Eloise uses her Lovevery box to practice putting items into a container! You can also use a piggy bank and coins, or DIY your own (picture below)! (These items are particularly helpful for developing this skill-especially when first learning, because once the coin or item is released into the slot your child cannot immediately take it out). They can get lots of practice through repetition of this fine motor activity.
We learn to take things out first, you will note your little one taking out tissues from the Kleenex box, and just about anything they can dump out! After this is mastered, putting items away or into a container (voluntary release) typically comes next. This skill begins to emerge around 8-10 months, and you will notice your child begin to grasp and then drop items on purpose as they develop this skill. This is great for many reasons, purposeful play, and is also a great skill to practice cleaning up toys as your child moves from one activity to the next. Here are some tips to encourage development of this skill using a box or piggy bank:
🟣Place the box on left and right sides to encourage practice with either hand.
🟣Once your child can has mastered placing in horizontally, rotate the slot to a vertical position to encourage wrist rotation!
🟣 Lots of encouragement! This will be difficult for your child at first, so you will want to demonstrate (model) first and encourage when they don't get it on the first (or second, or third try ;) ).
🟣 Get creative! You can play around with a variety of objects/items, cards, balls, coins, etc.
Example of DIY box using a coffee can and popsicle sticks:
-The nice thing about the DIY version, there will naturally be a bit of resistance depending on how small the slot is.
-You can make the slot as small or large as you wish, for added challenge or greater success!