This is mainly a toy blog, but as an occupational therapist, I spend a lot of time helping children in becoming more independent. Not only in play, but in their self-care skills. Children who are able to independently get dressed will be more confident and become less reliant on grownups to do things for them. As a parent, I love that my almost 3 year old daughter insists on dressing and undressing herself. Things may be on backwards and her legs may end up in the wrong holes in her underpants, but she is proud of herself.
A couple of years ago, I read about EZ Sox and began to tell everyone I know who has children about them. They are not only adorable, but they are brilliantly designed. They are a pair of cotton socks that have two loops on the top. A child can easily grab onto them and stretch the sock to get them over their toes. There are a variety of patterns, but I love the animal prints because it gives children a clear visual as to where the top and the bottom are. I also think that
The first thing a child has to do when they come to my gym is to take off their shoes and socks. Since many of them have a goal of being able to independently remove them, this is a great opportunity to work on it every time they come visit me. In the last couple of years, when I see a child struggling with socks, which is quite often, I share EZ Sox with them and they are always so happy with them. For many of my children who have decreased grasp strength, just putting socks on can be very challenging and frustrating. Not only are these socks cute, they are stretchy enough that children with fine motor difficulties can quickly get the hang of them. And when a child is able to master putting their socks on without help, they are often more eager to start working on the more difficult dressing/undressing skills like buttons, snaps and zippers.
