Tuesday toy tip: Ditch the battery operated toys

Tuesday toy tip: Ditch the battery operated toys

Olipop toyshop - hearing therapy toy tipsMost parents have heard this before, but I find grandparents don’t like hearing this BUT ditch the battery operated toys.
Toys with batteries often have flashing lights and play music. These toys are great to look at and often listen to too for kids…not so much the parents in my experience.
These toys tend to be very closed-ended. What do I mean by that? There is usually only one way to play with them or use them. These closed-ended toys don’t engage children like open-ended toys. With open-ended toys the possibilities are endless.
Ditch the batteries and rather choose toys that can be used in a variety of different ways
Tuesday toy tip: Ditch the battery operated toys

Tuesday toy tip: Toys, even therapy toys, don’t have to be expensive

You have everything you need around the house to keep your kids busy and even make it a speech therapy tool if need be.

Olipop toyshop - hearing therapy toy tipsIn June, when Olipop Toyshop attended the SACIG (South African Cochlear Implant Group) Conference, we were also able to attend the pre conference workshop.

Those who have been following since then, know this is where I ugly cried in front of all the incredible speech therapists. The speaker at the workshop was Francis Clarke from @AVUK. We were asked to all bring a common household item. We then divided into small groups and had to come up with some therapy ideas using this common household item. It was absolutely astounding to see how much we could do with these everyday household items. Some of the items included a spoon, an empty yogurt container, blanket, water bottle or a shopping bag.

There is so much to talk about each one of these items and since they are a part of the child’s everyday life, it becomes very practical.

Example: Empty yogurt container
– You can can chat about about what was in it, what it tasted like (mmm, tastes good)
– Open the container, don’t forget to close the container
– State its empty and perhaps find something else to fill it with and then its empty
– Can be used for pouring activities
– Storage
– Etc.

I know for us, an empty box, also equals countless hours (perhaps a bit of much…up to an hour) of fun and play. I have seen parents put kids inside a box with crayons. Other than hiding in the box, Oli also loves to take a pair of scissors and make holes in the box.

Tuesday toy tip: Ditch the battery operated toys

Tuesday toy tip: Harnessing the power of the ‘R’

Olipop toyshop - hearing therapy toy tipsWhere it is possible, try to include the three ‘Rs’ when playing with your child. This can mean that things can get loud and also rather repetitive but it’s exactly what children need in order to learn spoken language.

What are the three R’s?

Rhyme: This can mean singing poems and nursery rhymes and often includes needing to get a bit creative too and making a new poem. What this is does is allow children to practise controlling their voices, both in in terms of volume or pitch. It also helps children to recognise the the rise and fall in the voice, or intonation that is used in spoken language.

Rhythm: Playing with instruments or singing songs can help a child in recognising rhythm. Rhythm is a foundation skill that is needed to develop spoken language. This doesn’t mean having to go out and buy lots of different instruments, you can use things around the house to make a drum, you can use your hands to clap with and feet to stomp with. Be warned this may get very loud!

Repetition: Repeating songs, nursery rhymes and poems is essential for reinforcing spoken language development. It also assists in improving your child’s ability to take in information that is presented out loud, process it, retain it and recall it – this is known as auditory memory. Reading the same book over and over again is not just something children love but also what they need.

Source:
https://www.ndcs.org.uk/information-and-support/parenting-and-family-life/parenting/parenting-a-deaf-child/playtime-tips-and-ideas/

Tuesday toy tip: Ditch the battery operated toys

Tuesday toy tip: Store your hearing therapy toys that require supervision separate

Olipop toyshop - hearing therapy toy tipsAny parent needing to do therapy with a child at home knows that sometimes the hardest part of the job is, being creative. Often keeping the child interested in what we want them to do means changing things up. Children often get bored when we ask them to do the same activity with the same items on a daily basis.

TIP: Keep therapy toys, requiring adult supervision, separate. That means keep Olipop Toyshop hearing therapy toys separate from a child’s other toys.

By separating the child’s therapy toys, the ones we play with parents/adults/caregivers/therapists, from their everyday toys, the child is more likely to look forward to playing with the toys and adult.