Play-Doh®: Fun and Functional
Occupational Therapist and Kids Place Clinic Director
Play-Doh® is a great tool for helping your child develop hand
skills. The texture and resistance are great for building up the muscles
in the hands. However, when it is time to pull out the tub of Play-Doh®, hold off on using all of the cool tools and gadgets.
Hasbro has made some awesome and exciting accessories to go
with the rainbow of colors for Play-Doh®. Most of these tools do not promote
the development of hand skills. These tools and Play-Doh® factories
rely on pushing or pulling levers and holding basic tool handles. While playing
with these items is not terrible for development, to make the most of this
awesome Doh put the tools away and let the child’s hands work.
Learning how to keep a hand flat and active while rolling
out a snake works different muscle groups than giving it a big squeeze to leave grip marks. Rolling a ball between your palms requires more control
than rolling it on the table, but both encourage exposure to different
textures. Pinching the Doh to squish small balls between the thumb and
first finger builds up grip strength and thumb skill. Small
items can be hid forcing small finger movements to hunt for objects, and making flat
pancakes takes more hand strength than banging with a hammer.
The tools made for Play-Doh® are fun, but the creative,
tactile and fine motor coordination benefits are so much greater when the child simply uses their own hands. If your child insists on using the toys, try
playing without them for 10 minutes, then allow the toys. Even 10 minutes of direct hand play with Play-Doh® will improve
overall hand strength and coordination.
No comments:
Post a Comment