Grip strengthening fun - more toys that I use

When you squeeze this cute little toy, you’ll hear a child giggling. The laugh is so cute that you’re sure to smile. Since it’s made of fabric, it’s easier to squeeze. The trick is to find the right place to squeeze it cos the hard spherical touch sensitive object inside it, which triggers the giggle, is not in a fixed position. So with this toy, he can squeeze using just one hand to trigger the giggle. With the squeaky toy in my earlier post, he needs to use both hands to get the squeek.

This is called a roll tongue animal. His therapist bought some at Mothercare in Bangsar Shopping Centre outlet (the Early Learning Centre portion of the store). I decided to buy one when I went there recently. This is different from the other squeezing toys he has. It doesn’t make any sound. Instead, it’s tongue rolls out (hence it’s name). But what I like is that you’ve got to squeeze it hard and fast to get a balloon effect on the tongue. So, even if he can’t yet get the balloon effect, he won’t be disappointed as the tongue still rolls out.

There are several animals in the series. I bought the snake as it was the easiest to squeeze. It’s sold at RM9 per animal. I found it being sold at Amazon UK site for under GBP0.89 which is cheaper (but probably not worth it after adding the postage, unless you’ve UK friends coming back to M’sia).

I bought this toy about 11months ago. Back then it was very difficult for him to squeeze it. When he played with it again recently, he could do it after I placed my hand over his to use it a few times. That’s progress!

This toy not only helps him strengthen his grip but also involves hand eye co-ordination, and more arm muscle strength as the toy is top-heavy. I have him use the toy to pick up coloured cotton balls from the floor or from a large container, and place it elsewhere. Sounds simple to you and me, but that’s quite a bit of motor co-ordination required apart from just strength!

I bought it when I visited the KL Bird Park last year. It’s sold in their Souvenir Shop, at around RM20-30, with a large variety of animals to choose from (e.g. flamingos, dinosaurs, reptiles).

I tried looking for a similar toy elsewhere but haven’t found one. There was a toy that looked like a trash grabber (based on concept) but it was difficult for me to squeeze, and it couldn’t grab well. It’s much easier to pick up things with this toy cos the mouth of the animal is hollow. It’s also so much easier to get him to use is cos it’s cute.

This was bought from Daiso, (the Japanese shop where everything is sold at RM5) The Curve branch. (Thanks for recommending the place, Yvonne!) Place the end of it in a container of liquid, squeeze and release to draw the liquid into the tube.

I use it with water that has food colouring in it, for him to have some fun. That way, he learns about mixing primary colours to get secondary colours, while getting in the grip strengthening exercise and hand-eye co-ordination.