Infant development toys

In partnership with the Occupational Therapy Department, through the Infant Development Team (IDT) at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, we’ve created Play Bundles to assist in supporting families with their baby’s development.

We have helped the Infant Development Team (IDT) at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital create toy bundles for the approximately 200 referrals they receive each year.

In the past, the team have provided families with handmade resources like picture cards and sensory toys, however these only had a short lifespan.

Occupational Therapist, Ashleigh Olsen, says, “It can be quite challenging providing recommendations to parents knowing the families will have to go source these resources themselves, and also knowing that the most vulnerable families may not have the capacity to do this.”

Now, the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation has provided the team with funding to source specific therapy resources to make an infant therapy play bundle to give to families after a consult with the IDT.

Patient, Aaron, and his twin brother, Moses, using the toys from the bundle with Occupational Therapist, Ashleigh Olsen, and mum, Maurine.

These resources benefit both the patient and families, and support the patient’s gross motor, fine motor, vision, sensory, social and language development.

 Ashleigh says, “We know these Infant Therapy bundles are appreciated and valued by our patients and families.”

Aaron with one of the play bundles.

The IDT provide a holistic, family-centered developmental service to both inpatients and outpatients at the Hospital. The team consists of an Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist and Speech Pathologist who see the most complex and developmentally vulnerable babies; some who have had very lengthy hospital admissions.

Patients of the IDT are provided with a personalised developmental therapy program and the recommendations from this often include specific play activities to support their motor skills, vision, language, play and social development.

Thanks to Kids2 and Tomy for contributing items for the bundles, with support from Big W.