Over the years, we have used many different gross and fine motor therapy toys (thanks to my husband's generous mom!). One that my girls enjoyed a lot was the red rocker. On one side it is a set of stairs that works on learning to step up and balance. The other side is a rocking boat that both girls had enough space to sit in and as they rocked back and forth (similar to a see-saw) Liana was able to work on strengthening her torso to stay steady.
This toy was incredibly helpful when Liana was first learning to walk and as she learned how to conquer stepping up on a curb or even helping her learn how to walk up our own stairs. If she happened to fall on these steps it wasn't a long fall and we also bought the rails to go with it so she was able to hold on.
We worked on alternating which foot was the leader and using both right and left hands to hold the rail. One of their favorite things to do when they were around 2 was to sit in on the boat side and pretend they were going on safaris. They would point to all the animals they saw as Wade or I rocked the boat like they were bumping along the road.
I love having therapy tools that the children don't realize is therapy. And this red rocker did just that. If your child is in need of working on steps or balance this is a great tool to have. We have the one that is plastic but there is also a wooden version. Enjoy playing! Here are the girls about 2 years old playing in their Red Rocker. And yes Liana was eating purple sand before I took the picture. Here is a link where you can order from Children's Factory the Red Rocker.
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