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Toddler obstacle courses??? YES PLEASE!!!
If it weren’t socially awkward to run my way through a toddler obstacle course, I would have done so yesterday! My girls had SOOO MUCH FUN interacting with other kids and joining in on the festivities of make-believe car washes, bean bag tosses, dancing, puppet shows, bubbles and obstacle courses! Our 45 minutes was jam-packed with gross motor fantasticness (I know I just made my own word up…it was “word making” worthy)!
All the fun aside, I submerge my girls in gross motor rich environments for a much deeper reason. Both of my girls were born with Hypotonia (low muscle tone) that makes them appear like Gumby (OOBER flexible). They contort themselves this way and that. To the naked eye, it is cool and neat to see them that flexible. To Mommy and Daddy, it has been a series of interventions and environmental exposure to teach them motor planning and gross motor awareness. Both girls walked later than the average child and both struggle with motor planning. Walking off of a curb is a struggle, obstacle courses are a struggle, bounce houses are a struggle, walking on grass is a struggle, etc. (Believe me…I know it could be worse).
Seeing your child struggle in any way is difficult. Hypotonia may not be the biggest of deals for some that are going through much more severe disabilities, but a blow is a blow and every parent wishes their child’s roadblocks would disappear…FOREVER!
Early on in Annora’s (our 4 year old) life, we signed her up for swimming lessons, gymnastics, song and dance, early intervention services, etc. As a former teacher I knew that getting the issues resolved earlier rather than later were important. Our doctor referred us to Help Me Grow and they got busy on addressing each individual issue Annora was facing. What seemed to be overwhelming was now guided through a very organized, well-managed service free of charge for my family. The ease of getting my daughter the services she needed to address her issues was phenomenal. She was in the program for 2 years and the growth I saw in her (and my husband and I) was beautiful. The first time she stepped off a curb unassisted made my hairs stand on end. The first time she lifted her feet off the ground while riding a balance bike was, in my eyes, a miracle.
My point, the services for children are out there and are less “scary” than facing things on your own. Dive in, educate yourself on what is out there and get your child the services s/he needs.
Check out Help Me Grow’s Site:
http://www.helpmegrow.ohio.gov/
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