The Best Toys For Your Young Child With Down Syndrome To Develop Gross Motor Skills
Do you have a young child with Down Syndrome in your life and need to buy a toy help them improve their gross motor skills? Gross motor skills are tasks that involve the large muscles of the body that allow us to sit, stand, walk, throw, and jump.
You’ve come to the right place!
Hey Mama Bears, full disclosure here. There are affiliate links in this post so if you click on the link and buy the product I will earn a small commission. Now that we’re clear on that let’s get back to rocking life with special needs!
Keep in mind Mama Bear most toys that are great for other children are going to be great for our kids with Down Syndrome too! I believe buying toys has become even more important nowadays. Screens are everywhere and while electronic devices geared towards kids can be helpful and useful I do feel their use should be monitored and limited especially when our kids are younger.
So when our kids aren’t glued to a screen we want to capitalize on that time by providing high quality toys that are going to encourage growth. We want to buy toys that are going to teach our children new skills and help them develop emerging skills.
When buying toys for your child with Down Syndrome ask yourself these questions…
Does the toy encourage communication and interaction?
Can the toy be played with in more than one way?
Does it match my child’s interests?
Will this toy be safe and appropriate for my child?
Will this toy help my child learn?
If the answer is yes to all of the questions you’ve found yourself a great toy for your child! Go ahead and invest in it!
One thing I observed when Max was younger was I often had to encourage and engage him in play. If I didn’t he really didn’t play.
Anna, Max’s younger sister, was always looking for someone to play with and Max always wanted to keep up with her as she was running, jumping, and swinging. It was a blessing to have them rather close in age.
I do hear from other parents that they’ve made similar observations about their own kiddos with DS. Many studies have shown the power of play. It is so important to overall growth and development so we need to make it a priority.
Here are toy suggestions to help you engage your child with Down Syndrome in play to help improve gross motor skills.
Now Mama Bear, as with anything on Twenty One Dandelions you get to decide what will work for you, your child, and your family. Some of these toys will be excellent suggestions and some won’t. You decide.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome #1: Toy Kitchen
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Our kitchen set was played with on a regular basis! I would say it was one of our top used toys for sure. It’s a great toy because it targets so many skills including gross motor. A toy kitchen encourages your child to stand for longer periods of time, stoop while keeping their balance, open and close drawers, and twist, turn, and pivot while “cooking”. It checks all the boxes!
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome #2: Ball Pit
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: While we did not have this exact ball pit and play tent we had something very similar and loved it! This toy encouraged so many gross motor activities. Max learned how to transition from walking to crawling as he entered a tunnel and vice versa. Using the basketball hoop he learned how to throw a ball and it met so many sensory needs too! I loved that you could fold this up and put it away when you weren’t using it. If you don’t have the space for something like this though there are smaller ball pits you can buy. Don’t forget the balls!
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome #3: Trampoline
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: All that jumping on a trampoline improves muscle strength in your child’s legs, core, and upper body. It works on balance and coordination, develops spatial awareness, and works on proprioceptive skills.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome #4: Bowling Set
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Isn’t the Melissa and Doug bowling set super cute?! Bowling helps build strength in the arms! When Max was a young toddler we would have roll the ball towards the pins while sitting. As he became older and stronger we transitioned to him rolling the ball while standing, and then we had him focus on rolling the ball with one hand and using the “usual” bowling form. This bowling set has the pins numbered so you could also work on numbers and counting while bowling! If your child is not that strong then consider this lightweight bowling set made of foam.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 5: Swing
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Max loves to swing. It’s the first thing he runs to on a playground. Swinging strengthens your child’s core, arms, and legs as well as improves coordination. Swings also help with sensory integration and can help kids self regulate and calm down. If your child has trouble self regulating and loves to swing you may want to consider installing a swing in your home. There are indoor friendly swings available and I love this swing for toddlers. We have this type of swing in our yard and I admit climbing onto it myself.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 6: Oversized Baseball Bat
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Swinging a bat will build your child’s upper body strength and their core strength. It will also help with hand eye coordination. We have a giant bat like the one above and during the summer we love to play water balloon baseball on a hot day to cool off! When first starting out I’d suggest buying a tee to place the ball on and letting your child hit the ball off a baseball tee just to get use to the movement and coordination required to swing a bat.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 7: Slide
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: We had this very slide when Max was younger! We live in a place where the weather is rather cold for a good part of the year so we kept the slide inside and because of this our kids played with it SO much more! Climbing up the slide improves strength, coordination, and balance.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 8: Large Building Blocks
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: We loved these cardboard building blocks! You do have to put them together when your first receive them which we found easy enough. We would build a short wall using these blocks, blow up a balloon and then we’d bat the balloon back and forth over the wall. We would also build a wall and allow Max to kick the wall down. He loved it and felt “super strong” and we loved it because it was helping him strengthen his body and learn how to balance on one foot!
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 9: Wiggle Car Ride On Toy
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: The wiggle on car ride toy works on balance, coordination, and core strength but most importantly, IT’S FUN! Plus there no batteries involved so you don’t have to worry about charging it like you do with some of the motorized ride on toys!
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 10: Bean Bag Toss Game
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: I love that there are two games in one toy! The side with the target and velcro balls is perfect for helping your child learn to throw overhand. The side with the animals is great for helping them learn how to throw underhand!
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 11: Interactive Soccer Ball
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Our family is a soccer family for sure! Max is on the local Special Olympics soccer team and his brother and sister are on a travel soccer team. This interactive soccer ball is a great idea to engage your child and encourage physical activities such as dribbling and kicking! If your child loves another sport they do have other options such as a football or baseball.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome #12: Giant Floor Piano
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: I grew up in the 80s and thought the floor piano Tom Hank’s character played a song on in FAO Schwarz was awesome! Who doesn’t love creating music while jumping and dancing? This is a perfect toy for a child who has DS and needs to work on gross motor skills as our kids tend to love music!
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 13: Sports Balls
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: This set of sports ball are not fancy or interactive but they’re great for encouraging physical activity AND many of our children with DS have seen their peers playing with a soccer ball or basketball or football. Max is motivated to play with things his peers are or his brother and sister. For a toddler or smaller child start out with balls like these.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 14: Gardening Tools
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Children love to imitate real life in play so this garden set is awesome! Better yet, when you’re out gardening include your child! Have them use this garden set to help weed the garden and plant seeds! Gardening is calming and also a great physical activity as your child is using their hands to pull weeds, bending down to plant seeds, etc.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 15: Bubble Lawn Mower
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Most kids love bubbles. Even as an adult I’ve been known to chase a bubble or two! What better incentive to practice walking and building endurance than with a bubble mower?!
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 16: Outdoor Mud Kitchen
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: The farm girl in me LOVES the idea of a mud kitchen! A mud kitchen is a perfect toy to encourage your child to play outdoors and enjoy nature. It also improves gross motor skills as your child is standing at the kitchen creating their mud pies using their arms and hands to push, knead, and flatten their creations.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 17: Sand And Water Table
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Sand and water tables are must haves in my opinion! Children strengthen their arms and hands as they play with the sand and water. Throw some cups and utensils in there and their working on those fine motor skills too! I absolutely love the table above. It’s sturdy, functional, and can easily be cleaned. It can be used indoors as well as outdoors. Plus, you can easily create different themed sensory bins using this toy!
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 18: Ball Hopper
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Bouncing is FUN! It’s also a great way to improve core strength and balance.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 19: Floor Basketball Hoop
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Basketball is a great way to increase strength and improve hand eye coordination.
Best Toys To Improve Gross Motor Skills For Young Children With Down Syndrome # 20: Floor Scooter
How This Toy Can Help Your Child: Floor scooters are another versatile toy to help build strength. Have your child lay on their belly and use their arms to propel themselves forward. Once they tire of this have them sit on their bottom and use their feet to propel themselves forward. You can set up “obstacles” they have to navigate for more of a challenge.
So there you have it Mama Bears! Toys that promote gross motor skills in our children with Down Syndrome.
I hope this helps you and your child rock this special life!
If you enjoyed this post then you may want to check out….
The Best Toys For Your Toddler With Down Syndrome
5 Toys To Help Your Toddler With Down Syndrome Improve Fine Motor Skills
The 10 Best Books For A Mom Of A Young Child With Down Syndrome
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Dandelion Tribe Takeaway: Toys that help young children with Down Syndrome develop gross motor skills #1 Toy Kitchen #2 Ball Pit #3 Trampoline #4 Bowling Set #5 Swing #6 Oversized Baseball Bat And Ball #7 Slide #8 Large Building Blocks #9 Wiggle Car Ride On #10 Bean Bag Toss #11 Interactive Soccer Ball #12 Giant Floor Piano #13 Sports Balls #14 Gardening Tools #15 Bubble Lawn Mower #16 Outdoor Mud Kitchen #17 Sand And Water Table #18 Ball Hopper #19 Floor Basketball Hoop #20 Floor Scooter
Mama Bear Share: What toys do you love?
