Need ideas and recommendations - outdoor play related
MaxandRuby
member
DS2 will be 2.5 in April and has mild to moderate CP.
1. I need ideas of outdoor type play that he can do independently or with his brother (4 in May). He cannot walk or stand independently. He can only "W" sit independently or sit on ride on toys but cannot sit with out supervision/someone very close by otherwise. He cannot pedal a bike (but we have a tricycle that he can sit on and we can push - but I'm forever fixing his feet and putting them back on the pedals). He sort of uses a walker but isn't super interested in it. The only outdoor things he can do at our house are the toddler swing (tied to a large tree branch), be pushed on a tricycle, sit and sometimes scooch a ride on toy forward. His main mode of transportation is crawling. He likes to hit a ball off a tee but that isn't so pleasant on my body (I won't tall kneel if we are on concrete) plus it isn't like I can just leave him to round up the balls (he throws a fit if I lay him down on the ground - not sensory related). So any ideas of other outdoor activities I can have him do? Ideally they would be things he can do on his own or with minimal help.
2. Since his main mode of transportation is crawling, I need some recommendations (haven't started researching or looking yet) for some soft knee pads to protect his knees when crawling outside while wearing shorts.
I hope I've given enough info on what he can/cannot do. Any questions just ask and I hope to get some ideas because my mind is a complete blank!
Re: Need ideas and recommendations - outdoor play related
What about a sandbox?
Can he stand if at a water table?
I was gonna recommend a kiddie pool too, but a big one that would act more as a corral for balls and such. He could play with the balls or cars without them getting too far away from him and the pool bottom would help protect his pants and knees from getting ripped & muddied up. Hmm, now that I think on it though, what if he tries to climb out? I could see Nate trying this maneuver and taking a nose/forehead dive onto the patio........
I also am at a loss for stuff Nate can do outside. (he's not walking yet either and the walker is not set up for outdoors) We are also limited by the fact that our house sits on a hill and both front and back yards are sloped. It sucks majorly.
I really hope you get some good ideas.....
What about a ball pit? I know sandboxes are great but my kid hated the sand when he couldn't move, I think because it got into crevices and his face and he couldn't get away from it.
My DS is almost 2 and he just learned to sit and crawl. What about just laying out thick blankets on the lawn and putting some great little push cars, shovels, etc, on it so that he can roll and reach and push things? I forget who it is also makes inflatable blocks. Like the wedges and bolster blocks they use in therapy as obstacles. They're not that expensive either and you could put them on a big blanket and he could explore them.
Can you get some sort of seating system for him? Is he small, can he still fit in a bumbo? We also used the tomato seats from the therapy center, maybe you could borrow one?
As for the crawling thing, i can't reccomend them enough...Baby Legs! They're just leggings that slip over the kids legs (DS is 33 in and 25lbs and they still fit him great) and you can slip some padding in over the knees if you wish. They make them in a mesh with UPF 50 for the summer too so they're breathable and protective.