Suggestions for heavy toys

[egoldber]

I am looking for some "heavy" toys. The therapist suggested that holding heavy things would be good for building the strebgth in DD's fingers and grip. The therapist had a really nice one. It was about 8 inches tall and worked kind of like an hourglass. You turned it one way and one side filled with beads, you turned it the other way and the beads all ran the other way. That was an older toy and is no longer made.

But the key was, the toy was heavy, and it had an activity that could only be seen/used/enjoyed by actually holding and manipulating the toy. Does anyone have suggestions for toys like that? It seems like most toys these days are all engineered to be light, or else used on a surface.

TIA!

[Momof3Labs]

www.juliesstuff.com (where I ordered my Crickett's cloth diapers) has tons of toys that you can't find at regular stores - I bet that you could e-mail her and ask her to point you to some heavier toys. She has lots of the wooden toys, and those tend to be heavier anyways.

[August Mom]

Beth,

What you are describing sounds similar to the FP Ocean Wonders Bubbler. A complaint of parents about this toy is that it's heavy, so it may be just what you need. Sarah might be too advanced to be interested in it, but it's worth a look. I've seen them at BRU. Here's a description and photo: http://www.fisher-price.com/us/products/demo.asp?demoid=47622 HTH

[twins r fun]

I can't think of any toys you could buy. But you could fill water bottles with all kins of stuff-water/glitter, colored sand, rice, beads, etc. I know my boys are always trying to run off with my bottles that just contain plain water. They also like getting in the pantry and taking off with canned goods. Maybe they're odd, though! Would Sarah enjoy anything like that?

Nicole

[egoldber]

OHH!! This looks perfect! Thanks!!!!

And I think it sort of needs to have handles too. I should have mentioned that. :) I wouldn't want her to accidentally drop it on her foot or something. :)

[cara1]

What about wooden toys? www.rosiehippo.com has a lot, and there are other catalogs that focus just on wooden toys. But I like the water bottle idea. DS just loves soda bottles. But doesn't Sarah already play with heavy pots and pans? I thought they were her favorite.

[egoldber]

I really only let her play with aluminum pans and bowls. I don't let her play with the heavy stuff. Mainly for her safety but also because most of my cookware is too expensive for her to damage!

I have filled 1/2 liter bottles with water and other things, but I'm not sure that's heavy enough and 2 liter bottles filled with water are too big I think. I want her to be REALLY attracted to it so that she holds it and plays it with it.

I will look at some wood toys. I am also going to take a trip to Marshalls and my local consignment shop to see what they have.

Thanks all!

[Rachels]

What about 16 oz bottles with rice or sand in them? Or the pebbles that go in the bottoms of fishtanks? That would be heavy, but still small enough to hold. But at her age, I'm not sure if that would still be so interesting. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[KathyO]

I've heard of filling one of the wasp-waisted smaller Coke bottles with oil and food-colouring-tinted water, and then a handful of glitter as well to make things more interesting... this is probably what you've already tried, but in case not, it's a variation!

I have this vision of her pumping these little baby barbells!!

Good hunting,

KathyO

[ddmarsh]

There is a catalog called Back to Basics that carries alot of really nice wooden toys. While many of them are quite expensive, it might give you an idea of what to look for and you could either create some of them out of other things or look for similar items and less expensive places. If you don't have the catalog I could drop one in the mail to you, just LMK.


Debbie
[email protected]

[megsmom]

I don't know of any things off hand, but I'll ask the peds therapists tomorrow for suggestions. I know this is something they work with with kids all of the time, so I'll see what they know.


Jen
mom to Meghan 7/13/01

[emilyf]

I was actually diagnosed with something similar (although I was older-five or six maybe) and I was encouraged to play with Legos. Not sure how young you can start with those, but they have the big ones I know or maybe some other similar locking, unlocking toys.
Emily
mom of Charlie born 11/02

[Rachels]

Beth, what about a magic eight ball?

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

LOL!!! I can just see it now..."Try again later.."

[Rachels]

:) I thought of that because Corbin has one, and Abigail got interested in it this morning, but it was too heavy for her.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[kapow]

How about an Affirmation Ball then?

http://www.plumparty.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=100200&Product_Code=14262&Category_Code=Games

[atlbaby]

Coming into this a bit late, so I'm not sure if you've found anything yet, but Arielle has this pretty wooden stool (with her name on it) that was given to her. It *is* really heavy, but she carries it around with her all the time! It's from Lillian Vernon (lillianvernon.com), and I just went to the site and I can't locate the exact stool now, but I did notice some really nice wooden products, and other things too.

Good luck!

-Rachel
Mom to Arielle Jill, 10/30/01
#2:) EDD 10/24/03