5 Creative Ways to Use Squigz for Fun and Engaging Physical Therapy at Home

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If you’ve been in our clinic, you’ve probably seen Squigz in action! These little suction cups make therapy feel like play while helping kids strengthen hand muscles, build coordination, and explore creativity. If you’re looking for creative ways to make your child’s exercises more dynamic and enjoyable, consider incorporating Squigz, the colorful, suction-based toys that have become a favorite for both children and adults alike. While they’re marketed as a toy, Squigz can also be a fantastic tool to help improve strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination. Squigz stick to almost any smooth surface (even foreheads—just ask our therapists!

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What are Squigz?

Squigz are rubber suction toys that can be connected together to create various shapes, structures, and designs. Their unique design allows them to adhere to surfaces like tables, walls, windows, and floors, which is what makes them such a versatile tool for physical therapy exercises. They come in different sizes and colors, allowing you to get creative with exercises that challenge various aspects of your child’s movement.

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Benefits of Squigz for Physical Therapy

While Squigz are often used for imaginative play, they can be equally beneficial for kids undergoing physical therapy. Here are a few benefits:

Improved Grip Strength
Manipulating Squigz requires fine motor control, which can help improve grip strength and dexterity. Whether you’re pulling them off a smooth surface or connecting them together, your child’s hands and fingers are working hard to maintain control, enhancing strength and coordination.
Enhanced Flexibility
The act of connecting and disconnecting Squigz often involves a range of motion that can help improve the flexibility of the wrist, fingers, and even the shoulders. Your child will need to stretch and move to access different areas to place or pull apart the toys, which can promote increased flexibility over time.
Core and Balance Activation
Placing Squigz on various surfaces around your child’s body (such as a wall or the floor) requires balance and sometimes even a bit of stretching to reach. This can activate your child’s core muscles, helping to strengthen and stabilize your midsection. Whether your child is reaching forward, to the side, or behind, your child’s body needs to engage its core for stability.
Coordination and Motor Skills
Squigz can be used to challenge coordination and hand-eye coordination. Placing and pulling them off smooth surfaces requires attention and precision, while making patterns and designs requires multitasking and coordination across different body parts.
Low-Impact Exercise
Squigz are ideal for children who need low-impact exercises to protect joints, whether due to injury or chronic conditions. The exercises your child performs with Squigz can be as gentle or intense as needed, making them an adaptable tool for rehabilitation.

Squigz Exercises You Can Do at Home

Here are some simple, yet effective Squigz-based exercises to incorporate into your child’s physical therapy routine. You can adjust them based on your child’s specific needs or the guidance from your physical therapist.

1. Wall Reach & Pull

Goal: Improve shoulder, arm, and leg strength, coordination, and flexibility.
How:

Stick a few Squigz to a wall at different heights.
Reach up to grab and pull each Squigz off the wall, one by one.
Focus on engaging your shoulders, arms, and core as you move to each Squigz.
This can help stretch and strengthen your shoulders, as well as work on balance and flexibility.
Placing Squigz high enough out of reach can encourage heel raises increasing your leg strength.

2. Squigz Squat

Goal: Improve leg strength and stability.
How:

Place several Squigz on the floor in front of your child with their feet approximately shoulder width apart and toes pointed either forward or slightly out to the side.
Have your child squat down to the floor to pick up a squig, emphasizing weight through the heels and sitting booty back (like sitting in a chair). Once your child has the squig return to standing and your child can place it on the mirror, wall, etc.
This exercise helps activate the lower body muscles, particularly the legs and core, while focusing on balance and coordination.

3. Squigz Core Activation

Goal: Strengthen your core.
How:

Have your child sit in a reclined position with your hands behind you to help support you. Feet can remain on the floor at this time.
Place Squigz on a mirror or any smooth surface that is roughly the height of your knees when your feet are bent off the ground.
Encourage your child to keep their core engaged, have them use their feet to pull off the Squigz.

4. Squigz Toe Taps

Goal: Improve lower body strength, balance, and coordination.
How:

Place Squigz on the floor in front of your child.
Have your child tap each Squigz lightly with their toes, one at a time, while standing, and hold (for as long as the goal is).
This exercise helps improve ankle mobility, foot coordination, and strengthens the lower leg muscles.
If your child is feeling stable, try to perform this exercise on a pillow, wobbly surface, balance board, etc.

5. Squigz Balance and Strength Challenge

Goal: Enhance balance, strength, and coordination.
How:

Place a Squigz on a flat surface, like the floor or a low table.
Have your child stand on one foot while using the other foot to try and pull off a squig from the floor.
If you have a container or box, drop the squig inside of it.
If your child is feeling stable, try to perform the exercise without holding onto anything, focusing on engaging your core and maintaining balance.