Summer may be over, but don’t put that beach ball away! There are lots of ways to use a beach ball in your child life practice--here are three ideas of interventions from Katie Taylor and her team at @ChildLifeOnCall:

1. Gross motor play: does your patient need to get up and moving, or work on core strength or balance? Use a beach ball! We use so many different parts of our body when throwing, catching, or kicking.
2. Conversation starters: Need a unique way to build rapport? Write a bunch of questions on different spaces on a beach ball. Toss the ball back and forth with your patient, answering the question that your thumb lands on when you catch the ball.
3. Breathing exercises: mini beach balls from SmileMakers are the perfect size for patients to blow up as a lung exercise.

Find our selection of fun beach balls here.