Band Aids and Couch Cushions

Last spring, during Abel’s parent-teacher conference at preschool, his teacher reported that he was doing well in all but one of the standard criteria they use to evaluate students. “Like most boys his age,” Mrs. McCarthy explained, “Abel could benefit from developing his fine motor skills.” She suggested Lite Brite, modeling clay, the games Operation and Connect Four, and other fun toys that I immediately added to Abel’s birthday list.

We’ve been enjoying those quite a bit. But this week I discovered an activity for improving Abel’s manual dexterity that seems to trump all the others. At Ocean State Job Lot, I found a box of Curious George band aids (made by Curad) for only $1.25. That afternoon, while riding in the car, I handed it to Abel, so he could look at the pictures on the box. I was surprised when we returned home that he had opened not just the box, but several of the bandages himself. His legs were plastered with Curious George band aids. He kindly pointed out to me the ones that covered actual cuts and scrapes, versus the ones that were just for fun.

I was impressed. Those little paper sleeves the band aids come in aren’t exactly easy to open. But he’d managed to tear into six of them, and peel off the adhesive-protecting paper inside. No, he didn’t really need the band aids, but he sure had fun playing with them! I put the rest of them in the bathroom cabinet, but twice again this week he has sought them out and reapplied them to his legs, arms and feet. They seem to interest him way more than stickers ever have. Now I just have to teach him how to throw the packaging into the recycling bin, instead of all over the floor.



And then there are the couch cushions. This isn’t fine motor skills in action – but it’s equally valuable. Whenever Abel encounters a couch – at home, at my parents’ house, at the homes of friends – he immediately gets to work removing the cushions. In our living room, he often moves them to the doorways, to make road blocks. Or he piles them up into a tall stack and lies down upon it, one of numerous variations of his “Snoopy Dog House.” Or, as seems to be the inclination of most young children, he builds a fort. In this case, any other pillows and blankets within reach – or within his memory (“Mom, can you go get all the pillows and blankets from my room?”) also serve as construction materials. I really enjoy seeing each day’s new cushion creation . . . they are always different.

I found a great article about couch cushion architecture online. Check it out here:




Watching a child learn new skills is one of the most satisfying aspects of parenthood, especially when the learning is done independent of adult influence. This week Abel is experimenting with chairs as hats. I don’t think it’s gonna fly, but I’m intrigued to see what he’ll think of next.