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Sensory Activities (oral motor)
Eat crunchy snacks like carrots sticks, apples, and pretzels.
Blow a whistle or kazoo
Blow bubbles
Brush teeth with a vibrating toothbrush
Blow bubbles in water with a straw
Eat sours or spicy snacks or drinks like lemonade
Use a straw to drink thick liquids like a milkshake
Apply scented lip balm
Use teething toys and chewelry
Chew on gummy snacks
"My kid puts toys in their mouth."
"My kid is chewing on everything! (Nonfood items, non-safe items)
"My son pulled the baseboard off the kitchen wall and chewed them."
"My daughter loves going outside but she spends most of this time putting rocks and wood chips in her mouth."
Babies learn about the objects around them by putting items into their mouths. They learn about size, shape, and texture by putting items to their mouth to figure out "Will this fit?" and "How does this feel?" Mouthing toys is NORMAL! However, we would like toddlers to move on to playing with items in intended ways. (i.e. stacking the blocks rather than only holding them or putting to their mouth)
Ask yourself:
Is my child putting items to their mouth to learn and begins playing with toys after a moment or so? If so, GREAT- that's appropriate and sounds safe!
Is my child putting items to their mouth because they do not yet understand how toys work or do not know what to do with their toys? If so, this sounds like a skill we should work on. See the button to the right "Take me to Plays with a Variety of Toys."
Are they putting everything to their mouth because they are sensory seeking? (not just toys but nonfood items, items that are not safe to put in mouth, outdoor items such as wood chips, dirt, rocks, etc).
Is your child excessively chewing nonfood items (chalk, dirt, wood chips, rocks, paper, pencils, crayons, shirt, bedding, toys)? Excessively means this happens often and this does not mean they put a nonfood item in their mouth and realize it shouldn't go in there. (See the video to the side of a baby putting raw veggies to his mouth & quickly realizing it is not so good raw.) Make sure to unmute!
Does your child seem to enjoy chewing? Are they happy & content chewing items that to you & me might seem gross to chew on? Do you worry the items they are chewing on would hurt their mouth or their teeth?
Do seem unaware of the world around them if you leave them alone about chewing?
If you said "yes" to the above questions- It's time to work on a few oral-seeking activities. Keep reading!
If you are unsure- Thats Okay! I'll be glad to help you figure this out. Bring it up at our next visit!
My child is seeking oral stimulation- What should I do?
Step 1: Understand this is okay and normal!
Most people need some type of stimulation. Some people might bite their nails, others play with their hair, while others bounce their foot. We do these stimulations all day without noticing. We are unaware we are even doing them! Oral stimulation is a normal part of development!
Step 2: Take notice of what they like to chew on.
Hard items (rocks, wood chips, hard surfaces, hard teething toys)
Soft items (foam, items that are chewy, soft teething toys)
Clothing items (shirt sleeve, collar of shirt, blanket)
All of it! They chew on everything both hard, soft, and clothing.
Step 3: Let's work together to match the firmness they are seeking to items that are safe or are preferred by you for them to mouth & chew!
We will prevent unwanted items from going to their mouth and replace them with a preferred item when they do.
-To prevent we will provide the preferred items and show your child how to use them.
-We will not leave the preferred item out and hope they take to it. We must present the item, teach them how to use it, and have it accessible throughout the day.
-We will replace an unwanted item by offering the preferred item and trading it out so that the unwanted item is not going into the mouth.
-We will not avoid wanted activities such as going outside or coloring.
Hard items: use firm teething toys or firm chewelry
Soft items: use soft teething toys or soft chewelry
Clothing: use cloth teething toys or cloth chewelry
Where do I buy chewelry?
This site is great as they have lots of wonderful products and a variety of textures. Click Here for Ark Therapeutic
You can also find it on Amazon. Click Here for Chewelry on Amazon
Step 4: Provide activities that work on oral stimulation throughout the day! There are lots of ideas at the top of this page.
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