Let’s be honest: when you have a physically or mentally disabled child, it can feel like an impossible endeavour to leave the home. But this isn’t good for their physical or mental health – yours too! Unsure what to do? Well, there are plenty of fun activities for disabled children that the family can enjoy. Best of all, these activities don’t require too much effort or a lot of money.
Here are 10 fun activities for disabled children:
1. Sports Activities
Depending on the disability, playing sports is a great activity for children. It keeps them, fit, active, entertained, and healthy. Some of the best games for children are basketball and soccer. But you may be surprised to discover that they really love playing baseball, football, handball, badminton, or tennis.
Whatever sport they’re interested in, try your best to introduce this fun activity for disabled children.
2. Art and Creative Activities
What child doesn’t love to just mess around with artistic supplies? You don’t need to give your kid a canvass and paint, but you can hand your child pieces of paper and crayons. By doing this creative activity, you’re giving your disabled child the opportunity to tap into their creative side and draw whatever they want. This is critical for any disabled child and their development.
Plus, if you want to make it even more special, you can hold an art gallery even in the home and invite friends and family to witness the genius!
3. A Trip to the Movies
A lot of local cinema houses offer kid-friendly events, and not just for birthday parties either. So, if there is a children’s animated movie coming out, but it’s difficult to go to an afternoon show on a weekend, you and the family can attend these events.
Moreover, you can meet other families who are going through these trials and tribulations, too. Perhaps your children can connect and become the best of friends.
4. Performing a Puppet Show
This will require you to tap into your own creative side, but performing a puppet show for your kids can be a fun and memorable experience. They may seem passé, but kids love them.
Sure, you can buy real puppets, but you can be adaptable and use items like old white socks and colour faces on them. And, if you want to be really elaborate, you can find a cardboard box and construct a theatre or stage for this performance.
Unsure what the storyline could be? You can always turn to Shakespeare!
5. Singing
Sing, sing, sing. All you go to do is swing. La de da / Oh, oh, oh / Now you’re singing with a song.
Every kid enjoys singing as an activity, which gives you the opportunity to host a concert. You don’t need a big venue to do this either. It can be spontaneous, where everyone grabs a utensil and proceeds to sing a song or sing with a song. The repertoire can be extensive: lullabies, children’s tunes, old jazz tones (every kid loves “Three Little Fishies” and “Mairzy Doats”), and pop music.
6. Visiting the Park
When you’re all out of ideas or you’ve exhausted every possibility, there is nothing like a good old-fashioned trip to the park. A beautiful spring or summer day with the sun beaming down, a beautiful blue filling the skies, and warm temperatures – these conditions require a visit to the neighbourhood park.
And why not? At the park, bring some snacks, plenty of water, and an abundance of energy to burn. As long as you keep your children in eye distance, they can run around and tire themselves out with plenty of park activities.
7. Watch TV Shows Standing Up
Watching television is a great activity for disabled children, since it does not need to be a brain-draining endeavour. You can enhance the experience by doing one simple thing: standing up.
Whether you’re viewing “Sesame Street” or “The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show,” the sounds and excitement of the program can attract them. Standing up only further improves this level of fun because it becomes immersive and allows your kids to be a part of the show.
8. Join Local Groups
Socialising your kids is critical to their development. It’s even more important if you have a disabled child; you never want them to feel alone, dejected, and miserable. Therefore, seek out local family groups, charity events or professional organisations that connect parents and disabled children. This gets you out of the house, build long-term relationships, and introduce your children to the world.
9. Put Toys on a Tray
One of the most effective but simple activities is this: grab a bunch of toys, put them on a tray, and place the tray in front of your child. That’s it. By doing this, you provide them the opportunity to use their imagination and experiment a little.
You also achieve another important thing: independence. They can learn to entertain themselves and play on their own. However, that doesn’t mean you can just walk away and let them play alone all the time – you still need to engage.
10. Family Kitchen
Do you want to kill two birds with one stone? Bring the family to the kitchen to cook meals and entertain the children.
Unless you’re cooking something complex like a souffle, there is no reason why your children cannot help you in the kitchen. They can open up cans, stir a bowl, or hand you ingredients. Or, if you feel like they’re in the way, then you can encourage them to mimic your behaviour with kid-friendly plastic cooking utensils.
