Spiky Balls! What are they good for and what can you do with them?
Author: Corina de Boer-Vreeke
Mother and trainer
Spiky balls (pimple, massage, sensy or hedgehog balls) are soft balls with rounded protrusions. They come in all sorts of colours and sizes. The spiky ball with a diameter of approx. 10 cm is part of “De Kriebelkist” by Touching Child Care. In this blog you can read why we use these spiky balls and you will get three work forms that you can get started with right away.
Try it out
Just grab a spiked ball and you will immediately feel what it is good for. It invites you to throw, bounce, squeeze, roll, feel… The “spikes” of the ball ensure that you can hold it well and give a light pressure on some of the many touch sensors and pressure points that our body is rich in.
Healthy body awareness
If you roll the ball over different parts of your body, you will notice that rolling over the arm feels very different than, for example, rolling over the head. For many children (and adults) a great discovery. In this way, where does rolling feel good and where not, you use the ball to work on a good body awareness in a playful way. A healthy body awareness is a very important basis for the further development of a child. If a child knows how his/her body is put together, how it feels and what it can do, it will feel more confident and better able to explore the space around it.
Relaxation
In addition to promoting body awareness, the light pressure of the spikes also gives a wonderfully relaxing feeling. This is because the pressure of the spikes stimulates the blood flow to the muscles and makes them relax.
Getting Started
If you have read the above, you probably already have ideas for getting started with the spiked balls. At home or in your group or practice. No ideas yet? Then read the game suggestions below from the manual for “The Kriebelkist”.
Spine ball rolling (children 18-24 months)
Sit on the floor opposite a child. Spread both legs slightly. Roll the spiked ball between the child's legs. The child rolls the ball back. After a few times, you can first let the ball roll a bit over your own leg before rolling it back. Does the child imitate you? You can think of all kinds of places on the body where you can roll the ball over. In the meantime, look carefully at the child. Is it paying attention to what you are doing or is it perhaps thinking of something that you can imitate?
Circle activity spike balls (4-7 years)
The children sit in a small circle and each have a spiked ball. Let them gently hold both hands around the spiked ball. Try to see if they can let the ball go around between their hands. How does that feel? And how does the spiked ball feel when you hold it against your cheek? Can you also roll it gently there? Look with the children where else they can roll with the spiked ball and regularly ask how that feels.
Spinal massage (from approx. 7 years)
In a spiky ball massage, the masseur rolls the spiky ball over the recipient's head, back and arms. You can give this massage to your child at home, but a spiky ball massage is also wonderful for the tired and sore back of mom or dad.
A spiky ball massage is also nice in a group. Then you can make pairs with a masseur and a receiver, who after a few minutes of massaging switch places.
When giving a spiky ball massage, remember that every person experiences a massage differently. The experience of the recipient is decisive. The recipient indicates whether he/she likes the massage or whether it should be rolled harder or softer, faster or slower. In this way, children also learn to indicate and respect boundaries in a playful way.
Are you having the massage done in a group? Then make sure you first show that the ball really has to roll. If the children squeeze it, it will rub their back. Not everyone likes this.
There you have it… The spike ball is a versatile toy. Order one or a few and get started on your way to peace, relaxation and better body awareness. At home or in your group or practice.
