Top Activities Parents Can Do at Home

Many children with cerebral palsy undergo ongoing therapy to help with their
coordination and physical development. Professional occupational and physical
therapies are essential to improving quality of life for children with CP. But parents can
also play an active role in their child’s development with at-home activities for kids with
cerebral palsy.

There are tons of activities you can do at home to help your child improve their
coordination, grasp, social interactions and independence.

Hand Play
One issue that’s common among children with cerebral palsy is grasping objects and
moving their fingers. Activities that encourage hand play help children strengthen the
muscles needed for these actions.

Types of hand play activities for children with CP include:

 Sorting Games: Choose objects like M&Ms, balls or large paper clips that are
easy for your child to grasp and manipulate and let them sort them into baskets
by color, size or shape.
 Sticker Play: Sticker books encourage your child to pick up the stickers using
their thumb and index finger and rearrange them. If you don’t have a changeable
sticker book, you can also place the stickers on their unaffected arm or clothes
(make sure the sticker’s adhesive isn’t super strong before you put it on their
skin).
 Playdough Activities: Encourage your child to break pieces of playdough off, roll
it into balls or logs and make all sorts of artistic creations.

Music and Art

Music and art are both enjoyable and relaxing activities for you and your child to do
together. They can also help your child’s vocabulary increase and improve their mobility
and fine motor skills.

Your child can get the benefits from music by singing along to songs or making up
songs about your daily activities to different tunes. They can also dance to the music or
clap their hands and stomp their feet to the rhythm.

As for art, one study showed how art therapy can help children with CP, specifically
those with dysarthria—when the muscles needed to speak are weak or difficult to
control. While the children were painting, modeling clay and stringing beads onto
necklaces, the therapist would talk to them about their color choices and what they were
making. After a few weeks, the children were better able to control their volume, tempo,
pauses and fluency.

Physical Activity and Stretching

One of the more obvious ways to help your children improve their mobility is by getting
active. No need for expensive equipment or fitness memberships to get the benefits of
physical activities and stretching, there are many things you can do at home:
1. Regardless of what type of mobility aids your child needs, you can dance to music.

2. You can also play catch together. If you want to make it easier and more fun, you
can apply Velcro to paddles and a ball, so your child can grab it.

3. Try doing yoga together. Some poses will help your child increase or decrease
their muscle tone, breathe better and improve their balance and bilateral
coordination.

If you would like, you can even combine these activities into a family game day. At the
end of the day, you can hand out homemade medals for the different events.

Games and Puzzles

The final category for at-home activities for kids with cerebral palsy is games and
puzzles. LEGO®, pick-up sticks and peg boards are all great games to play to help your
child get better at picking things up and manipulating items.

Puzzles also help your child develop their fine motor skills. If your child is struggling to
put the pieces together, it is all right for you to help them with that part. Let them pick up
the pieces and place them where they are supposed to go.

If you would like more information on activities for kids with cerebral palsy or the
different types of therapies for CP, browse our content on therapy and treatment
options.  Or contact the Birth Injury Justice Center for more information on filing claims
for parents of children with CP.