Activities Outside the Home: 5 Sensory Strategies to Help your Child Participate and have Fun while Doing It

The past few weekends for our boys have been super busy with activities and social events.  We’ve had birthday parties to attend and family get-togethers.  They also started a little baseball group for preschoolers and toddlers, and we also went to see the Marvel Super Hero’s Live Show.  Given how busy the weekend was, the boys did surprisingly well tolerating all this commotion and participating in each thing.  Of course some sensory meltdowns did happen, but we were able to work through them in a positive way.

To orchestrate a busy weekend like this to be as smooth sailing as possible takes a lot of forethought and pre-planning to provide our littles with opportunities to meet their sensory regulation needs.  A busy weekend, especially one that is out of the usual routine can result in sensory overload, and believe me I’ve had my fair share of first hand experiences of what this looks like.  My kids have definitely been the one’s screaming and crying in the grocery store because they’ve just had enough, they’ve been the one’s running up and down the aisles of the pharmacy, the one’s laying on the field in protest at soccer group, and the list goes on.  Through trial and error with my own kids, combined with my knowledge in sensory integration techniques and strategies, I have come up with some tricks to manage the meltdowns and make our family outings fun and engaging for all of us.  And the best part is, we’re able to make memories as a family that are positive without any stress.

Here are my top tips for helping your child to tolerate social activities outside the home with minimal sensory meltdowns:

1. Choose the most Sensory Friendly Activities When Possible:  Let’s be honest you probably wouldn’t think of taking your toddler to an expensive five star restaurant.  You would be far more likely to choose a more family friendly style restaurant.  The same concept is true of choosing activities that are sensory friendly for your child.  When possible take your child’s sensory needs into account when choosing the activity.  For example, if your child does better in smaller less crowded environments, maybe consider going to an event at a slower time period during the day, rather than the busiest part of the day.  I have a prime example of choosing sensory friendly activities for your child to make the outing enjoyable and smooth for the entire family.  Two years ago, we took the boys to a Touch-a-Truck Event.  This particular event offered a sensory friendly hour where the horns to all the trucks were disconnected allowing a quieter and more sensory friendly environment for young toddlers.  The boys loved the trucks and had a blast.  Well they had such a good time that last year I decided that we should do it again and make it a yearly event.  I made the mistake of going to one hosted by a different organization that did not offer the sensory friendly hour.  The noise level and constant honking of all the horns, made the entire event intolerable for my young toddlers and they cried for the entire 10 minutes we spent at the event.  We ended up having to leave because my poor little guys just couldn’t tolerate their surroundings, let alone enjoy themselves there.  Since that experience and having this realization, I do my best to try to match our outings to best meet my child’s sensory needs and this definitely helps with their ability to tolerate and enjoy our family outings as a whole.
2. Do Talk about the Schedule of Events and What to Expect: Talking to your child about new activities and events in their schedule sounds so simple, but as busy parents we can sometimes forget to clue our little one’s in into what’s happening in their little world.  I myself can forget to let my little one’s know where we’re heading as we are running from one activity to the next; however, I can also tell you from experience that talking about the activity prior to actually going and reviewing sensory strategies with your child beforehand, can assist them in their sensory regulation overall.  I am a big fan of social stories, especially for children that may have a hard time understanding verbal cues and directions.  A social story is exactly as it sounds, a simple story complete with pictures that explains life events and social situations in detail.  It is so simple to create social stories for your children, and they do not have to be elaborate in nature, in fact I have found that for young children the simpler the better for their understanding and comprehension.  If you don’t have time to create a social story for your child, I have also found that just talking to them about what to expect from an activity and how they may feel is really beneficial for little one’s.  Doing this can truly help lessen the stress and anxiety that may come from new and unexpected events and activities.  This is also a great time to review pertinent and effective sensory strategies for your child to utilize at the event or activity should they become unregulated.
3. Pack an On the Go Sensory Bag:  Another great sensory strategy for on the go is to pack a bag with sensory tools and objects to assist your child with sensory regulation while out and about.  I usually recommend packing these items in a child sized backpack.  This is easy to grab and go quickly and it allows your child to be in charge of their own sensory regulation kit allowing them to have some independence with the process.  The backpack also serves as a source of calming deep pressure input when loaded up with the sensory items when worn by your child.  Deep pressure input can be very calming and regulating for little one’s especially in new or overwhelming situations.  The backpack is a nice strategy to use to apply this deep pressure because it’s easy to use and bring with you, and it is not something that looks totally out of the ordinary like some for the weighted vests and jackets that are on the market might.  In terms of what to put in your child’s backpack it really is up to you and your child on what works for your child and your family to help calm their body and regulate their sensory system.  Some of my favorite on the go sensory items are: Silly Putty (for deep pressure input into the hands), a Squishy Sensory Ball (for deep pressure input into the hands and to keep little hands busy), a Sensory Fidget (to keep little hands busy), a Small Sensory Bottle (for calming visual input), your Child’s Favorite Toy or Security Item (for calming familiarity and stability), Noise Canceling Headphones (in case the noise level becomes bothersome to your child), Sunglasses or a Brimmed Hat (in case the lighting becomes bothersome to your child), a Water Bottle (for calming deep pressure in the mouth), and a Crunchy or Chewy Snack (for calming deep pressure in the mouth).  You can be as elaborate and creative or as simple as you wish with your travel sensory bag.  I know for me I find it easier to leave the entire bag in the car for outings and have separate items that we use at home, this way the items remain new when we go out and it’s always with us.
4. Identify a Quiet Space Wherever you are for Sensory Breaks as Needed:  I don’t know about you, but when we first get to a new place I almost always identify where the bathrooms are located that way if my oldest needs to use the bathroom we can make it there quickly and easily to avoid any accidents.  The same should be done with identifying a quiet place for a sensory break within the environment.  Identifying this location before any sensory overload occurs allows you to quickly take your child to this quiet place away from all the commotion before a meltdown becomes too overwhelming for you and your child.  The key this space should be to find a place that is quiet and away from all the sensory stimuli that is causing your child to become overwhelmed.  Sometimes little one’s just need a break from all the commotion to focus on calming their bodies and sensory system.  This should not be considered a time out or punishment for your child.  In addition, this should not be considered as taking away from your child’s participation in social activities and outings, instead this is the method to fostering participation and social engagement with your child.  If you think back to sensory regulation theory, a child who is unregulated is in fight or flight mode.  When our body is in fight or flight mode the body cannot focus it’s attention on social engagement or participation.  We must first regulate the sensory system to foster participation and engagement of our little one’s.
5. Know Your Child’s Limits:  My last tip is to know your child’s limits and have realistic expectations for your child.  As a mom to two very busy and energetic little boys, I know that they will likely not sit during the circle time portion of baseball group, nor will my oldest join in the team huddle at the end of baseball group because he is sensitive to outside touch.  Knowing this about my two little one’s, I set my expectations accordingly and do not force these portions of the group on them.  I do however encourage them to participate as much as they want to and as much as their little bodies will allow them to.  By having these realistic expectations it sets my boys up for success with these play groups and outings to be successful and have fun, without the stress of forcing them to participate in activities that their bodies just can’t handle or tolerate.  An important concept to remember with sensory processing is to follow your child’s lead, they will let you know what they are ready to do and what their bodies can handle.  As parents  and professionals it is our job to guide and encourage, but we should never force a child to do something that they just aren’t ready for.