This post is fourth on the series "Overcoming Low Muscle Tone". To read the previous post on the series, Gear, please click here.
Setting of the play area:
During Patrick's first year of life, his playing area was our living room. We had this puzzle foam mat in both numbers and shape sets. I liked them because they were thicker than most so it was extra safe when he was learning to sit on his own and would occasionally fall to the sides.
By the time he was a little over one year old, we had our basement fully finished, which included a big playing area for Patrick. By then he was scooting around (not crawling, let alone walking!) so I bought these gates on Craigslist to make sure he wouldn't scoot to other areas in the basement that were not safe for him. Well, it turned out that was a bad idea.
His playing area looked like a gated area with tons of toys on the floor. His physical therapist then pointed out that I was better off securing the particular places I didn't want him to get to, and open his space so that he would be more motivated to move. So I put away the gates (a few of them went to surround the TV stuff) and I bought baby gates to block the stairs and the hall to the bathroom. With this changes, he had a more open space to move around, but that wasn't enough. I had to move all the toys from the floor and place them on a table so that Patrick would make the effort to stand.
A couple months later he had mastered standing and going back to the floor. The next step was to make him to give steps. That's when his therapist suggested to change the layout of the playing area, and add a few more "tables" close to each other, each with toys on top, so that Patrick would move from one "table" to the other one. I can't find any pictures of how it used to look back then, but if I come across one later, I will update this post with said pictures. In the meantime, I'm posting a picture I took just for this post. Below you can see the "table" which is nothing but one of the plastic shelves I stole from my husband's shed.
These shelves are very sturdy so I never worried about falling over Patrick, yet they are light enough for me to move around easily. They provide plenty of surface to place many toys, and the height is just perfect for toddlers 1-2 years old (Patrick is 29 months on that photo.) Best part is, I didn't have to pay for them! And even if I had to buy them, they can be stacked later to use for what they are meant: Shelves!
You have to keep children entertained and encouraged to crawl, stand up, and later walk to reach things of their interest. Putting some toys away, and bringing new ones every month or two is a great idea. I'm not saying you have to buy toys every month, but, kids get toys constantly and not only from parents, (think Christmas time, birthdays, when the grandparents are around...) so don't give him all the toys at once, rather, give him a few and put away the rest. In a month or so, you can put away the ones he has mastered playing with, keep his favorite ones, and bring in a few more from the closet. Once you have ran out of new toys, bring back some old ones that are still age appropriate. To get some ideas on what toys are good for your child, you can read this post.
It's important that you change the layout of the playing space in a way that meets your child's needs. As children grow, they are able to do more things, so you have to keep challenging them. Is he sitting up? Then is time to work on making him crawl. Is he crawling? Time to work on making him stand. Is he standing? Then is time to make him walk. Is he walking? Provide plenty space for him to run. It doesn't matter how big or small your house is, you can always find a way to re-organize your furniture so that your child has the appropriate space to fulfill his needs.
Setting of the play area:
During Patrick's first year of life, his playing area was our living room. We had this puzzle foam mat in both numbers and shape sets. I liked them because they were thicker than most so it was extra safe when he was learning to sit on his own and would occasionally fall to the sides.
By the time he was a little over one year old, we had our basement fully finished, which included a big playing area for Patrick. By then he was scooting around (not crawling, let alone walking!) so I bought these gates on Craigslist to make sure he wouldn't scoot to other areas in the basement that were not safe for him. Well, it turned out that was a bad idea.
His playing area looked like a gated area with tons of toys on the floor. His physical therapist then pointed out that I was better off securing the particular places I didn't want him to get to, and open his space so that he would be more motivated to move. So I put away the gates (a few of them went to surround the TV stuff) and I bought baby gates to block the stairs and the hall to the bathroom. With this changes, he had a more open space to move around, but that wasn't enough. I had to move all the toys from the floor and place them on a table so that Patrick would make the effort to stand.
A couple months later he had mastered standing and going back to the floor. The next step was to make him to give steps. That's when his therapist suggested to change the layout of the playing area, and add a few more "tables" close to each other, each with toys on top, so that Patrick would move from one "table" to the other one. I can't find any pictures of how it used to look back then, but if I come across one later, I will update this post with said pictures. In the meantime, I'm posting a picture I took just for this post. Below you can see the "table" which is nothing but one of the plastic shelves I stole from my husband's shed.
These shelves are very sturdy so I never worried about falling over Patrick, yet they are light enough for me to move around easily. They provide plenty of surface to place many toys, and the height is just perfect for toddlers 1-2 years old (Patrick is 29 months on that photo.) Best part is, I didn't have to pay for them! And even if I had to buy them, they can be stacked later to use for what they are meant: Shelves!
You have to keep children entertained and encouraged to crawl, stand up, and later walk to reach things of their interest. Putting some toys away, and bringing new ones every month or two is a great idea. I'm not saying you have to buy toys every month, but, kids get toys constantly and not only from parents, (think Christmas time, birthdays, when the grandparents are around...) so don't give him all the toys at once, rather, give him a few and put away the rest. In a month or so, you can put away the ones he has mastered playing with, keep his favorite ones, and bring in a few more from the closet. Once you have ran out of new toys, bring back some old ones that are still age appropriate. To get some ideas on what toys are good for your child, you can read this post.
It's important that you change the layout of the playing space in a way that meets your child's needs. As children grow, they are able to do more things, so you have to keep challenging them. Is he sitting up? Then is time to work on making him crawl. Is he crawling? Time to work on making him stand. Is he standing? Then is time to make him walk. Is he walking? Provide plenty space for him to run. It doesn't matter how big or small your house is, you can always find a way to re-organize your furniture so that your child has the appropriate space to fulfill his needs.
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