Zoola Crash Pads
Crash pads are an excellent sensory tool! Commonly used by occupational and physical therapists for children with sensory processing disorders, families also enjoy providing their children with sensory input via crash pads. This sensory stimulation is vital for improving attention, increasing body awareness, providing proprioceptive input to the muscles and joints, and calming aggression. When you have a crash pad in your home, you provide a safe, secure environment for your child to receive a large amount of sensory support.
In our home, we have used Zoola Crash Pads for years with sensory-seeking children to improve their gross motor skills and motor planning. By jumping onto a Zoola Crash Pad, these children receive lots of sensory stimulation - good for muscle tone and core strength. After a few good crashes, some children can focus and learn, cope more easily with itchy clothes, or sit quietly. For others, crashing into a crash pad can improve spatial or body awareness.
More than that, Zoola Crash Pads have proved instrumental in strengthening our children's tactile senses and balance and coordination, all critical components of a healthy vestibular system. Children who seek out excessive sensory input are usually looking for a way to quiet themselves and organize their minds. Jumping, rolling, crashing, or lifting a Zoola Crash Pad is calming for aggressive, overly stimulated, or high-energy children. Heavy work of pushing or pulling the Zoola Crash Pad is beneficial for children that have difficulty regulating excitement.
When the Zoola Crash Pad goes off duty, use it as a comfortable, multifunctional bean bag chair, recliner, or bed! Zoola's versatile seating solution fully conforms to the user's body. The Zoola is perfect seating for family movie nights or cocoon-like support for reading books. The near-frictionless beads and washable cover completely conform to your child's body, so he'll always find his unique, comfy position. These materials also mean there are zero pressure points.
And kids aren't the only ones who love them - our Goldendoodle prefers them for napping! Zoola Crash Pads come in 2 sizes and weights: Zoola Mini and Zoola Short. Choose the one that is most suitable for your child's needs.
Here are some things you can do with your Zoola Crash Pad:
- Jump onto the Zoola Crash Pad from a height appropriate to your child's abilities.
- Run across the room and crash into the Zoola Crash Pad. The flexibility of the Zoola Crash Pad allows you to place it into different configurations; try all the different shapes.
- Push or pull the Zoola Crash Pad across the room, varying the floor sources from smooth (laminate, tile) to rough (carpet). Too easy? Add a sibling or pet and give them a ride.
- Hide toys under the Zoola Crash Pad so that your child has to lift the Zoola.
- Depending on the size of your Zoola Crash Pad and your child's strength, see if he can crawl under the Zoola. Do this activity only with adult supervision.
- Pretend to be a tree and fall stiffly into the Zoola Crash Pad.
- For a new walker, have him walk up and down the length of the Zoola Crash Pad. Walking over a Zoola Crash Pad can help to improve core strength, balance, and coordination by providing an uneven, unpredictable surface. If your child is an accomplished walker, have him race the distance.
- Roll along the length of your Zoola Crash Pad. Rolling will give your child the sensory stimulation they need to roll on the Zoola.
For further ideas, check with your child's therapist, and follow their recommended guidelines for safe use. Always supervise and monitor your child's use of a Zoola Crash Pad.
