EVERYDAY

ACTIVITIES 8
This module covers
the following information:

Everyday activities
Introducing everyday activities
Role play
Practicing together
Carrying
Washing and bathing
Brushing teeth
Undressing and dressing
Toileting
Sleeping and resting
Monitoring progress
Sharing emotions and feelings

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 EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES
Materials
Flipchart, pens, buttons/bottle tops (different sizes and colours), everyday
household objects such as plastic cups, cutlery etc., flip chart and pictures 8.01-
8.06, doll, basin of water.

Icebreaker
“Does anyone have a song they like to sing with their child that they can share
with the group?“

Encourage everyone to take part and sing with their child.

Explain
By the end of Module 8, you will:

1. Understand how to use everyday activities to help your child develop.

2. Be able to explain this to your family.

3. Consider how different family members may be involved in supporting

your child’s development.

INTRODUCING EVERYDAY
ACTIVITIES
Activity 1
Display picture 8.01.

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 Ask
“What activities are shown in the pictures?”

“What activities do you do every day or every week? Which of these activities do
you do with your child?”

“Are there any other things you do with your child that are not shown in the
pictures?”

Explain
• If you stimulate your child during everyday things, this will help her
develop without taking up extra time.

• Talk to your child about the things happening around her

• Show her what you are talking about, and get her to look at and feel
objects.

• Offer choices (e.g. what shall we wash next, your arms or your legs?).

You are the most important caregiver for your child, and you may already be
feeling very busy and stressed. How worried are you about finding more time
and energy to help your child learn and develop?

Bring up some of these issues in the discussion:

• Think about how you and your family position your child while you are
all busy. Choose a position that maximizes their development rather than
simply leaving them on their back. For example, sit your child in a basin or
a corner safely nearby while you work rather than carrying them, this way
your child can be learning to hold her head up or using her hands to play
with a toy.

• Think about leaving toys in close reach of your child to encourage her to
use her hands.

• Think about the value of talking to your child while carrying them and and
doing daily activities.

As families, you need to do all these daily things with your child anyway. So
if you can do them in such a way that you are stimulating your child at the
same time, this will help your child a lot with her development without taking
up any additional time.

Facilitator Tips:
Caregivers often talk about feeling tired, or not having enough time to care for their
child on top of other responsibilities. They are often more stressed, tired, anxious,
and feel less supported than parents without a disabled child. Using everyday
activities for ‘treatment’ helps caring feel more manageable and it will be important
to explain this.

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 ROLE PLAY
Activity 2
Act out a role play of the two picture strips below, using a doll. Either the
facilitators or a few of the caregivers can act out the role play.

Ask
“What do you think about the different ways that these two caregivers bathe
their child?”

In the feedback from the group, summarise the following main points (also
covered in the module on communication). The story/role play demonstrates
how to communicate with your child in an everyday situation:

• Talk to your child about the things happening around her.

• Show her what you are talking about, and get her to look at and feel the
objects.

• Offer choices wherever possible (e.g. do you want the red cup or the blue
cup?).

• Note: You can also offer choices during bathing, such as, what shall we
wash next, your arms or your legs? Watch for your child’s response, eye
pointing, gestures or sounds.

Ask
“Apart from communication, how is the mother in the second bathing role play/
picture strip also helping her child to develop other skills?”

“Does it always need to be the mother who bathes the child?”

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 Discuss the following:

Movement and Balance

In the second bathing picture strip, the caregiver is helping her child:

• To sit by holding her in a helpful position (ie. supported) so that she can
make choices and use eye contact.

• By encouraging her to balance. (In the top row, the caregiver always holds
onto her child, so her child has not been given the opportunity to learn
some balancing for herself).

Using her Hands

• The caregiver involves her child in the washing by helping her to hold the
soap or wash-cloth.

Social and Emotional

• Your child is learning a self-help skill, bathing. Over the months she has just
the amount of help and encouragement she needs to learn about bathing.

Thinking and Playing

• Your child is playing and having fun while learning.

• You can involve your child by communicating what you are doing and then
helping her to do this with you. You can let your child do more by herself as
she learns.

Summary

A helpful (comfortable, supported and stable) position:

• Makes it easier for a child to be more involved with everyday activities.

• Allows her to look around and watch what is happening in the room and
communicate more easily with others.

• Allows her to use her arms more easily during activities.

Remember that children with developmental delay can be different from each
other and every child has their own abilities and their own difficulties. However,
all children have the potential to change and families and communities can
support them to develop as much as they can. Now let’s think about your
child’s day and how you can use each activity to help their development: This
will allow us to recap on some of the things we have covered in the group
sessions over the last few weeks/months, as well as looking at some new ideas
too.

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 PRACTICING TOGETHER
Ask
Ask a volunteer to sit in a poor position and stack bricks.

“How do you feel?”

“Now sit in a good position and do the same activity?”

“Is this easier?”

Explain
Look back to the positioning and handling module and remember the main
features of good positioning and handling.

Head and Body

• Your head is upright and facing forwards.

• Your body is upright and facing forwards.

Legs and feet

• Your hips are level, centred and bent at a right angle.

• Your legs are slightly open.

Shoulders and arms

• Your shoulders are not too far back or too far forward.

• Your arms are close to the body and forward, with open hands

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 CARRYING
Activity 3
As a revision from the positioning session, good carrying positions allow your
child to practice using her head and neck muscles. A more upright position will
help her to hold her head up and look around, even if it can only be for short
periods at a time. She can free her arms for playing and keeping her hips and
knees supported will allow her to control her body.

Ask
Look at the photos that show poor and good ways of carrying your child.

“Can you show us one thing that you will change this week when you carry your
child and explain why?”

Facilitator Tips:
This activity will help everyone to recognise a good and poor position in a
photograph and then to identify one change that they will make this week when
they go home. You can encourage this by asking them to take photos or videos of
the change that they make during the week.

Ask
In pairs, demonstrate how you carry your child.

Ask each partner to feedback on the good points, and then suggest one thing
further that may help correct the positioning.

Give everyone the opportunity to discuss in pairs which change they would like
to try at home with their child. Then ask them to demonstrate how, with their
child or the doll. Encourage everyone to support each other to find the best
position for carrying.

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 WASHING AND BATHING
Activity 4
In groups of 2-3, look at picture 8.04.

Ask
“What is happening in the pictures? Which things is your child able to do?“

“How can you use bath time to stimulate your child’s development?”

• Make sure your child is always in a good position. Change her position
regularly.

• Talk to her about what you are doing, and help her join in.

• In 8.04 the last two positions are good for children who move a lot.

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 Explain
Some children need to have their faces cleaned often. This can be because they
drool or food spills out when they eat.

Your child can learn to close her lips, if cleaning her face gives her the feeling
of a closed mouth. This can also help to teach your child to swallow her saliva
instead of letting it dribble out.

• Use firm pressure on the cheeks and lips using a small pushing movement
with a cloth – do not use a wiping or sweeping motion.

• Always push the cloth towards the mouth, as if you are helping to close the
lips.

• Push the cloth toward the left and right side of the mouth. Then the chin and
lower lip. Then the upper lip.

• Tell your child to swallow when you are doing this.

Activity 5
Break into pairs. Take one person
from each pair and give them a cloth.

Explain that without using words or

telling their partner what they are
doing, they will wipe their partners
face from the side quickly over the
nose and mouth.

After this, ask the person who had

their face wiped how they are feeling.

This activity is designed to reinforce

how good communication is
important to your child during every
day activities.

Once this has been explained, help the group to practice a good technique.

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 BRUSHING TEETH
Ask
“Why do you think it is especially important to clean the teeth and mouth of your
child?”

Children who don’t clean their teeth regularly may develop problems with their
gums and mouth, which can then cause pain or make eating more difficult

Discuss in the group and ensure the following points are covered:

• We all use our tongues all day long to clean our teeth, however if children
have difficulty moving their tongue, this is not happening.

• A child who drools a lot does not swallow properly and has an open mouth
most of the time. This allows germs to collect in the mouth.

• It is important that your child’s mouth is always as clean as possible to

prevent germs going down into the lungs if she has swallowing problems.

Therefore:

• You should start cleaning your child’s mouth even before they
have teeth, once they are eating/drinking more than breastmilk
then their mouths need cleaning.

• You should clean your child’s teeth carefully after every meal and especially
after sugary snacks and drinks!

• Some children with developmental difficulties have very sensitive mouths

that can make it difficult to clean their teeth well, so extra care is needed.
A flannel or washcloth can be used as an alternative to a toothbrush for
children with sensitive mouths.

Activity 6
Ask everyone to position their child and practice: Use clean and safe water for
teeth brushing (cooled boiled water).

• Make sure that you and your child are in a good position before starting.

Pay special attention to the position of her head and neck.

• Brush gently in a circle motion.

• Rinsing can be very difficult. You may have to bring her body forward so
that the water can run out.

• If there is any area with problems like pain or sensitivity, do those first so it
can get done while your child is still relatively relaxed.

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 UNDRESSING
AND DRESSING
Ask
“How can you use dressing and undressing to help your child develop their
skills?”

In groups of 2-3, look at picture 8.05.

Ask
“What is happening in the pictures? Which things is your child able to do? “

“How can you use dressing and undressing to stimulate your child’s
development?”

• Make sure your child is always in a good position. Change her position
regularly.

• Talk to her about what you are doing, and help her join in.

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 Explain
Dressing can be fun for your child. If your child is lying down she cannot see
and cannot help. Supporting her in sitting will help her to see her body and
help a little.

Role play or demonstrate using a doll or ask a parent to volunteer with their
child.

• Physically support your child to make her feel safe while she is being
undressed or dressed.

• Encourage her to look at you, by calling her name and playing with her.
This will also help develop her eye contact and head control.

• Talk about what is happening. This helps your child to anticipate what is
coming next, for example, ask “Where is your arm?” “Where is your vest?”
Help develop their communication skills.

• Pause for your child to look at her arm or move it up. Help her learn to
reach out and use her hands.

• You can use some supported standing in dressing too, to help make your
child’s body strong.

• Smile and praise her when she communicates or helps a little.

Ask
In pairs, discuss one thing that you will share with a family member about
dressing and undressing your child. Write down the one thing that you will
share and change this week when you dress and undress your child.

TOILETING
Ask
“What do you think about teaching your child to know when she needs to go
to the toilet? What have people told you? What is your experience of nappy
change time and your child’s awareness that she has a wet or soiled nappy”

Explain
Your child may progress at a different speed, each child has their strengths and
activities that they find difficult.

Nappy change time gives good opportunities for your child to develop:

• Eye contact: this is an ideal time for gaining eye contact, playing and
talking.

• Communication skills: use your facial expression and a soft voice.

• Learn to sit: As your child learns to sit up with help, this can prepare for

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 toileting using a potty or small bowl. Hold her on each side of the hips.

• Movement: you could also use it as a time to practice a few stretches to

help keep your child moving well.

“ In Bangladesh, toileting was a priority for many parents. Communicating

about needing the toilet, and becoming independent in toileting were both
issues. Some parents did not have time to help their children with toileting
so they were left in their own urine for hours.
“I do pottery all day long, and I have to cook food three times a day. My
father-in-law is ill and I have to take care of him. During sharecropping,
when the crops arrive at our house, I have to work on that and I have to
look after my disabled child all the time.”
“My husband... does not help me in any work with our child... I never get
the chance to relax. That’s why I always feel weak. My daughter urinates
and defecates lying down and it gets on her body, and I find it difficult to

”
clean her up.” Mother, Bangladesh

SLEEPING AND RESTING

Ask
“How do you position your child when she sleeps?”

Include the following points in the discussion:

• Create a safe sleeping place (a cot/bed) where your child is at no risk of

falling out or being injured.

• If your child is unable to move, position her into different positions from
time to time, using cushions and rolled up towels to support her to lie with
knees and hips bent. This encourages them to be less stiff.

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 MONITORING
PROGRESS
Ask
“Think back to session 2 where you looked at stepping stones to help your child
learn: What have you learnt today that would help your child practice these?
What are you going to do at home from today’s session to help your child’s
development?”

Take Home Messages:

• Identify helpful positions for everyday activities.
• Communicate with your child as you do things.
• Every child is different, so your child may have different abilities.
• Your child should be stimulated to help her develop as much as possible.

“What two things have you learned today that you will share with someone else
at home?

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 SHARING EMOTIONS
AND FEELINGS
Ask
“How did this session feel? Did it raise any emotions or feelings that you did not
expect? How have you been feeling this week?”

Allow time for discussion and interaction with each other. This should be
aguided session between everyone with only short prompting from facilitators.

“ Parents have spoken about how their friends distance themselves and they
often feel alone:
“I got tougher with people and with feelings after my son was born.”
Mother, Brazil
“I like very much to talk about my granddaughter, to talk about her
development, to talk about how good it is to be here with you. I really love
this. Everywhere I go I talk about this group and tell them that is being very
good to me.” Grandmother, Ghana
“In reality, before this group I felt alone in this world, thinking that this
problem was only mine. I couldn’t imagine that some parents were passing
through things like I was. So when we come to a group like this, we can
recognize each other’s difficulties; we can understand it; we can take some
things like they were our own, we can help and we have the opportunity to

”
interact with other children.” Parent, Colombia

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