This week’s workout theme is under the sea! Try out these three moves and see if you can create a few more of your own!

Movement is always fun, but to build better control we need to keep our awareness on the quality of our movement. Can we move slow and fast? Can we talk at the same time so we know we’re taking deep breaths? Can we hold the positions with the body lined up strong and stable?

With our awareness ready, let’s go!

First, let’s become merfolk and swim through the water. Swim to the surface, land on a rock and push up so you can look around at the horizon. What a beautiful sunny day- I can feel the sun rays on my face! Let out a big sigh, “aaaaaaaah” as you bask in the sun!

You can modify this pose by pushing up on your elbows instead of your hands. You can also put a pillow under your hips if this position creates stress on your back. Look to the left, look to the right, look up and look down. The rest of your body should be able to stay still.

Next, let’s become dolphins and push up onto our hands and feet, making a big arch with our bodies as we jump in and out of the ocean! You can stay here or you can move back and forth between plank and this downward dog position. Take a deep breath and see how long you can say “Goooooooooooooo……” as your dolphin leaps up out of the water!

You can modify this pose by putting your hands on a higher surface than the floor. Use the couch or a chair. As this becomes easier you can use a lower surface.

Finally, let’s become crabs, pushing up onto our hands and feet with our bellies pointing up to the sky. Yell out a “snap snap snap!”

You can modify this pose by holding it more briefly and lifting your bottom up and down from the floor for multiple reps. You can also make this harder by lifting one leg into the air.

Repeat the routine 5 times for a fun and fit movement adventure!

Come back next week to try out our next Wednesday workout!

 National Fairy Tale Day is this week so I thought it would be fun to ask our staff what their favorite fairy tale is to celebrate! Fairy Tales are such a fun and classic way to engage kids in reading and storytelling, and most of us have been hearing these stories since we were little kids ourselves.

What’s your favorite fairy tale? 

Joni: Peter Pan is her favorite. Joni says it’s her favorite because “she won’t grow up either and that’s why I play all day!”

Sue: Princess and the Pea! Sue says this gives her fond memories of being read to as a child! 

Wendy: Beauty and the Beast is her favorite because Belle shows that love goes beyond looks. 

Stephanie: Cinderella is Stephanie’s favorite fairy tale because she finds her perfect Prince Charming. 

Katie: My favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast. I remember loving watching this movie growing up because Belle was so independent and loved to read (just like me as a kid!). Plus who didn’t want her gorgeous yellow/gold dress?

How are you celebrating National Fairy Tale day? We would love to know if you’re reading your favorite fairy tale to your kids or what their favorite fairy tale is! Let us know on Facebook @kidptnj or Instagram @Kidpt! 

Did you know last week was National Healthy Weight Week? To celebrate here are some tips to support healthy weight and body image in young girls and women!

Today’s culture can be a difficult one for girls and women to be in when it comes to weight. There is so much pressure to be a certain weight; while it used to be skinny, now, there is a big push for “healthy weight,” but what does that even mean? The internet is truly a double edged sword as it provides us with access to lots of credible information, it also has a lot of incorrect information which unfortunately spreads like wildfire. With so many people selling coaching, shakes, or other weight loss products it can be difficult to navigate as an adult, let alone as a teen. Here are some tips to help support your tween/teen daughter, niece, cousin, student, etc.

• Support and give an example of healthy eating: make sure you demonstrate healthy eating habits to follow. This means eating all meals, not talking badly about yourself when you eat something that’s not super healthy, discussing food as fuel and how important fuel is for our bodies, etc. Kids and teens learn a lot of behaviors and attitudes from the adults around them, so be sure you are setting a healthy example.
• Encourage regular exercise, but make sure you aren’t equating exercise to value: exercise is a great way to maintain healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle. But it is important to not become hyper focused on it. It can be easy, especially with social media, to think you HAVE to workout and if you don’t you’re a bad person. So encouraging a healthy relationship with working out is crucial.
• Focus on other amazing attributes as well: making sure to compliment other aspects is so important. Some great examples to focus on: kindness, caring, thoughtfulness, helpfulness, etc. These are traits that are completely in their control and not related to body image. Another way is to kind of spin body image compliments, so instead of saying ‘you look so skinny’ you can say ‘you look so healthy’ or ‘you’re glowing when you’re happy’ to focus less on looks and more on attitude.

At the end of the day being healthy is not the same as being skinny or super muscular or anything related to looks. Reminding and encouraging this mindset is key to help young girls have a sense of healthy weight and body image. In today’s world it can be so hard to have a healthy mindset around these topics with social media, and while you can’t control what the young girls in your life are thinking, you can help set a good example for them daily. 

by Katherine Maloney, PT, DPT

January is officially National Bath Safety Month! We figured what better excuse to bring you some tips for safety, positioning, and, of course, fun! 

Bath safety is really important, and so it’s good to have a few reminders to stay on top of safety during bath time. Did you know that as little as 1 inch of water can be hazardous for babies according to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital. But bath time should be a fun, regular activity! Remember: 

• Always supervise children
• Always check water temp with a temperature sensing toy or your wrist
• Set water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent accidental scalding
• Put no-slip mats in your tub
• Keep any hazardous materials (cleaners, razors, etc) safely stored where children cannot reach them
• Consider taking a CPR/First Aid class for emergencies

Positioning for bath time can not only help with safety but make bath time easier and more enjoyable for you and your kiddos. One tip I learned from Joni was to put a laundry basket (the plastic kind with holes) in the tub for toddlers; this creates a smaller area for them to be in, making it easier to watch them, yet still allows them to play in the water. For infants there are plenty of bath seats available for use in the sink or tub, just remember to make sure your baby is seated upright properly in these for safety!

Finally, here are some tips to make bath time fun for all ages!

• Bring everyday toys in the bath: legos, cars, beach toys, and gardening tools are all great in the bath and open up lots of imagination play for your kid
• Create a water wall: using funnels, water bottles with holes, tubes, and anything else you can think of to build a “track” for the water to flow down the wall of the bath. This really encourages building and engineering skills in a fun way!
• Fishing: get some toy fish, put them in a small round laundry basket, and let your kids go fishing with a net or just their hands! One twist from this that I’ve seen online is to freeze the toys in ice cubes first to make it “ice fishing”!
• Target Practice: use bath letters, or magnets of any kind, stick them to the wall of the bath and fill a spray bottle with water (bonus: you can dye the color with food dye for more fun!). Then just let your kid try to shoot each target with the spray bottle. You can make it more complex for older kids by having them spell out words! I’ve also seen people place coffee filters over the target so the kid can see the filter getting wet from their spray bottle. Either way this is a fun game that also works hand-eye coordination! 

Winter break is coming up and I know outside of the family festivities you are going to have some time that you’re going to look for ways to keep the kids busy! Here are some fun (and EASY!) crafts that the kids will love. We would love to see the finished products!

1. Paper Roll Snowman

In order to make a paper roll snowman you will need a toilet paper roll or paper towel roll, white paint or white paper, colored paper, a black marker, scissors and glue. First, cover the roll with white paint or white paper. Second, cut a strip of paper to make a scarf and a nose for the snowman. Glue the scarf just above the center of the roll, draw the face and glue the nose.

1. Handprint Penguin 

The supplies needed to make a handprint penguin are: white felt, black construction paper, orange construction paper, and googly eyes. To begin, trace your hand on the black construction paper and cut it out. Next, use a round object, such as a cup, to trace the white felt and cut out a circle for the belly. Glue the belly to the center of the hand penguin. Use the orange construction paper to make a nose for the penguin. Lastly, glue the eyes and nose onto your penguin. 

1. Hot Chocolate Mug

To make a hot chocolate mug you will need construction paper, brown paint, white pom poms, and stickers. First cut out a square and a c shape and glue them together to make your mug. Next paint the top brown so it looks like hot chocolate. Put pom poms on the brown paint to resemble marshmallows. Use stickers to decorate. 

1. Paper Plate Polar Bear

Before you make a paper plate polar bear make sure you have paper plates, cotton balls, glue, white and black paper, and scissors. Cover the plate with glue and then cover with cotton balls. Cut out two circles from the white paper to make the ears. Use the black construction paper to create the face. 

1. Popsicle Stick Snowflake

Glue four popsicle sticks in the shape of a snowflake. Use any paint, markers, stickers, or pom poms to decorate your snowflake.

Happy happy holidays and happy crafting!!!