Occupational Therapy

Child(ish) Advice Holiday Gift Guide 2021

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

The holidays are going to be crazy this year. Yes, there are staffing shortages, mailing delays, and supply-chain bottlenecks. People are frustrated but also excited to have bigger, in-person events. Before getting into actual gift recommendations, we want to make sure you pack your patience. Get mentally and emotionally ready for this, so you don’t lose it on holiday workers who are just doing their best.

And now for gifts…

A lot of grandparents and family members want to make sure that they purchase something that is not only entertaining, but educational. Then, there are also family members that get the craziest, loudest, most popular thing on the shelves. So, to help balance expectations and simplify the process, we’ve put together our 2021 holiday gift list.

None of these are sponsored. We ran to Target/browsed Amazon and picked out a couple things per age group that we thought were pretty awesome and also OT-friendly.

Here are our recommendations this year for newborns to 12 months: 

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Tight-Lipped: Sensory Considerations for Toothbrushing

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

For the last couple months, we’ve been chatting with pediatric dentist Dr. M, (aka @themamadentist) about kids dental hygiene and oral care. She says that one of the main questions she receives from parents is what to do when their child won’t let them brush their teeth or they cry/scream during the process. Here’s our OT-take for when toothbrushing is an uphill battle.

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A&Z Meet the Dentist

| Patti Webb

I know what it looks like. Post up a dentist story right before Halloween… real original.

But this post isn’t going to be about sugar, or cavities, or brushing religiously. Instead, it’s just my story about how Troy and I introduced our girls to toothbrushing and good habits.

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Their Wildest Dreams: A Kid’s Imagination

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Imagination and Halloween go hand-in-hand. It’s the time for decking out the house with some curious décor, telling fantastical stories, and becoming anything you want to be. It’s only a matter of how far your creativity and imagination will take you. 

Imagination is the ability to create up an image or scenario that hasn’t been seen or experienced, like coming face-to-face with a dragon or witnessing an alien abduction. Imagination is internal, unconsciously influenced by memories and feelings of past experiences rather than our current situation.

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It’s Okay to be Basic: Toys

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Growing up, I’m sure you have memories of playing with Barbies, Hot Wheels, and may be reliving these moments again with your kids (mine are with Legos and board games). But unfortunately, toys take up so much space! The latest and greatest toys soon became an after-thought to the next big thing, and more and more toys end up at the bottom of the toy bin.

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