FM.D.36 PUTS OBJECTS INTO A BOWL
Once the child can release voluntarily onto a flat surface he can learn to purposefully drop an object from a height – that is, without wrist support.
How to Assess
Materials: A small block and an open bowl (such as a cereal bowl).
Method: After your child has taken the block out, position the bowl so that he must reach about 8 cm and say ‘Put’. Give 3 tries.
Score plus if your child reaches, puts the object in and releases it, in one of the 3 tries.
How to Teach
You will need a variety of small objects and open containers.
Objects and/or containers that cause a satisfying noise are particularly useful, if you are lucky enough to find them.
Work through the following steps, and begin teaching at the point where your child begins to have difficulty. Always give a clear direction: ‘Put’. Taking turns helps too.
- Releases an object when the hand is positioned directly above the bowl and the release is physically prompted. Give your child the object, and hold his hand directly over the bowl. Stimulate the release by gently stroking the back of his hand while supporting his wrist.
- Releases the object when the hand is positioned directly over the bowl, supported from the elbow. Omit the wrist support and stroking in this step.
- Reaches through 4 cm and releases an object into the bowl. The rim of the bowl should be just beyond your child’s hand. Guide him if necessary with the lightest possible touch to the back of the elbow, reducing your assistance as he gets the idea.
- Reaches through 6 cm and releases an object into the bowl. Now hold the bowl just that little bit further away. Make sure he looks at the bowl. Try a demonstration before you given him any physical help.
- Reaches through 8 cm and releases an object into the bowl, as in the main objective.
If during step 3, 4 or 5 your child releases too early, show no response – give him the object again and repeat the exercise. If he persists in releasing too early, go back to step 2 and give him lots of praise for succeeding. Then move the bowl away again.
As this is a completely new kind of activity for him, he needs clear indications from you as to what is required. The best way to show him is to reserve your responsiveness for successful putting.
Playtime and Round-the-house Activities
If, while teaching taking (FM.B.29), you have organised your child’s toys into containers, your play area will be well set up for practising putting. Note that many children find it easier to put into containers on the floor than to put into containers at table level.
It is fun to practise deliberate dropping where no aim is involved. Take turns with your baby dropping things from a height and watching where they land. Dropping things into containers of water creates a lovely splash.
Remembering and Extending
Once your child has mastered this skill you can introduce some more challenging containers. As well as the peg-and-can activity described in FM.D.38 you could try some of the ideas following.
A marble makes a fascinating noise when it is dropped into a cream bottle. Close supervision is needed of course.
A posting box can be improvised by cutting a hole in the lid of an ice-cream container or a shoe box. The lid can then be removed to retrieve the toy. Most ready-made posting boxes have too many holes for this level of development, but you could always tape over all but the round one.
Put a golf or ping-pong ball in one end of a cardboard cylinder and watch it roll out the other end. Or attach an orange bag at one end to which you have sewn some little bells, so the dropped object makes them jingle.
Put containers to the side of your child, as well as straight in front to encourage accurate aiming.