!
They are the kids who may seem a bit “floppy” and have poor core strength. Maybe they’re w-sitters. They often have difficulty with fine motor skills and they can even have very poor endurance during play activities.
What to look for…
If you notice a child doing any of the following while playing in prone, it may be a sign that they could use more exposure to this position:
-Breath holding
-Fidgeting (squirmy arms and legs)
-Moving in and out of the position — usually into quadruped or side lying
-Lying head on arms
14 Activities and Ideas for Prone Position Play
The good news is that, just like tummy time for babies, there are several ways to incorporate prone positioning into an older child’s day – and it can be just as beneficial.
Prone propping on the floor is a position in which a child is lying on his tummy with his feet out behind him and his elbows on the floor. This position promotes shoulder stability and improves trunk control through core strengthening.
Here are some of our favorite ideas to try in the prone position. These activities can help keep kids’ interest while building stamina and tolerance for this position.
1 || Books (sticker books, mazes and puzzle books, hidden pictures)
2 || Puzzles
3 || Coloring, drawing, or painting
4 || Roll a ball back and forth
5 || Play on a scooter by using hands to move from point A to point B
6 || Lie in prone on a therapy ball and place stickers or draw on a vertical surface
7 || Superman pose
8 || Play dough
9 || iPad games (check out some of our favorite OT apps)
10 || Board games (Guess Who, Let’s Go Fishin’, Operation, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Jenga)
11 || Card games (Uno, Go Fish, Spot It, Memory)
12 || Cutting activities (Vehicle Cutting Activity, Tape Mazes)
13 || Writing and Pre-Writing Activities (Pre-Handwriting Fine Motor Activities Fun Deck)
14 || Fine/Visual Motor Toys (Spirograph, Lite Brite, Etch a Sketch, Pattern Blocks and Boards, Squigz, Legos, Wikki Stix)
15 || Play with cars and trucks! Try a Play Carpet from IVI – we love the Traffic Play Carpet!
For Virtual Sessions
This is a great opportunity to educate caregivers about the importance of playing and doing activities in this position! Showing the caregiver some of the options above during your session would be awesome for promoting carryover at home!
What are your favorite prone position play ideas? Share them in the comments below!
[…] Prone Position: 14 Fun Activities for Kids! This simple idea is a great way to promote pencil grasp development, particularly when working toward dynamic movement in the tripod grasp. […]