Babies love to push and pull because these motions stimulate the muscles and joints. Small babies may enjoy pushing down on the water mat– making the contents move around inside. This is great for visual stimulation as well as providing proprioceptive stimulation to the upper extremity. Of course, all this proprioceptive sensory stimulation is one reason that older children love playing Tug of War…
When my mom had Alzheimer’s Disease, she enjoyed holding the water bag on her lap. It was nice and heavy and felt like waves when she moved it.
The following Instagram post shows a dad with quadriplegia transporting one of his triplets with the help of the older baby pushing the cushion. Older children may benefit from pushing large, heavy objects, or dragging a baby laying on a sheet . All great proprioceptive stimulation for all ages…