Physical Therapist Approved Infant Toys Guaranteed to Delight on Christmas Morning!

This is a special Christmas Shopping post from ICW Community Member: Sarah Obermiller, Pediatric Physical Therapist, and founder of Growing Strong Pediatric PT 

I hate to alarm you, but do you know where your Advent wreath is? Because Advent has snuck up on us again. And you know what that means… your kids are gearing up to have mega meltdowns
over who gets to blow out the candles after dinner.

A bit of advice: look in the bottom of the freezer under the large bag of peas. That’s where I
found mine in mid-December last year. (Granted, my wreath is on the smaller side.) I had put it
there eleven months earlier to freeze the wax out of the little glass candle holders because I
heard it would be easier than digging out the stuck-on melted wax with a butter knife. Unfortunately, I completely forgot what I had done with it.

It seems that the Season of Advent (often overshadowed by The Season of Overscheduling,
The Season of Stressful Traveling and/or The Season of Dealing with Very Difficult Relatives)
tends to make me lose my mind! Generally, I smile through the mess, but I do need lots of
reminders to slow down and remember Him Who is the Reason for this beautiful season.

So, to bring a tiny bit more peace to your Advent season (and hopefully give you a few more
minutes to focus on its True Meaning!) I have already done the scrolling for you and created a
list of infant toys specifically chosen to delight the little people in your life on Christmas morning!
These were chosen particularly to encourage important motor milestones such as rolling, sitting,
crawling and walking. This isn’t an exhaustive list or in any particular order. If you have any
questions about whether you should spend part of your holiday budget on a specific toy not
listed here, I’m happy to give you some guidance - please reach out to me at Growing Strong Pediatric PT. 

I pray you have a peaceful and purposeful Advent Season.
O Come O Come, Emmanuel!

Toys for newborn to rolling babies to promote happy tummy time and floor time:
These toys encourage baby to lift his head up from the floor while on his tummy, as well as push
up onto his arms and then reach with one hand. Eventually, baby will want to pivot around on
his tummy to get to a toy. While on his back, baby is encouraged to bring his hands and feet
together to play. Baby will then start rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy too!

Toys for babies who are learning to sit on their own:
Baby may need a bit of support to begin to learn to sit, but eventually his core is strong enough
to keep him upright. He will first start to play with a toy with both hands in front of him while
sitting. Then he will want to reach for the toys he sees nearby. Baby will also need to learn how
to get from lying on the floor to sitting, and back down to the floor again.

Toys for emerging crawlers:
Look out world! An emerging crawler starts by getting into all fours and rocking. Often, he sits
back on his haunches first until his hips and shoulders get a little stronger. Then he’s ready to
go after those toys by reaching for them! He will also need to practice transitioning between
sitting and all fours, and back again. Some babies will army crawl first.

Toys for babies working on pulling up to standing, standing balance, and emerging
walkers:
Once baby has strengthened his core, shoulder, and hip muscles enough by rolling, sitting, and
crawling, he’s ready to stand! First, baby will try to pull himself up to kneeling, and then all the
way up to standing. Then it’s time for cruising along the coffee table. Once he’s strong enough,
he will let go with both hands and stand by himself. Next, it’s stepping with assistance, and then
walking by himself!

Sarah is a Huntersville, NC based pediatric physical therapist specializing in infant and toddler development and movement disorders in young school-age children.  She has been a licensed physical therapist for 24 years. She received her physical therapy degree with honors from the Ohio State University School of Allied Medicine in 2000 and has specialized in pediatrics since 2005. She is also a wife and mom to three awesome kids.  

She believes that children should be cherished as unique individuals and be given every opportunity to achieve their highest potential.  

Growing Strong PT is a solo physical therapy practice and began out of Sarah’s desire to provide optimal pediatric physical therapy services that are convenient, timely, focused, and effective, free of the constraints and difficulties typical of a busy clinic and located in a child’s ideal environment: the home. Sarah understands parents’ concern that their child receives complete and attentive physical therapy care resulting not only in specific gross motor achievements, but a happy and thriving kid living a full and active life!