Are You My Mummy?

Are You My Mummy?

With a simple piece of material, you can turn a child into a fun monster.

Goals

• Playing with others
• Proprioceptive stimulation
• Vestibular Stimulation
• Imagination

Materials

Ace bandages, elastic therapy bands or a long scarf

Set-up

Unroll the bandage to get it ready to wrap a child.

Directions

Have one child stand still while the other children, with and adult directing, wrap the bandage around the child’s body. Mime a mummy’s stiff-legged walk for the wrapped child to imitate. Demonstrate funny sounds to accompany the walk.

What is being Learned

• The pressure of the bandage can be very comforting to children who are seeking proprioceptive input. Having to walk while wrapped challenges their balancing skills.
• Wrapping others up can make them aware that other children have similar body parts and that they enjoy the tactile input of touching and being touched.
• If the variations are played, children also get a chance to use their imaginations and pretend to be a doctor, patient, or scared kid running from a pretend mummy.

Variations

1. Wrap a body part instead and make the activity one of a doctor and patient. The doctor is fixing the patient’s arm or leg.
2. Wrap an inanimate object instead, such as a teddy bear, and turn it into a mummy that chases after kids.

Modifications

The temperament of the child determines whether the whole body is wrapped, whether the arms are included in the wrapping, or whether just one body part is wrapped.  Some children seek out deep touch, while others avoid it. Let the awareness help you decide what is wrapped, who is the wrapper, and who is the wrapped one.

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• Alternative Sweets for Your Child During the Holidays
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This post originally appeared on our September/October 2010 Magazine

Reprinted with permission from “Early Intervention Games” by Barbara Sher. Copyright 2009 Jossey-Bass Publishing