Play Everyday! Pots and pans edition
Today’s post is the next in our series called “Play Everyday” where we take everyday items found at home and turn them into therapy tools to help your little one meet their milestones and goals. For this edition, we are using pots and pans! If you missed the earlier editions, you can check out the Laundry basket edition here, and the Blanket edition here.
The whole point is, you don’t need to spend a fortune on toys and equipment! (Shhhhh don’t tell the toy stores I told you this!) Anyone who has a bebe can relate to them grabbing for your keys, your paper, or the holy grail—your cell phone—rather than their toys. Babies are naturally inclined to pay attention to and be interested in their surroundings...so use what you have to provide developmental play opportunities!
Rather than breaking down skills by age, I have categorized them based on developmental stages. Please choose the activity that helps support your baby’s current developmental skills and goals, regardless of their age! (This is because age-based milestones are not inclusive, as you know from my previous posts.)
Developmental stage: floor play and mobility
When baby is working on tummy time, flip the pan over and place a toy on top of it to raise it higher than baby’s head. This will motivate baby to really lift their head high to see the toy and eventually push up on their arms!
If your baby is working towards crawling, challenge them to balance on their hands and knees while using one hand to drop blocks inside the pot—good for that core stability needed for crawling as well as coordination and cause and effect learning!
Developmental stage: sitting
A large saucepan is probably just the right size to help your baby learn to sit! With your baby in circle sit with legs out wide, scoot the pan between their legs and help them prop their hands on top of the pot for stability.
If your baby is getting good at sitting alone, challenge their stability as well as work on bilateral skills and coordination by giving them utensils and using the pot as a drum to make some fun sounds!
Developmental stage: standing and walking
To challenge standing balance, having baby stand and play with one leg propped up on a low pan. This is a modified way to stand one leg, and can help them work up to single leg stance!
If your baby is walking, set up a variety of sized pots and pans to create an obstacle course! They can step in pots, step on top of pans, step over them, jump off of them—the options are many depending on what your little one is working on! This activity can help with body awareness and foot placement as well as challenging balance, strength, and motor planning.
Who knew how much fun we could have using our kitchen equipment?! Just make sure to thoroughly clean your pots and pans before and after using them with baby. Happy playing!
TL;DR
You don’t have to spend a lot of money on toys! Babies are naturally interested in their environment, so use what you have to provide developmental play positions.
Your pots and pans can be a helpful therapy tool for all ages—who knew?!
Developmental stage—Floor play and mobility : during tummy time, put toys on top of the pots to encourage baby to lift their head higher and eventually push up on arms. If baby is working on crawling, challenge them to hold hands and knees position while placing blocks inside the pan—good for core stability needed for crawling and cognitive learning!
Developmental stage—Sitting: place an upside down pot in front of baby to use to help balance as they work on sitting. If they are already sitting independently, give them some utensils to bang on the pot like a drum! This will challenge their sitting stability, but also works on coordination and provides fun sensory play.
Developmental stage—Standing and walking: You can use the pot to modify standing to work towards single leg stance. Also, set up a variety of pots and pans in an obstacle course for your little one to step in, on, over, etc. to challenge balance, strength, stability, and motor planning.