Did you know an occupational therapy scooter board can help a child with or without special needs develop their gross motor skills, increase their muscle strength, and allow them to perform activities or exercises?
It is an incredible lightweight tool to encourage balance and motor planning.
Children with Autism, motor delays, sensory issues, or vestibular difficulties can benefit from using a scooter board!
With that said, let’s explore a scooter board that does not break the bank, is parent-approved, AND recommended by therapists.
We will dive into …
- Why is it so good?
- What are the benefits?
- What activities and exercises can you do with it?
- What are reviewers sharing?
- How does it compare to its competitors?
- AND more …
Let’s break down what you need to know to make the most informed purchasing decision.
Most importantly, help you decide if a scooter board is a right choice for you. :-)
Let’s get started.
Product Overview
Brand: Fun and Function
Product: Scooter Board with Handles
Price: ==> View Now: Current Pricing <==
Color Options: Blue, Red
Size Options: Small (12 inches), Large (16 inches)
Suggested Age: 4 years and up
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
So what makes a scooter board so special?
That is a common question to think about and here is a quick summary of what makes this scooter board standout:
- Easy to use
- Easy to clean
- Easy to travel with
- Builds skills
- Super lightweight
- Provides developmental benefits (both physically and mentally)
View the images below to see what a 12 inch scooter vs a 16 inch scooter board looks like. Keep in mind both size scooter boards come in the color blue or red.
[caption id=”attachment_5218" align=”aligncenter” width=”300"]
Small (12 inches)[/caption][caption id=”attachment_5217" align=”aligncenter” width=”300"]
Large (16 inches)[/caption]
Why Is It So Good?
Rolling around on a scooter board is a FUN way to get your child moving.
The “contoured handles” are a bonus feature that provides more stability and balance for kids who need additional support.
According to occupational therapist and mother Meghan with Woo Therapy, she shares, “I couldn’t live without a scooter board at work or home. There are endless uses and developmental benefits for children who engage in scooter board activities. Scooter boards provide hours of fun, limitless activities, and abundant skill-building. This is a great tool if you feel like your child could use support with body awareness, bilateral and general motor coordination, sensory processing, motor planning and sequencing, etc.”
How To Ride the Scooter Board
Riding the scooter board is pretty easy to do.
Here are a couple of ways to ride it:
- Sit down by holding the handles with each hand and push your feet on the floor to move backward or forwards.
- Lay on your tummy and your hands and feet to push forward or twirl around.
Check out this quick 1-minute video showing you ways to use the scooter board.
What are the Benefits?
As we touched on earlier, the scooter board is an incredible tool to benefit your child both physically and mentally because it helps to …
- Strengthen muscles from head to toe
- Promote gross motor skills
- Develop vestibular input
- Provide sensory integration for those who are sensory seeking or sensory over-responding
If your child has lower extremity weakness, this is an excellent way to build muscle tone, especially in their trunk area.
If your child has upper extremity weakness, it will help them balance and work on their coordination.
So what activities will improve lower and upper extremity weakness or WILL strengthen your child’s motor functions?
Besides the developmental benefits, there are many activities and uses of a scooter board which we will touch on next.
Scooter Board Activities and Exercises
There are various positions you can have your child enjoy these activities either by sitting, laying on their back, kneeling, or tummy down.
Now let’s get into the creative ways to use the scooter board.
Body Bowling
Place the bowling pins across the room and have your child scoot their body to knock the pins over.
Obstacle Course
Set up an obstacle course inside or outside.
Then time your child to see how fast they can move through the obstacle course.
Can they beat their best time? :-)
Grocery Shopping
Place “pretend” food items around your house, tell your child what to find and get on the grocery list.
Give them a small paper bag to collect their groceries.
Be a Superhero, Wizard, Fairy, or Flying Animal
Ride on your tummy (in prone position) and pretend to fly!
You can even kick this activity up a notch by having your child “dress” the part too.
Rope Craw
Get into a prone position (tummy down) on the scooter.
Pull yourself along a secured rope so you can easily propel yourself forward or backward.
Paddle on Water
Well not literally speaking. :-)
Use these scooter paddles for an upper body workout and strengthening session.
Make the activity fun by pretending your child is “paddling” their boat to go to the kitchen for their favorite snack.
Or as my six-year-old likes to pretend, he is paddling away from a natural disaster (like a tsunami, volcano, or tornado).
Here’s a short clip showing you how to use the “scooter paddles”.
Container Color Sorting
Put containers at the other end of the room and have your child sit and scoot away to sort the different colored bean bags.
You can label the bins by color so your child knows where to place the bean bags.
Therapy Ball Exercise
Kneel on the scooter while using a large therapy ball to push yourself back and forth.
This is a great way to develop motor skills and strengthen the upper body muscles.
Product Features
Here’s a list of the scooter board features:
- Small scooter dimensions 12"L x 12"W
- Small scooter weight 2.2 pounds
- Large scooter dimensions 12"L x 16"W
- Large scooter weight 2.4 pounds
- Surface wash and air dry
- Holds up to 175 pounds (adults can enjoy it too!)
- Material is polypropylene plastic
- Nylon wheels and zinc-plated iron wheel casters are made to not scratch floors
- Wheels rotate freely
Safety is Key
You will have peace of mind knowing this scooter has been tried and tested by independent and third-party accredited labs.
This means the product either meets or exceeds government safety regulations for physical and mechanical hazards, lead and phthalates.
Here is a copy of the “Guidelines for Safe Use” you can download (scroll to page 2).
What Reviewers are Sharing
The overall customer ratings and reviews are extremely positive (the majority rating this scooter board five out of five stars).
What customers love about this scooter board (the main things they are raving about):
- Reasonable price
- Excellent quality
- Helps with upper body strengthening
One reviewer shares, “Thanks so much! My child feels very independent on the scooter and is gaining strength in his upper body.” (www.funandfunction.com)
Another reviewer says, “My daughter loves this scooter. She uses it in many different ways to help with her balance and motor planning. She never seems to get bored of it! Thank you!” (www.funandfunction.com)
How Do the Fun and Function Scooter Board Compare to its Top Competitors?
It’s important to know your options when it comes to finding a great scooter board.
With that said, let’s take at some of the top scooter boards on the market today and how they compare to the Fun and Function Scooter Board.
Champion Sports Scooter Board with Handles
If you need a variety of colorful scooter boards and don’t mind the colors you get these may suit you.
Plus, the wheels have non-marring rubber swivel casters to protect indoor floors (which is just like the Fun and Function scooter board).
Here is a comparison chart of both scooter brands …
As you can see there is not much of a difference other than the item weight and age.
Final Verdict: If you need at least six scooter boards at a low cost (and don’t mind the variety of colors that come in the pack), this would be your best choice.
==> View Now: Champion Sports Scooter Board with Handles Variety Pack <==
Cosom Scooter Board
This scooter board is commonly used in Physical Education classes due to its larger size and durability.
It also has non-marring wheels to protect indoor floors from becoming scratched.
Let’s see how this particular scooter board compares …
As you can see the Cosom scooter is more pricey due to its larger size but it is still lightweight to carry.
Final Verdict: If you need a big sturdy scooter board to use at school, therapy sessions, or would like a larger size altogether, this may be your best fit.
==> View Now: Cosom Scooter Board with Handles <==
Educational Manual Plastic Scooter Board
The wheels of this scooter are what separates it from the others.
Each wheel has an added safety feature with a protective cover around it to protect children’s hands when rolling around.
Plus, the scooter board handles prevent kids’ hands from getting near the wheels too.
Other than the wheels, this scooter board is similar to Fun and Function’s scooter board so let’s compare …
Final Verdict: If you like the added safety feature of the protective wheel covering, this scooter board would be the best choice.
==> View Now: Educational Manual Plastic Scooter Board <==
Pros vs Cons
Now that we have compared Fun and Function’s scooter board to their top competitors, let’s review the pros versus the cons.
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Durable
- Lightweight
- Builds upper body strength
- Encourages balance and motor skills
- The handles provide stability and safety to a child’s hands when using
Cons
- The wheels do not have a protective covering over it (which is an added safety feature to protect a child’s hands)
- Only two color choices of red or blue
Final Verdict
Overall, the facts speak loudly for the Fun and Function occupational therapy scooter board.
It is a great quality tool to use at home, school, during therapy sessions, or to travel with AND it is reasonably priced.
==> View Now: Scooter Board with Handles <==
There is an even more cost-effective solution should you need more than one scooter.
This is a great option for therapy clinics, schools, or those who would prefer keeping a few at home (to save you the time from hulling back and forth).
A total of four scooters come in this super pack.
==> View Now: Scooter Board with Handles Super Pack (set of 4) <==
Thank You!
I want to wrap up by extending my gratitude to thank you for stopping by today!
If there are other scooter boards or activities you would recommend, a review you would like to share, questions you may have, or anything you’d like to add that I did not cover in this post, please feel free to comment below.
If you found this information helpful, please share it with someone else. :)
I really do strive to make the content I create as helpful as possible for you.
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