HOOT For Kids

This Box arrived to me at the perfect time. I had just gotten sick with mastitis, followed by a sinus infection and was trying to rest as best I could with a newborn and toddler (plus it was raining outside). I was feeling guilty about all the hours of screen-time we were racking up and needed an easy way to distract the toddler.

Enter HOOT Box.

What is HOOT Box?

HOOT stands for “Hands-on Occupational Therapy.” This is a subscription service that sends you a box of toys (just once, every 3 months, or every month – you choose) curated by an occupational therapist. Boxes are ideal for newborn to 6 years old. In our HOOT Box we received 3 toys – animal puzzle blocks, a zebra on wheels, and a Green Toys Submarine. Our box came with a list of suggested activities that could be done with each toy and identified what skills each toy would hone.

The box brought so much excitement to our day! Here’s what I loved about it:

• An Aid for Parents – Sure, it should be pretty easy for parents to figure out how to play with kids toys, but with a list of suggestions from an actual occupational therapist, I felt better equipped to help my child with actual skills. Plus, I admittedly lack a lot of creativity when it comes to my child’s toys. This helps me with my own skills in that department.
• Break up the Monotony – Again, I was lucky enough to get this at a time where I really couldn’t do much with myself and I needed help engaging my child. But I think this is the perfect thing to order sometime during the summer (or, for military families, maybe during deployment??) as a way of breaking up the monotony of your daily routine. I like the idea of holding onto the package and saving it for a (literal or figurative) rainy day.
  
• Watching Your Kid Discover – I really enjoyed just watching my son pull out each toy and start playing with them his own. This was probably the first time he’s said the word “submarine.” I’m not sure he even really knew exactly what a submarine was before. Then I watched him slide the zebra along the submarine. It didn’t take long for him to exclaim, “I wuv my zebra! I wuv my submawine!” It was such a joy to experience something new alongside him.
• Home Convenience – I’m going to write another post later about my newfound love for subscription services, but trying to go through and leave a toy store or toy aisle can be maddening with a toddler who wants to touch every toy and who ends up sneakily adding random thing to your shopping cart. Getting a HOOT Box means leaving all the extra toys and meltdowns over toys behind.
• Gift Idea – for the grandparents or friends who ask constantly what your kid wants or who don’t know what would make an age appropriate gift, tell them to gift a HOOT Box!

Disclaimer: I received free samples of this product for my honest review on this blog