The weather here's been absolutely atrocious, it's not so much a case of sending the lads out to run around, but rather equipping them with a paddle and a boat each My son has three pairs.
His favorite is the orange ones with the scull buttons. I wish I invented the
little buttons that go on them. I never thought they would help with running
though, good to know.
The little jewls are called Jibbitz, and they have Autism awareness ribbon ones. One of my kids has a few of 'em in her crocs. :)
It sounds like all of your kids are doing fantastic this summer! (My goal of two out of the three kids we're potty training, will be potty trained, dosen't look like it's going to happen. But my 7 year old I work with is working independently at the table, and my 17 year old made his first independent phone call today!)
My new parenting style is, "Take the kids to the park, the kiddie pool, whatever - WEAR THEM OUT!".
Keep them outside and running as much as possible! It wears them out, helps them sleep better - and my house isn't *as* trashed as usual...
Bug seems to seek out "other kids" to play with at the park - which I'm THRILLED about. No formal goals for the summer - but all three kids have their first swimming lessons starting in two weeks.
We want to get Bug a bike - he has finally mastered his trike - and there are spray parks and pools to explore in our new community! (We've been to the zoo several times and the Arboretum so far this summer - I'm loving Suburban Chicago Life - Summer is the best!).
Way to go all. I too have been trying to get Nicky to do more. He has been swimming ( with a floaty) at the neighbors all summer . Today I will take the float off bc he wants to try to swim like his cousin
.WONDERFUL, Fred! You sounded so concerned about the gait ...
We are currently working on Tuhina tying her shoes! With a Lit-tle competitive sib pressure from her 4 y/o brother ...
The overall posture improvement is noticable, too. The girls have always seemed in motion, even when standing in one place, if you can picture that - just constantly fidgeting and adjusting. Lately, when they're standing in place, they're actually quite motionless. And the walking gait has improved, too - much less of the discombulated, awkward looking gait - they nearly look normal walking at this point, at least over short distances.
Another thing that seems to have helped is that we bought them those 'croc' shoes that all the kids are wearing. At first, they kept tripping with them - it turns out that they were actually shuffling their feet when the walked or ran, and the soft rubber soles of these crocs would catch on the surface and trip them up (the smooth soles of their old shoes would just slide along). They've been wearing these shoes, and have learned not to shuffle along, and their gait has improved because of it. Weird, but I'll take it :)
They've also started OT and PT, though they've only had a couple of sessions of each, so I don't know how much of this I can attribute to those therapies. We have been doing our homework, though :)
YES it makes sense about the fidgety-widgets! I have a son like that ... love him to pieces but he drives me NUTS.
We just got crocs (well, knocks, as in knockoffs) on clearance from Wallyworld last night! Clogs and exercise sandals used to be touted for modifying gait -- you MUST contract your toes and calves, in order to walk in them. So ... makes sense to me.
So good to hear the girls are having fun and doing so well physically too !!
Mikey is in summer school which is 80% outdoor activities.He is also doing swimming and has been riding the bike everyday. A month ago he could not pedal his bike (with training wheels) four blocks to the park. But now he is doing 2-3 trips down to the park in a day going so fast I had to get a bike to keep up with him. We are taking the training wheels off on Sunday ! I know he is getting more outdoor than he ever did before coz he is so tanned its not funny.
Being comfortable in the water was my goal. We are now calling Liam...NEMO! He is floating!
Micki...the tricycle is next for us....which I don't think will be as fun as swimming.
I am glad to hear about the girls, Fred. Perhpas a marathon in their future?
GO KIDS, GO!
As some of you know, my goal for the summer was to get the girls out and active as much as possible, hoping that all the activity will help with their motor difficulties. Well, it seems to be working. We're seeing progress with the motor skills, especially with running (for Abigail, especially), walking gait, and posture in general.
So, get the kids outside running around!
My summer-goal was to teach my ds ride a bike and after a fewWay to go Fred!
I have been working on Sarah's swimming too..she can float on back and swim under water...doing at least 5 strokes with her head down:) She is really getting into making books full force and now has her sister doing them with her. I still have bike riding and that darn pole she needs to master and go down!
We also are working on the bike riding and ds is able to go halfway down the block without daddy holding on. Hooray! Next step - mastering steering AND balancing at the same time. He can do it with one wheel on/one wheel off - but the two wheels being off throws him and he has a harder time figuring out how to steer and balance at the same time. I have a VIVID memory of this from when I was a child (okay, around 10
Also, we're doing horseback riding - which is excellent for both kids. Anyway, after these long days - both kids are sleeping REALLY awesome!
I can't let Jase do that too much (he's a runner) until we get our backyard fenced. Otherwise, he'd be down the street in a flash, leaving the other kiddos unsupervised. *sigh*
I can't wait for that fence!LOL! My son has two pairs also. I used to think they were ugly, but he saw them and insisted on getting them. He was showing them off to the other kids in his playgroup yesterday.
He's tripped once or twice in them while running though. Otherwise he's never had any issue with his gait or coordination. I never thought they might help to improve his coordination more because they are so big and clunky...I need to get some crocks..they are everywhere..now with charms too! They reminded me of my nurse shoes so I havent gotten any but if it helps Sarah with her funky gait I need to get them:) She still sways her arms too but getting a lil better:) Keep up the nice work Fred!
Shelley, I have THREE PAIRS! I could be a salesman for the darn things -- bought one for China trip, last summer -- easy to remove in airports, cheap enough to trash if needed, and never took them off again. I am a total convert from Birkenstocks!
The charms even include flags of all 3 of my kids' countries ... among other things. Very fun, but I have not bought any yet.