Hog Wild for Increasing Hand Strength!

Here’s a fun toy for weak little hands!  I found the Hog Wild Camo Popper for 9.99 at Cabela’s this past weekend, and kids love it!  Squeeze the bear’s tummy, and the ball pops out of his mouth.  The harder you squeeze, the further the ball with go.  If little hands are super weak, you can just lightly push the ball in so that it takes less effort to squeeze.  The amount of pressure that it takes to squeeze can be gradually increased in this manner as strength increases.  To work on eye hand coordination, have your child aim at a target or into a container.  The larger the target or container, the more successful your child will be.  As their aim gets better, decrease the size of the target/container.  It’s also a good toy from a sensory standpoint.  Squeezing makes heavy work (proprioceptive input) for the muscles and joints of the hands.  If your child has trouble grading movement, this toy can help with determining how hard they have to squeeze for the desired result.  The bear does make a mild “popping” sound, which some kids find hilarious, but others with auditory sensitivity might not enjoy (makes very minimal sound, however).  I make rules about not aiming the popper at friends (or me), or the bear has to go away for another time.  There is a little net to keep the balls in, and you can buy an extra package of them for 4.99, too.  This toy also comes as a moose at Cabela’s, but can be found online and there are other animal styles to choose from as well (a cow and a pig, among others).  Now if I can get my own kids to leave it alone so I can use it with my school kids, that would be great...