If your child comes to P.O.T.S. for occupational therapy, chances are that he/she has played Thin Ice. It is a favorite amongst the children and therapists alike. Let’s take a closer look at the game’s therapeutic value.

This game is a great way to carry over practice with tongs (see last week’s blog on tongs) to a natural play opportunity. It will help build your child’s fine motor skills as he/she works with tongs to pick up marbles. Grasp and release patterns will be practiced time and time again throughout the game. Careful placement of the marble on the tissue is required, making it a good opportunity to modulate/control the degree of pressure used, an important pre-writing skill.

One of our favorite aspects of the game is that it comes with only one pair of tongs. The advantage to this is that each time it is your child’s turn, he/she gets the chance to practice assuming a proper grasp on the tongs. Many children benefit from repeated opportunities to pick up writing implements and utensils the right way, so that it becomes habitual.

How do you play? 

Each game consists of an igloo base, tissues, 3 legs, 2 hoops, marbles, and oversized tweezers. Players use the tongs to take a marble out of the water channel and place it gently on the tissue at the top of the rings before passing the tongs to the next player as quickly as possible, so that he/she is not holding the tongs when the ice breaks.

Who can play? 

The game is intended for 2 or more players, ages 5+. Since the rules of the game are fairly easy to learn, we have had success playing with children as young as 3½.

Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, OTR/L

Dr. Chaye Lamm Warburg, OTR/L, Director of P.O.T.S.

* Thin ice is available at amazon.com.