Toy Review Tuesday: Easy-Grip Pegs & Pegboard

Matthew played with the Easy-Grip Pegs & Pegboard for the first time when his developmental therapist in the Early Intervention program brought this to our house. He was 2 years old. It was initially used for developing hand-eye coordination and improving his finger and hand grasps on small objects. As Matthew has a relatively great attention span, getting him to sit for this activity was not a problem.

But he initially was not drawn to the pegs. It was love at first bite with the foam pegboard. He just loved to mouth it and bite it. We redirected his chewing to putting a few pegs into the holes, hand over hand and always ending on a good successful note - one guided peg in was a success. Keeping the activity short, simple, frustration-free and seemed to be the keys to holding his interest, especially for the next time she brought this toy.

Over time, he was liking this toy so much that I included it in his Christmas wishlist in 2009, afterwhich he got his very own set from Beyond Play. He also eventually outgrew the desire to bite the pegboard.



To date, Matthew has used this for:
- putting pegs in holes
- stacking as high as Matthew can stack
- learning colors
- counting
- sorting colors, playing same and different

Sequencing is another activity for these pegs but we haven't tried that yet. He is now 38 months old.

Tackling Fine Motor and Gross Motor Simultaneously
Lately, with Elizabeth getting more mobile and more interested in Matthew's toys, I've been using this to help her practice get from sitting to kneeling and reaching for pegs to pull out of the board. I taped the pegboard to the back of a whiteboard, just slightly out of her reach.

She just turned 8 months old today and requires only a tiny bit of support while kneeling since she does not have low muscle tone (hypotonia) like Matthew. At 8 months of age, Matthew was nowhere near crawling and he could sit with boppy pillow support. Needless to say, Matthew would not have been able to do this at 8 months, maybe at 13 months.

When developmentally ready and if we had this toy when Matthew was younger, this would've been a good one to use for leg and hip strength by moving from sitting on heels to a full kneeling position instead of the full range of motion (full sit to full kneel). And with good support to make sure he was not using any compensatory movements during the activity. I did something similar when encouraging him to pull up to stand with a vertical surface using the Leapfrog Fridge DJ as his motivator.



Wrist Movement
I actually learned the tip to stick the pegboard on a vertical surface from Matthew's preschool teacher. I saw it in his classroom and his teacher said it helps with wrist movement leading up to writing. I tried it and the wrist is certainly angled differently when working with a vertical surface compared to a horizontal surface.


Overall, a great educational and developmental toy with no bells and whistles. I'm glad we have it.


Related post:
Toy Review Tuesday: Leapfrog Fridge DJ

Toy Review Tuesday: Shopping Cart (Little Tikes)

The shopping cart is one of those "grow with you" toys. We have the Little Tikes Shopping Cart.



In Matthew's experience, it was not a good pull-up-to-stand toy because:
1) the handle was too high for Matthew to reach and get a good firm grasp when he was sitting on the floor.
2) it rolls very easily and didn't stay put when Matthew tried using it to pull up. He tried when it was on the linoleum though. Maybe it would've been better if it were on thick carpet.
3) it tipped over (forward) when Matthew pulled up on the front part of the cart.



As a push toy, it worked very well when Matthew could steer and didn't rely on it to hold his weight too much. He started pushing it around successfully when he was almost walking independently. He was 21 months in the above photo and had started taking independent steps at that age.

We tried giving Yuri a ride in it but he didn't like that at all.



I've even toyed with the idea of taking this shopping cart with us on one- or two-item grocery runs and use it for a real-life (as opposed to pretend play only) learning experience that he can associate with his shopping cart. But I decided it was too much work for me. I know he gets the idea of grocery shopping though. While he sits in the cart, he enjoys putting (unbreakable) items into the shopping cart for me. There are several grocery stores that have kid-size shopping carts although none in our area.

As Matthew's language improves and his interest in more elaborate pretend play increases (and when Elizabeth is older, she may force him to play pretend grocery store with her), he'll be "shopping" around the house for items. So if the TV remote or car key goes missing, it'll probably be in the cart, right?

Locked Out By 3-Year Old

Add me to the list of moms who answer "YES!" to the question: Has your child ever locked you out of the house?

I told Matthew I'd be right back and went to get the mail, not closing the door all the way. It took less than a minute, especially in 30°F weather when I ran to the mailbox and ran back to the house. As I reached the front door, I heard the door close all the way, then I heard a *CLICK*!!



I tried the doorknob. I could turn it. Matthew had locked the deadbolt! He had never done this before. I never taught him that but I'm sure he's seen me lock the front door hundreds of times. I couldn't believe it! Obviously this boy has great fine motor skills.

There I was in the cold (luckily I had a jacket and scarf on), wide-eyed, heart pounding, looking in through the glass on the side of the front door. I didn't have the cordless house phone on me or my cellphone or a house key. I wanted to break down the door.

My sweet 3-year old was smiling at me through the glass and twisting the doorknob. He thought this was a game. Of course, he didn't know how to unlock the deadbolt. I could see Elizabeth was still happy in her jumperoo. I rang the doorbell and knocked on the door. That kept Matthew at the door where I could see him. The house was kid-proofed but it just made me feel better if I could see him.

Then I made a quick dash across the snow-patched lawn to our neighbor's. Thank goodness they were home! I used their phone to call my sister-in-law, who had a spare key and I knew she was out and about in our area at this time. No answer on her cellphone. Panic! I called Bill at work. He was 40 minutes away but he could make some calls for me.

I ran back to the house. Matthew was still at the door smiling at me when I knocked and rang the doorbell. Elizabeth was starting to pout in her jumperoo. Uh-oh! Maybe I can just break a window to get in??

One more call, I thought, and ran to the neighbor's and got a hold of my sister-in-law this time. She was 5 minutes away and on her way. Whew! In the meantime, I had asked our neighbor if they could try picking the garage door lock and perhaps I could get in that way. Our neighbor tried and tried but the lock wouldn't give.

Then my sister-in-law arrived. And she had a key to our house!! Whew! Quickly thanking the neighbor, I rushed to the front door with my rescuer. With one turn of the key in the lock, we were in!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Kris!!

I hugged Matthew tight. Elizabeth had just started crying so I got her out of her jumperoo and hugged her tight too.

This scary experience probably took 5 years off my life in the 15 minutes that I was locked out of the house.

Moral of the story:
Always be prepared and have a back-up plan that does not involve relying on other people or breaking down the door or breaking a window.

What if Kris wasn't nearby? What if my next-door neighbors weren't home? What if...

The plan of action:
- Have a house key on me at all times, especially when stepping outside for just a minute to grab the mail. I'm going to get a wrist or arm wallet so I can wear my house key all day.
- Hide a house key somewhere outside.
- Take along a cellphone or the cordless house phone.

Never again!

Rudolph

Our artificial pre-lit Christmas tree is up. Thankfully, the cat and kids aren't interested in climbing it or pulling it down or yanking off the ornaments.



Four stockings line our stair banister waiting for Santa to fill them with goodies. Christmas lights cast a soft, inviting glow on our front porch at night, setting the perfect Christmas mood with every twinkle.

Matthew's favorite musical Christmas toys are out. With one squeeze of his hand, this snowman dances to the tune of Frosty the Snowman.



The nativity play set is set up under the Christmas tree but baby Jesus has found his way to the cozier-looking crib in the Fisher Price Little People house. I think Bill inadvertently put baby Jesus there for pretend play time with Matthew.



Christmas music streams from the iPod speakers. Matthew sings along.



"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" prompts me to sing along. Up until 3 years ago, I viewed Rudolph as pretty cool with his shiny red nose. Other than that, I didn't internalize the song like I did after Matthew was born. I began to see Rudolph's uniqueness from an entirely different level - through the eyes of a mom who has a child with special needs. Rudolph's uniqueness took on a deeper meaning in my mind.

"All of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph
join in any reindeer games."

This part of the song makes me so sad that I actually cry. I ponder Matthew's social life. I think of how I don't ever want him to feel like an outcast. I think of how I might react if I hear people call him offensive names.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say:
"Rudolph with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Then all the reindeer loved him
as they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
you'll go down in history!

As the song ends, I'm still teary but with happy tears. I dream that Matthew will have lots of friends. I dream of how people will accept and respect him for who he is. I dream of how many lives he will inspire and has inspired, including mine.

Amazing how having a child with Down syndrome has changed my outlook on even the simplest things! In this case, it's a simple song that's not even about Down syndrome. Or maybe I'm just emotional at Christmas...

Toy Review Tuesday: Brilliant Basics Activity Walker (Fisher Price)

We borrowed the Fisher Price Brilliant Basics Activity Walker from the cousins. This was the very first walker that Matthew used.

We decided to introduce a walker toy when Matthew was pulling up on the coffee table at 15 months and teach him to walk with it. He was also creeping (on his hands and knees) at this point. Being a visual and kinesthenic learner, we moved his legs for him one at a time just to show him the motions. We didn't get very far with this as he clearly wasn't ready to move forward on the walker yet.

After a month of trying it on and off, he began to take a few steps with it while leaning heavily on it. He took steps with his arms bent and his chest right up against the handle. It supported his weight without a problem.

Another month later, he was leaning less on the walker. However, there were a couple of instances when it slipped out from under him when the front part ran over a rubber ball, lifting the two front wheels. With him leaning on the handle, which was directly over the two back wheels, the walker reared up and sent Matthew crashing down. He was upset moreso because of the bad surprising fall. He was not injured. This would not have happened had he not been using the handle to support most of his weight.

The ability to steer came in the 5th month after introducing the walker. He was 20 months old. At this point, he was cruising from one piece of furniture to another and cruising along the sliding glass door and other flat surfaces (perpendicular to the ground). He was hardly relying on the walker to support him. He was not walking independently yet.

He began taking several independent steps at 21 months.

Pros and Cons
The pros:
- Lightweight yet sturdy.
- Collapsible for easy storage or transport.
- Perfect height for Matthew when he started. He is generally in the 40th - 50th percentile for height in the growth chart for boys with Down syndrome.
- No fancy bells and whistles and lights on this walker but it does sound out when tapped or upon impact with another solid object. I think that the less distraction there was on the walker, the more it will be used as a walker rather than just a "sit-down-and-play" toy.
- Good for pulling up as long as Matthew wasn't completely relying on it to stay put. It can roll away.
- Easy to steer on carpet (berber), linoleum, hardwood, and tile.

The cons:
- It has slipped out from underneath Matthew twice when the two front wheels ran over a small rubber ball and lifted off the floor. As long as all four wheels are grounded, then it's fine.
- Climbers would be tempted to climb the front side. Not safe as it could roll away, especially on non-carpeted flooring.

Better walkers by Fisher Price or other toy manufacturers might exist. But overall, this walker served us well except for the unfortunate slip-ups, which could've been avoided. This is by no means a bad starter walker and I'm glad we have it. It will see more use soon when Elizabeth gets up and moving.