Sensory Play

I don't know how many of you have noticed the name of this blog Sensory Play Keeps Tantrums Away. I just wanted to give you a bit of background why I chose this name! A year and a half ago, my life was full of dealing with temper tantrums. Sun up to sun down I dealt with fits from my toddler. It was exhausting to say the least and emotionally/physically draining. Many days I would just cry with her out of frustration. It was our life and it was a roller coaster.

Looking back, I really don't know how either of us survived. Thank goodness for daddy coming home from work and school to give us both a break from each other! When we first met with the OT and he suggested sensory play I panicked a bit. How on earth would I convince my kid to play with things that stressed her out?? How would I find time amidst the tantrums to spend doing the sensory activities? How will I find sooo many ideas of things to do? You really want me to expose her to every sense every day in a play format? Are you kidding me? You get the idea.

Now that I have a year behind us of seeing results, I am amazed. I am shocked at the progress we've made together. I am baffled at how much she craves the sensory play now. I am constantly rejoicing over how many days we can go in a row without a temper tantrum. It is amazing. Do we still have some rough days here and there? Sure we do, we are human and we are still learning. I remember last year when we made it to day 5 without a fit and then we kept going and going. I think we made it to 20 or 21 days temper tantrum free. HUGE SUCCESS!!! I remember feeling a sense of relief each night as I looked back on the day and actually enjoyed the day and had fun with my kids instead of being stressed and exhausted. Yes, most of this success was from me learning who my daughter was and what she needed to succeed day to day. She didn't change anything herself, I changed our structure and routine and learned how to gear things towards her. It works. When you hear people say kids learn through play, they are right. We are proof of it. My daughters smile on her face is proof. The tearless days, the new found adventurer, the girl who will now eat food, the girl who enjoys life, the happy mommy, it's all proof. Don't believe me? Just try it. SPD kid or not, try it. It'll amaze you how much fun you and your child will have together learning and exploring things in a sensory world. Sensory play really does keep tantrums away!