Managing Sensory Input During Summer
School is out and summer is in, which means your child is missing all of the routine, stimulation, and socialization that school brings. While it is important for your child to enjoy their break and relax, it is also important to stay on top of managing their sensory input, especially in the early days of summer when they are seeking stimulation the most. Establishing a summer routine, incorporating outdoor play, and having screen-free sensory fun at the ready will equip you with everything you need for a fun, sensory summer. Keep reading to learn our best summer sensory tips, plus the three products that are going to carry you through the season!
Kids Bored Already?
The first week of summer vacation is always the easiest, for them at least. Your kids are enjoying relaxing, finding ways to keep themselves busy at home, and the weather is still mild enough to enjoy plenty of outdoor activities.
However, after the first week or so, kids start to get restless. They get bored more easily, screens start coming on earlier and for longer periods, and the weather starts getting too hot for them to truly enjoy being outside.
Luckily, active outdoor play and sensory toys are here to help!
How Active Outdoor Play Can Help
Research on outdoor sensory play tells us that playing outdoors supports development through many areas, such as developmental and primary tasks that children must achieve, which can be effectively improved through outdoor play. These include:
Exploring, risk-taking, fine and gross motor development, absorption of basic knowledge, social skills, self-confidence, attention, language skills, among others.
In fact, one study found that a sensory diet in outdoor play, along with sensory integration therapy, resulted in better functional behavior of kids with ADHD (Sahoo & Senapati).
Some therapists have connected the dots between less outdoor play and increased sensory struggles and attention difficulties in learning. Knowing this, it can be powerful to have a list of outdoor sensory activities that can be recommended as therapy, home programming, and family activities that meet underlying needs.
Occupational therapists practice outdoors for many reasons:
- Develop confidence
- Social skill building
- Independence with clothing
- Attention
- Focus
- Body awareness
- Problem solving
- Executive functioning skills
- Safety skills
- Motor planning
- Sensory processing
- Connection with others
Playing outdoors satisfies all the sensory systems.
They include:
| Visual System | Playing I Spy, tag, collecting rocks and leaves, watching the clouds |
| Proprioceptive System | Hikes, races, lifting and carrying, picking flowers, rolling on hills |
| Interoceptive System | Playing in water, going up or down a slide |
| Auditory System |
Mimicking sounds, listening to music outside, listening for birds |
| Tactile System | Playing in a sandbox, water play, mud play |
| Gustatory System | Having a picnic outside, eating ice cream |
| Olfactory System |
Smelling flowers and plants |
Screen-Free Sensory Fun During Summer
While there is nothing wrong with enjoying a good movie with your family on a hot day during the summer, it is important to make sure you find other ways to give your child the sensory input they need. It can be hard to get outside in the summer to provide them with active play, especially when it is super hot and humid. This is why water and bubbles are going to be your summer besties!
Our sensory fidget toys and bubble wand set are going to get you through the summer, into the school year, and beyond! Give your kids tons of sensory input without the screens and enjoy all of their developmental benefits.
Sensory Bubble Play Skin Happy Botanical Bubbles & Blower Set
Simply put: This bubble wand set gives you tons of bubbles without the mess! How? Our solution is made of botanical ingredients, ensuring minimal mess and absolutely no sticky stuff to wash off.
Plus, the bubble blower and dip tray are super easy to use, even your toddler will catch on all by themselves!
A great way to get outside, these bubbles are great during water play, pool time, beach days, and much more. If it’s just too hot to get outside, bring them inside! Yes, our bubble solution pops dry, which means you can play indoors, too!
Spike Silicone Fidget Tactile Pencil Topper & Grip Combo Pack
A great way to keep your kid’s sensory needs satisfied is through this pencil gripper and topper! If your kiddo has some summer work to complete or you want them to stay fresh with your own at-home workbooks, put these on your kid’s pens or pencils to give them that extra sensory boost.
They can also be tossed into water sensory bins or used as paintbrushes during arts and crafts time!
Spike’s durable soft spikes provide tactile stimulation as a tactile or sensory brush and are calming and therapeutic through sensory stimulation. Made with 100% food-grade silicone, they are hypoallergenic, nontoxic, BPAs, phthalates, latex, and odor-free. Antibacterial silicone is easy to clean and can be sterilized for deep cleaning.
SPIKE Sensory Fidget Ball
Super easy to keep in your pocket, purse, car, stroller, or beach bag, our SPIKE Sensory Fidget Balls are the best sensory sidekick!
The SPIKE Silicone Fidget Balls are made of food-grade silicone, which means they are free from dangerous toxins such as BPA, Phthalates, PVC, latex, and lead. Use as a pencil topper, bring it into the bath, toss it into a water sensory bin, or use it as a paintbrush! You can even bring it with you to the movie theater, restaurants, or doctor’s office to keep your kiddo calm and happy when they need to sit still.
For more summer tips, boredom busters, and great family products, visit us at Innobaby.com!