Looking for eggciting new ways to make your Easter egg hunt at home more fun for those with mobility restrictions? Try these top ten tips that will bring on the giggles and create post-worthy moments in your child’s life. Get started bringing the Easter joy home today!
- Provide a Grabber Device
When using a mobility device, the yard terrain becomes safer and less of a challenge to search. Unfortunately, the act of bending down to pick up the found Easter eggs can still prove a daunting task. Avoid potential falls and improve your child’s confidence by providing a grabber device to grip the plastic eggs from a seated or standing position. This way, children, parents, and grandparents alike can take part in the yard egg hunt action without risking injury. - Tie Balloons to the Eggs
Don’t have a grabber device? No problem. Try tying helium-filled balloons to the eggs. We love this idea! This is especially fun for younger children and those in wheelchairs who can see the balloons at eye-level without having to look down for the eggs. The strings make collecting the eggs a fun activity as opposed to a struggle.
- Add Magnets for a Science Lesson They Won’t Forget!
There is just something magical about magnets, especially when they offer the advantage of being able to pick up eggs from a seated or standing position. To use them in your egg hunt, place one side of the magnet inside all the plastic eggs and attach the other polar opposite end of one of the magnets to the bottom of a cane or walking stick. Voila! You have an instant science lesson your kids will want to do over and over again. Just be prepared to hide the eggs a lot! - Hide the Eggs Higher Up
Who says eggs need to be down on the ground? Why not place eggs in shrubs, planters, and play equipment? For inside fun, add velcro around the eggs and stick the other side along walls for an eye-level hunt down the hallway. As a bonus, you can use this technique again-and-again in other ways to help encourage learning, such as hiding letter cutouts in the eggs. - Make Use of the Pool
Do you have access to a pool for swim therapy? If so, make room in your lessons for a chance to reach for floating eggs. Those who are able to dive underneath or use their feet to grip can try to pick up weighted eggs along the bottom of the pool. Be sure to keep any weighted eggs in the shallow end to avoid the pool grate. Floating eggs may be tossed in wherever the participants are comfortable going. Instead of candy or trinkets, we suggest filling the eggs with coins to help with counting lessons. Siblings can take turns to see how many eggs each child can reach. Surprise twist, the one with the highest number of collected eggs may not end up with the most money! - Include a Treasure Hunt
If you have other children involved in the search for eggs, it might be helpful to put them into teams and let them work together to solve clues to find the hidden treasure. Each egg contains a clue the team must decipher to determine the location of the next clue until at last they find a treasure all can enjoy! This game removes the anxiety of not being able to find the eggs in time before the other children pick them up. - Attach a Basket to Your Mobility Device
One issue parents, grandparents, and children with mobility challenges all face is what to do with the eggs once collected. Luckily, most mobility devices can be fitted with a basket accessory that can hold the mounds of plastic eggs used for hiding or finding. A basket may be purchased for such devices as canes, walkers, rollators, wheelchairs, or scooters.
Therefore, whatever egg hunt you decide to host in your home or backyard, make it safe and memorable for your loved ones with mobility challenges using the above strategies and tools. With a little planning, Easter egg hunts can be a great way to enhance physical therapy or science lessons, encourage siblings work together on a common goal, or simply entertain the troops while Mom prepares dinner. If you need a mobility device, basket, or other mobility-related product, stop by our store location at 11040 Crabapple Rd, Ste B in Roswell, Georgia or call us at (770) 425-7718. Let the Easter games begin!
