Play to Progress: Lead Your Child to Success Using the Power of Sensory Play

Occupational therapist Ticktin offers in her excellent debut dozens of suggestions to help parents maximize their child’s development through games. Ticktin emphasizes the importance of play, which can give children “the confidence and skills to chase their dreams,” and details the necessity of attending to the development of all eight senses: vestibular (movement), proprioception (body awareness), and interoception (internal awareness) in addition to the familiar five. She identifies how problems created by sensory underdevelopment are often misdiagnosed, such as in a four-year-old who loved to “karate chop, squeeze, and roll on his friends.” Ticktin recognized that the child was calmed by these actions and was able to find alternate methods for him to do so. Well-organized chapters use similar anecdotes to make Ticktin’s guidance easy to understand, and each chapter contains a slew of suggested activities: backward bowling helps a child develop balance and their vestibular sense, while a laundry-basket obstacle course helps with proprioception. Some advice, such as banning toys from bedrooms, seems aspirational at best, but the vast majority of Ticktin’s strategies can be easily implemented. Full of fun, this guide is worth a look for parents of young children. Agent: Karen Murgolo, Aevitas Creative. (July)