Occupational therapy activities at home: what parents can do

What occupational therapy for kids is

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) describes it this way: occupational therapy practitioners use meaningful activities to help children take part in what they need and want to do. For kids, that means school, play, getting along with others, self-care like eating and dressing, helping with tasks like preparing meals, and sleep (AOTA).

In practice, an OT might work with your child on grasping and releasing toys, handwriting, eye-hand coordination, or basic life skills such as getting dressed, brushing teeth and bathing (KidsHealth). If you think your child could use OT, a good first step is to ask your pediatrician about a referral or to talk to your child’s school. In the UK, you can ask your GP about a referral (NHS).

A weekly session is short compared with the rest of the week. Most of your child’s time happens at home, at daycare or at school. That is why it pays to talk with the OT about what can happen between sessions, and what is better left alone.

Why practice at home is part of the picture

For children with developmental coordination disorder, there are international recommendations, a kind of clinical guideline (Blank et al. 2019). They advise giving children plenty of opportunity to practice movement skills in daily life: at home, at school, in their free time and in sports. The professionals working with the child should explain to parents how they can support this.

The guideline calls support from parents and other caregivers important for treatment success. It also says plainly that not every family is able to provide that support. So if it isn’t working at your house right now because siblings, jobs or illness take up everything, you have not failed.

The guideline is about one specific diagnosis. Whether your child should practice at home, and how much, is up to the therapist who knows your child. The games on this website are not occupational therapy and do not replace it. They can be an extra in everyday life, if your child’s OT agrees.

Questions to ask your child’s OT

The home program comes from your child’s therapist, not from the internet. Sessions go by fast, and the important questions often come to mind in the car on the way home. Write down what you want to know before the next visit. These questions are a start:

• What are you working on right now, and how does it connect to our daily life?
• What should my child practice at home, how often and for how long?
• Can you show me the activity once, so I can guide it the right way?
• How can I tell if a task is too easy or too hard?
• Which everyday tasks can my child already take over?
• Do these games my child enjoys fit with what you are working on?
• Is there anything I should avoid at home?

If your child is old enough, bring them into the conversation. The guideline recommends taking the child’s and the family’s point of view into account when setting goals (Blank et al. 2019). A child who wants to ride a bike or tie their own shoes is usually more willing to practice than one who is handed a goal.

Occupational therapy activities at home for kids: everyday tasks

The guideline recommends approaches that focus directly on daily activities, such as personal care, play, sports, arts and crafts, and schoolwork (Blank et al. 2019). For parents, that means many chances to practice are hidden in things you already do every day.

• Getting dressed: buttons, zippers, socks. Plan extra time, for example on weekends when nobody is rushing out the door.
• Setting the table: carrying plates, counting out forks, putting cups down without tipping them over. It takes strength, balance and a bit of planning.
• Cutting: with child safety scissors, start by snipping strips of paper, then cut along a line. One hand cuts, the other holds and turns the paper.
• Play dough: roll, squeeze and pinch play dough, salt dough or bread dough. The fingers stay busy, and nothing has to come out a certain way.
• Cooking and baking: AOTA lists meal preparation among the everyday activities of childhood (AOTA). Stirring, pouring and peeling all give little hands something to do.

Here is one way to turn an everyday task into practice:

1. Ask your child’s OT which task matters most right now, and pick only that one.
2. Break it into small steps. For a jacket: find the sleeve, slip in, start the zipper, pull it up.
3. Let your child do the step they can almost do on their own. You do the rest, without comment.
4. Once that goes well for a few days, hand over the next step. This can take weeks.

Your child’s therapist knows best whether this order fits. Some children need a different kind of help, such as a thicker pencil, different scissors or a better seat at the table.

Gross motor, fine motor and both hands: games that fit

Alongside everyday tasks, short games add some variety. The ideas below are sorted by area. Show them to your child’s OT before you play them regularly. Then you know whether they fit the home program or whether something else matters more right now.

For gross motor skills, meaning movement with the whole body, try the Arrow Course. Sheets with arrows lie on the floor and your child jumps the path. In the Cross Crawl March, elbow meets the opposite knee in a calm rhythm. This practices crossing the midline, which means reaching an arm or leg across the middle of the body to the other side.

Fine motor skills are about fingers and hands. In the Bead Pattern game, your child looks at a pattern briefly and then strings it. One hand holds the string, the other guides the bead.

Mirror Drawing needs both hands at the same time: your child draws the same shape on the left and the right. In the Big Loop, your child stands at the wall and slowly traces a large shape with the whole arm.

The Ball Figure Eight is about body awareness. Your child passes a small ball around the knees in a figure eight. To do that, they need to sense where their hands and legs are without looking all the time. For something calmer, try Statue Poses: take a simple pose and hold it for a few breaths.

You’ll find more ideas among the body and coordination activities. These games are practice and time together. Only your child’s therapist can judge whether they fit your child’s goals.

How often, how long and how to keep it fun

There is no general answer. The guideline states that no clear recommendations on frequency and duration are possible yet, because comparison studies are missing. In the studies it reviewed, longer programs did not score better on standardized tests than shorter ones (Blank et al. 2019).

So stick with what your child’s OT suggests, and ask if there is no plan. Short sessions are usually easier to fit into the day than one long session on the weekend. A few rules of thumb that promise nothing but make daily life easier:

• Pick a set time, for example after dinner or before brushing teeth.
• Stop while it is still fun.
• One task done calmly is better than several in a row.
• Plan days off, especially during busy weeks.

Practice is often hard work for kids, especially when something is difficult that other children seem to do with ease. The guideline describes how repeated failure wears on a child’s self-esteem, and that parents and school matter for motivation (Blank et al. 2019). Let your child help decide which game to play and who goes first. Join in yourself: when you try drawing with both hands at once, your child sees it isn’t easy for grown-ups either. Praise the effort, not the result.

If your child refuses for weeks or practice often ends in tears, bring it up with the therapist. Maybe the task doesn’t fit, or your child needs a break.

While you are on a waiting list

If you are waiting for a spot, you don’t have to play therapist in the meantime. It makes more sense to watch closely. For a few weeks, jot down short examples of everyday tasks where your child needs help: the button on the jacket, the pencil that keeps slipping, the stairs, the bike.

Notes like these are very useful at the first appointment, because they show what daily life really looks like. Write down what goes well and what your child enjoys, too. The therapist can build on that later.

Playgrounds, running around, crafts and helping out at home can carry on as usual while you wait. They don’t replace treatment, but they are part of childhood. If the wait gets very long, ask your pediatrician whether there are other options nearby.

When to check in with the OT or your pediatrician

The ideas in this article are meant for everyday family life. They do not replace a diagnosis or therapy. Talk to your child’s OT or pediatrician if any of these apply:

• Your child has pain during an activity or feels unwell afterward.
• Something your child could already do suddenly doesn’t work anymore.
• Practice at home regularly ends in arguments or tears.
• New difficulties show up, for example at school or with friends.
• You are unsure whether a game from the internet fits the home program.

If you have concerns about your child’s development in general, the CDC suggests talking with your child’s healthcare provider, asking about developmental screening and considering support through early intervention or public schools (CDC). If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD or you suspect it, CHADD offers information and support for parents. You won’t find a self-diagnosis checklist here on purpose. Sorting this out is a job for professionals.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

• Crossing the midline: what it means and 6 activities