Meghan Corridan, Pediatric Occupational Therapist

11/25/2025

Next up for gift guides is the 2025 Big Body and Gross Motor Holiday Gift Guide. Check out the link below!

I love putting this gift guide together at this time of the year because depending on where one lives, kids don’t have as many opportunities to get outside and move around. For so many of my kids, being outside or going to the playground and getting their energy out after a long day of school helps them focus on homework and other afterschool obligations. We are in a time that parents want to decrease the amount of screen time that kids have but finding the right gross motor or appropriate physical activity can be challenging. As I put this years list together, I really focused on finding as many options that would be good for kids of all ages. While some are specific to a certain age, many are good for all ages. Physical activity and gross motor play is such an important part of development because it boosts brain function which leads to improved focus, attention and academic performance. If you have a kiddo who is always on the move or seeks sensory input, it’s important to have tools on hand to support them so they can be given the opportunity to move their body and give their body the input that it needs in order to be able to learn, focus and regulate their emotions and feelings.

As always, there was so much more I wanted to put on this gift guide and have so many other suggestions so if you don’t see what you are looking for and would like some ideas, email me at otmeghan@gmail.com and I will help you find the perfect gift for your kiddos!

https://macandtoys.com/2025-big-body-and-gross-motor-toy.../

11/24/2025

I can't even begin to tell you how happy it makes me when friends send me pictures of their little ones using one of the toys I recommended on my Holiday Gift Guide. I especially love seeing these boys loving the 1..2..3..Draw With Me cards because they have been such a huge hit with my kids at work, especially those that have a lot of energy! These step-by-step drawing cards are on my most recent 2025 Arts and Crafts Gift Guide and I can not recommend them highly enough! If you are looking for other ideas for kids from toddler to teens who love to craft, be sure to check out the post:
https://macandtoys.com/2025-arts-and-crafts-holiday-gift-guide/

11/20/2025

Hot off the press: the 2025 Arts and Crafts Holiday Gift Guide is available. Please be sure to check out the post at the link below.

As someone who loves to knit, bake and create, I have always loved to incorporate arts and crafts into my sessions with my kids at work. There are so many benefits of crafting for kids of all ages including offering an opportunity for screen-free entertainment. When putting together this years list, I was very mindful about including gifts for children from toddlers through teens and tweens. I also tried to include more open-ended crafting kits in order to encourage creativity and imagination skills. With that said, it was important that even those kits came with booklets with suggested activities. Arts and crafts are a great way to develop fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, can work on increasing grasp strength, improve visual motor and visual perceptual skills and work on developing executive functioning skills such as problem solving, following directions, improve focus and attention and work on improving organizational skills.

There was so much more I wanted to put on this gift guide and have so many other suggestions so if you don’t see what you are looking for and would like some ideas, email me at otmeghan@gmail.com and I will help you find the perfect gift for your kiddos!

https://macandtoys.com/2025-arts-and-crafts-holiday-gift-guide/

11/20/2025

Last but not least, today I share the 2025 Tween and Teen Small Gifts and Stocking Stuffers Gift Guide. Check out the guide by going to the link below.

For the most part, when I put together this gift guide, I had in mind how stressed out tweens and teens are these days. There is so much pressure on these kids to be the best at everything and expectations are not always developmentally appropriate for these kids. With that in mind, many of the items on this gift guide are geared towards managing stress and toys or games that offer a distraction. I also tried to keep with the occupational therapy spin and make sure that there are ways to sneak in things like improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourage creativity and imagination skills.

There was so much more I wanted to put on this gift guide and have so many other suggestions so if you don’t see what you are looking for and would like some ideas, email me at otmeghan@gmail.com and I will help you find the perfect gift for your kiddos!

https://macandtoys.com/2025-tween-and-teen-small-gifts-and-stocking-stuffers-gift-guide

11/18/2025

Next up, 2025 School Age Small Gifts and Stocking Stuffers Gift Guide. Check out the link below to look through this years gift guide.

When creating this year’s small gift and stocking stuffer guide for school-age (ages 5 to about 9/10 years 0ld), I really focused on more open-ended and sensory based gifts. Also knowing that during this stage of childhood, kids are expected to do a lot more writing and learning so tried to find fun ways to encourage learning in a way that wouldn’t see like work but work on following directions, build problem solving skills and provide sensory play opportunities that could help with focus, attention and improved regulation skills. Because I am an occupational therapist, I am always on the lookout for toys that naturally work on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills. Most importantly, I wanted to choose things that could offer screen-free entertainment since so many parents are looking for.

There was so much more I wanted to put on this gift guide and have so many other suggestions so if you don’t see what you are looking for and would like some ideas, email me at otmeghan@gmail.com and I will help you find the perfect gift for your kiddos!

https://macandtoys.com/2025-school-age-small-gifts-and-stocking-stuffers-gift-guide/

ORB Uncommon Goods Clixo Crazy Aaron Enterprises Fun In Motion Toys ZipString Young, Wild & Friedman OOLY Plus-Plus USA

11/18/2025

It's that time of the year....my holiday gift guides will be rolling out over the next few weeks. We will start with the 2025 Toddler and Preschool Small Gifts and Stocking Stuffers guide.

When choosing items to put on this gift guide, it was important to fine toys that works fine motor development, encourages creative and imaginative play and encourages sensory play and exploration. It’s also important to find toys that will appropriately challenge a child but not to the point that they become frustrated and want to give up. The best kinds of toys for toddlers and preschoolers are those that have more than one use as it will encourage problem solving skills. Toys that have more than one use will also help young children become more imaginative and creative in their play and also learn how to be more flexible thinkers…..all important skills that will help them both developmentally and socially.

Please check out this gift guide at the link below. If you are looking for something more specific for your child, please feel free to email me at otmeghan@gmail.com and I will help you find the perfect gift for your little ones.

https://macandtoys.com/2025-toddler-small-gifts-and-stocking-stuffers-gift-guide/

10/31/2025

I shared this last year but it seems worth sharing yet again. Please remember that Halloween is for every child. Be kind and patient and understanding to those kids who aren't "following the rules".
And as a mother of a teenager who is looking forward to embracing a Friday Halloween, she will be trick-or-treating with her friends instead of being out and about causing mischief. Don't judge those bigger kids who still want to enjoy this most exciting day of the year.

10/22/2025

With Halloween just 9 days away, we are feeling the excitement from the kids in our gym. Lots of talk about trick-or-treating, costume choices, Halloween parties and so much more. While this is so exciting for so many kids, if you have a child who is sensory sensitive or has some kind of developmental or language delay, Halloween may look a little different. If you are looking for tips and strategies to help your little ones have the best Halloween possible, be sure to check out my blog from last year.

Halloween is just about a week away and I can feel the excitement brewing with all the kids that I work with. It’s always fun ... Read More

10/16/2025

I've been trying to find playful and more fun ways to work on handwriting with some of my kids and can't tell you how much the kids love using a "spy" pen for writing activities. I have used it in a variety of ways but in this video, my little friend is hunting for the correct number and then tracing it once she finds it. This is the longest she has worked on this with me for weeks and the pride she felt being able to successfully find every number on the first time was so great to see.

09/29/2025

Something that brings me much joy as an occupational therapist is how far we have come when it comes to adaptive clothing and accessories for children. Kids with physical disabilities or sensory processing challenges don’t like when they look or feel different than their peers. This is especially true for older children where fitting in and getting all the “in” things is important. I remember not too long ago there really weren’t a lot of options when it came to adaptive clothing and accessories and now there are so many options that are not only comfortable, but don’t look like they are adaptive. There have also been so many advancements in sensory-friendly clothing whether it be clothing without buttons, snaps or zippers or soft, comfortable fabrics that make dressing so much easier for kids and parents. Another benefit of of adaptive clothing is that they help children become more independent for self-care skills which leads to increased confidence and self-esteem.In todays blog I share some of the latest and greatest in the world of adaptive and inclusive clothing and accessories.

Cloud Nine Collective Kizik Stride Rite EZ SOX Kozie Clothes BILLY Footwear

Something that brings me much joy as an occupational therapist is how far we have come when it comes to adaptive clothing and accessories for ... Read More

09/17/2025

If you are looking for a truly motivating writing activity for a school-age kid struggling with handwriting, I can't recommend The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book by Jeff Kinney. I have been working with this awesome kid for almost a year and for the first time I had to ask him to take a pause on handwriting so we could do other things that we needed to work on. This interactive activity book allows readers to become active participants in the Wimpy Kid universe, providing space to draw their own comics, answer quirky questions, and write their own stories. It's not only a great way to work on handwriting, but works on improving executive functioning skills such as working memory, focus and attention and task organization. I also love how it encourages imagination and creativity in school-age kids which leads to increased confidence and self-esteem.

09/12/2025

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is surviving the start of the new school year!
As an occupational therapist, I am a complete sucker for any game that uses chopsticks, grabbers or tweezers. There are so many benefits of games that use some kind of grabber. I will sometimes even use the grabbers from games for other games that have a lot of pieces. The most obvious benefit of grabber games is that it’s a great way to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills. By using grabbers, you are working on strengthening the small muscles of the hands which are essential for things like holding writing instruments, uses scissors and other school-related activities. Another benefit of games that use grabbers/tweezers is that they often encourage bilateral coordination skills and encourages crossing the midline. Using chopsticks/tongs/grabbers also helps with developing the arches of the hand which is essential for school-based activities like drawing, writing, coloring and so much more. In my latest blog, I not only share a handful of fun games that use some kind of chopstick/grabber/tong/tweezer tool, but also provide some simple suggestions that will maximize the therapeutic benefits of these tools and games.

As an occupational therapist, I am a complete sucker for any game that uses chopsticks, grabbers or tweezers. There are so many benefits of games ... Read More