When I discovered Aaron needed an extra boost in building his hand strength, I researched everything I could to support the need. I found some great everyday activities as listed here, and some great products, which you can also find here. At the same time, I discovered a product I found to be a simple yet intuitive innovation.
The Innovation: Mighty Tykes
The name Mighty Tykes fits the bill perfectly for a product that serves as infant and child weights. It reminds me of the weights athletes wear on their ankles and wrists to create greater resistance for an enhanced work out. If it works for adults, why not for kids? This is why I say that this product is simple yet intuitive.
Mighty Tykes first started as a solution for Isabella Yosuico’s (the owner) son’s hypotonia, and now they are used by moms and occupational therapists across the country.
Mighty Tykes weights are available as 1/8lb, 1/4lb and 1/2lb weights. The idea is to start small and work your way up as your child’s comfort level increases. The company offers a user and safety guide for proper use so you can’t go wrong.
It’s purpose is to increase strength and body awareness and provide sensory input for handwriting and other functional skills. Also, if you have a toe-walker on your hands, they help with that also.
How Did We Use It?
I started out with the smaller weights to see how Aaron liked them. He didn’t like the idea of the weights on his arms at all. After a few days, he was used to the drill, but still didn’t like them. Since I was dealing with a toddler, I decided that even the lowest weights might eventually feel heavy.
So we started at 5 minutes per day doing an activity that uses wrist and finger muscles right after already doing the same activity for about 10 minutes without the weights. It was a series of 10-15 minutes with no weights and 5 minutes with weights.
DAY 1 (5 minutes, 1 activity): Ripping Paper
DAY 2 (5 minutes, 1 activity): Writing
The weights were put on in a writing exercise which also uses wrist and finger muscles.
DAY 3 (5 minutes, 1 activity): Stringing
This is another activity that would normally strengthen the wrists and fine tune the fine motor skills. He grew tired more quickly because of the weights.
After a few minutes he was ready to take them off.
DAY 4 (5 minutes, 1 activity): Spray Bottle
The squeezing motion of a spray bottle helped Aaron to practice using his wrist muscles and create beautiful art at the same time (or make a mess….however you choose to view it). It’s also good for helping a child understand the motion of using scissors which is a necessary school skill. A play doh activity where your child is squeezing dough would be a great alternative.
DAY 5 (5 minutes, 1 activity): Tweezers
The squeezing motion of using tweezers or tongs also works the wrist muscles (also similar to the way a child would use a pair of scissors).
Mighty Tykes mentions in their packaging that it may take up to 3 weeks to see results depending of course on the child. We took a break after day 5 for about a week because he did not like the weights on his arms.
When we restarted, we used the weights for 5 minutes at a time 2x per day, making it a total of 10 minutes per day. For 14 days straight, we rotated the above activities using the weights. I also left out of our daily homeschool routine any other activity that could have contributed to his wrist strength so that I could provide an accurate review.
We tweeked activities a bit to bring variety and maintain the level of fun by using scissors instead of tongs for example because they use similar motions. We also ripped magazines and junk mail instead of regular paper.
The Results
After 14 days, I saw noticeable changes. They weren’t drastic changes because we did not use the product long enough and within the time frame, we missed a day or so. I can safely conclude that because they are weights that they are bound to eventually work and serve its purpose which to me is a win for a children’s product.
The only caveat to this product is that they were not fun to wear for a toddler like Aaron who does not like to be limited. Considering that he loves the shows Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse and Super Why, I’m thinking that these were available in those prints, he would be a little more motivated.
If you want to find out more about how Mighty Tykes can help you and your child, visit their site or purchase from here
Would I use them again?
Only if Aaron were open to them. There are other naturally occurring activities that would help his strength.
On that note, Happy Trails!
This post is sponsored but all opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure statement for more information.
Wife to an amazing husband, mother to an exploring toddler and an MPA graduate aspiring to impact the world with encouragement in mothering and in social entrepreneurship.
6 Comments
kerona
May 5, 2016 at 10:29 amlovely post Normel very informative
Normel Smith
May 6, 2016 at 6:27 pmthank you.
Virginia sellner
May 5, 2016 at 3:58 pmUnique concept that could change a child’s life
Normel Smith
May 6, 2016 at 6:26 pmI totally agree.
Jovanhanna Kristina
May 7, 2016 at 4:29 pmI had no clue this was an issue or the effect it would have until reading your blog. It’s good to know there are alternatives to help children develop.
Normel Smith
May 8, 2016 at 11:27 amThanks for reading. So glad you were informed.