6 year old girls likes

freyasmum

Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty and.... Hello Kitty.

Also, anything sparkly - I'm pretty sure a sparkly Hello Kitty would induce some sort of fit! :rotfl:

Finally, stickers, glues, glitters, and crafty/painting bits, colouring in and reading books - she has a particular penchant for Charlotte's Web.

Janepig

Moshi monsters, mainly. Drawing, colouring, and writing - endless lists of friends, best friends, etc.... Playing schools. Fashion "design" type stuff like Harumika. Karaoke, or just generally singing along with cd's.

Jx

Missli

Janepig wrote: »

Moshi monsters, mainly. Drawing, colouring, and writing - endless lists of friends, best friends, etc.... Playing schools. Fashion "design" type stuff like Harumika. Karaoke, or just generally singing along with cd's.

Jx

Oh I forgot cds's, and DVD's in my post. They always go down well.

littleg_2

Thanks for your suggestions, its reassured me that I've tried age appropriate things. I've tried sylvanians, barbies/horses/dressing up/games/farms / pretend cooking/food....she just isn't interested.

She'll do crafty stuff but that needs 1-1 which I can't always do. Other than that she just doesn't seem to 'do' playing or be able to amuse herself ......

kingfisherblue

You mentioned that your daughter is disabled - can I ask what her disability is? I might be able to help further if I have some idea. I am a Brownie and rainbow Guider, as well as a GirlGuidingUK Advisor for disabilities in my area. I also have a severely disabled son.

If you would rather not post details on the forum, but want some more help, PM me and I will reply via PM.

littleg_2

hi KF,
she has CP, cognitively unaffected,but fairly poor fine motor skills, can't really manipulate small objects, fairly mobile, crawling, climbing, pulling to stand. Some sensory seeking behavious too, spinning primarily.

Problem is she's too old for the chunky toddler toys, but can't really do girly beads,jewellry, crafts etc by herself. She's fine with someone 'entertaining' her i.e. craft, cooking, den building.....but I really could do with her learning to entertain herself for short periods of time(other than TV)

She will do something for a few minutes then give up. Currently got a colour in cardboard playhouse which she isn't interested in. bought 'guess who', didn't want to play.....

kingfisherblue

Right, I'm typing as I think, so it might come out a bit jumbled. I'm assuming that you don't get much of a break, so my first thoughts are about respite care. This could be as simple as someone coming into your home to look after your daughter for a couple of hours whilst you read, sleep, have a bath, go shopping, etc. Your local council can help with this. You are entitled to a Carer's Assessment which looks at your needs, including 'time off' for you. You don't always get everything you need or want, but it is a good starting point.

You could consider Rainbows or Beavers for your daughter. This would give you about an hour to do something, even if it is just having a sit down and a cup of coffee. It will also be a positive experience for your daughter, but although both Guiding and Scouting accept children with disabilities, some groups don't have enough helpers. You can contact your local groups through the main websites if you are interested.

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk

https://www.scouts.org.uk

The Rainbows website has some good activities and your daughter might like to try them, even if she doesn't join Rainbows. There are also stories that she can read and listen to online, or that you can print out.

For craft activities, show her how to make a toilet roll tube person - just add eyes, nose and mouth. You can stick on large pieces of paper or fabric or just draw on with pens. A chunky Pritt stick might be better than glue on a brush. She can make a family and use them to act out stories.

Have a look round for magic painting books. They can be hard to find, but tend to be inexpensive. Painting water on with a chunky brush doesn't need to be accurate for the colours to appear.

Paints on a sheet of wallpaper might be another idea. Wallpaper is wider than most paper, so there is plenty of room for your daughter to be creative. She might like to use her hands instead of brushes. She could also roll chunky cars in paint and roll them across the paper to make patterns. Sponges in different shapes are popular, and there are lots of household items she could use as well (a beaker upside down to make a circle, the bottom of a 500ml drinks bottle to make five blobs, the nylon netting from oranges to drag across the paper to make patterns, etc).

A bubble machine means that she can enjoy bubbles without needing the accuracy of putting the blower thingummy into the liquid and blowing herself. She might enjoy bubbles with music.

Musical instruments - make your own or buy some. Thick elastic bands across a shoe box, rice in a plastic or metal container, or make a rainmaker (cardboard kitchen roll tube, block one end with a secured circle of paper. twist a length of tin foil and place inside the tube. Add a few grains of rice and secure the other end of the tube). Tambourines, drums, shakers, bell type instruments, thunder tube, maracas - all suitable for someone with poor fine motor skills.

Use triangle shaped pencils and pens for any colouring. The barrels tend to be thicker and the shape is easier for children with poor fine motor skills. Morrisons sell a pack of pencils for about £2, or try the Early learning centre.

For crafts, draw a large picture and give your daughter large pieces of paper, fabric, tin foil, ribbon, etc to fill in the picture - much easier for her than trying to make up her own picture, although she could progess to that. A basic house outline or person outline is a good starting point. Or you could write her name in bubble writing and she fills it in.

A tray with a fine layer of sand can be good for a sensory experience, especially if your daughter can 'draw' a simple picture with her hands.

A deeper tray of sand can be used to hide objects. You could hide chunky toy animals and your daughter could find them and match them to a laminated sheet with pictures on. Depending on her reading skills, you could include a few facts about the animals. The same can be done with other groups, such as transport, or your daughter could sort items into groups.

Threading coton reels can help to improve fine motor skills and hand/eye co-ordination. You could also try large threading cards - laminate pictures that you daughter will be interested in and use shoe laces (sports shops sometimes have long coloured laces, and as they don't always sell well, they are often in sales).

Give your daughter an egg box and some compost. Using a spoon, she could scoop the compost into the sections and then add seeds. Seeds tend to be small, so go for larger ones such as sunflower seeds. Separate them for her so that it is easier for her to pick them up.

This website has some great games, including an interactive advent calendar for later in the year:

http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/kentict/content/games/index.htm

If using a mouse is a problem, contact the Aidis Trust for advice

http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/kentict/content/games/index.htm

Salt dough or play doh might be a good idea - it is quite a sensory experience. Use cutters, plastic knives, rolling pin, etc.

Make 'clean mud' and leave your daughter to play. I personally can't stand this, but I hate having things on my hands. I haven't met a child that doesn't like it. Use cheap, thin toilet tissue and tear into strips (your daughter could do this herself once you have shown her). Add some soapflakes and some warm water and mulch together with your hands. Children with sensory issues often like the feel of this. You can add food colouring for different effects.

If your daughter has a favourite character on TV, encourage her to draw a picture and make up a story (or retell the story on TV) to her toys.

Get a stainless steel tea set and decorate with stickers, then let your daughter loose with some water, pouring 'tea' for her dolls, or having a teddy bears picnic. This will be easier for her to manage than a children's tea set.

Let your daughter record herself telling stories or singing.

If I think of anything else, I'll post again later.

GlasweJen

Just to add to what kingfisher blue has said, I have a brownie who comes with a Barnardos helper as our pack couldn't have accommodated for her 1 to 1. I understand from the guiding grapevine that this is really common for disabled kids (at least in central Scotland). You call Barnardos and they come out to meet you and the little one. Once you get a place at rainbows, call barnardos to confirm the day and location them they come to your house, collect, the wee one take to club, participate in club and then drop back home (our wee one goes via McD's once a month to give her mum an extra hour). This service is completely free.

EDited as I didn't make sense first time round!

kingfisherblue

Good point Jen - that happens in England too, if there is a branch of Barnardo's nearby. A unit near to me had a disabled girl with a helper and when I think about it, a chap from Barnardo's helped with a boy in my sons' Cub pack. They coped with my son, but couldn't manage another disabled child without additional help.

GlasweJen

We are the same. We coped ok with 2 disabled Brownies but this wee one has Cerebal Palsy and cant walk or talk and needs support for everything. We were happy to have her but there's only me (at the time I was waiting on the transplant), another guider who had just finished and was waiting to be signed off and a parent helper rota it just wasn't going to work.

The barnardos helper is awesome, he is male so can't participate in the "guiding" stuff but he is getting involved in the trefoil guild now as he is shocked at the impact guiding has made on this kid in the last 6 months. Who would have pictured a severely disabled brownie finish pre-promise, make a promise (in makaton, the whole pack learned lol)! finish the brownie traditions badge and disability awareness badge and be a full member of her six?

Her mum cried at the promise ceremony, she was promptly offered tea by one of the hostess badge hopefuls lol!