Heavy Work Activities

Heavy work is anything a child can to do exert the muscles in their body. This is incredibly regulating to their nervous system and important to incorporate daily. We’ve included some practical life and playful heavy work activities your child or client can do. Children love helping and feeling like an important member of their family and are happy to have a roll in caring for the home. Some activities like “push a ball around the room” may not at first seem like a “fun” activity. If your child is at first resistant, make a game out of it! Anything can be made to be fun with a little creativity and silliness.

Practical Life

• Move dining chairs and sweep or vacuum under the table

• Carry groceries inside

• Help pull the trash can to the curb

• Carry the laundry basket full of clothes

• Rake leaves

• Mop the floor

• Dig and plant flowers or vegetables

• Water garden using a watering can

• Wash or wipe the tables

• Spray the windows with water and wipe them

• Help wash the dog

• Help was the car

• If the grocery store has a child size cart, have your child push it around the store

Play

• Climb on the playground

• Swing from a trapeze bar

• Push a car toy around the floor

• Squeeze a stress ball

• Jump on a trampoline

• Carry a basket of blocks

• Fill a laundry basket with books or blocks and push or pull it around the house

• Fill a pillow case or reusable tote bag full of stuffed animals and carry it or drag it up and down the stairs

• Make a pillow fort with couch cushions

• Push grown ups or siblings on an office chair or other wheeled chair

• Pull friends or siblings in a wagon

• Wheelbarrow walk (hold your child by the feet while they walk on their hands like they are a wheelbarrow)

• Fall into a bean bag chair or crash pad

• Pillow fight (set rules at the beginning such as no hitting faces and stop as soon as someone says stop)

• Color and draw on a large piece of paper on the floor

• Place your child in a sheet or blanket and swing them with another adult

• Swimming, running, jumping, climbing

• Push a weighted ball around the room

• Pinch, roll, or pull putty

• Run up and down the stairs

• Fill an empty milk jug with water and carry it to different locations. Only fill with as much water as your child can handle (this may be more or less than you think, so have your child help you and test it out)

Other

• Eat a crunchy food like pretzels or carrots

• Eat a chewy food, typically this is candy like fruit snacks or Starburst

• Drink a smoothie or yogurt from a thin straw

• Push against a wall. You can make this silly by making a game out of it