Tenura creates and manufactures helpful assistive devices for children to make life a little simpler. Tenura's ergonomically designed children's products are beneficial during play and mealtimes. The three gadgets on show in the video are Tenura children's cutlery grips, CupCaps and non-slip mats. You can use these products to promote the development of fine motor skills like handwriting.

Skills such as handwriting and properly using cutlery, may not seem necessary. However, they are the foundation to key life skills, and by using and practising with cutlery, the child's brain develops fine motor skills.

Fine motor skills are the movements we make using our smaller muscles for intricate tasks, a task in our daily lives that requires such skill is fastening the buttons on your top, tying shoelaces, writing and correctly using cutlery.

Children who do not practice fine motor skills often have low self-esteem because they are unable to complete the same tasks as their peers. So, let's make sure your child is happy and prepared for life by encouraging their development using Tenura children's products.

Explore the benefits of our Children's Range:

Children's Cutlery Grips

Children can struggle to hold items with thin handles as it requires fine motor skills and coordination. Typically, children can feed themselves by age seven, having acquired these skills through years of practice. You may not give it much thought but grasping smaller objects requires a more extensive range of movement, which is why some children struggle to hold cutlery. To help your child, slide Tenura children's cutlery grips onto handles, enlarging their surface area and making them more comfortable to hold. Some great examples include:

• Toothbrushes
• Paintbrushes
• Pens and Pencils
• Hairbrushes

Children's cutlery grips come in a pack of two and are available in three colours, red, blue and grey.

For larger hands, we have ergonomically designed adult cutlery grips.

Children's Table Mats

Arts and crafts are a treasured pastime for all children, often consisting of paint, pens and glue, all of which can leave horrifying marks on your furniture. However, by using a Tenura children's mat as a barrier between the table and their art, you can protect your surfaces and keep the mess contained. Tenura mats are easy to wash/wipe down and are dishwasher safe.

The mat's silicone non-slip properties prevent spillages, as paint pots and other mess-making supplies are securely held in place by the children's mat.

There are two funky shaped children's mats available, an orange cat and a green frog.

Tenura CupCaps – Silicone Drink Lids

We are all prone to knocking over drinks, especially children, whose bodies are growing and don't have the best spatial awareness. With that in mind, CupCaps can be an ideal help. CupCaps are stretchy silicone drink lids that create a seal over the top of containers to keep the liquid inside and avoid spillages. Stretch the drinks cap over your cup, insert a straw through the eyelet and away you go, mess-free.

Benefits of Tenura Children's Assistive Devices

Tenura’s three assistive devices for children are made from silicone, which means that have fantastic qualities, which include:

• Non-Toxic
  • An essential feature as children tend to put things in their mouth, so the last thing you want is the object to be toxic
• Antimicrobial
  • Bacteria can't harbour on the mat's surface. Your child has a developing immune system, so it is crucial to reduce the risk of infection/­illness
• Latex-Free
  • Your child could be allergic to latex, and you may not be aware
• Easy to hand wash and dishwasher safe
  • Tenura children's products can withstand temperatures up to 250°C

If you would like to contact us regarding the Tenura children's range or our other products, please fill out the contact form.

Developing Fine Motor Skills in Children

Performing actions with increased frequency positively affects how smooth, fast and accurate the motion can be completed in the future, becoming ingrained in 'muscle memory'.

As for a child learning how to write, years of practice go by to develop the skill. If you have ever tried to practice the art form, calligraphy, you will realise what it was like when first beginning writing. You have to train your hand to complete the same motion each time ensuring every letter is identical in style. You have to train your body to make those exact motions.

By repetitively completing actions, you also build up the strength in the muscles involved in that movement, especially supportive muscles required for fine motor skills. As these improvements continue, the brain takes note and sends out altered signals each time, which is, of course, why practice makes perfect.

To help develop this skill in your children, you should practice activities such as colouring/­drawing, tracing, cutting, writing, playing with playdough and using cutlery when eating.

 

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If you would like any further information on the products showcased in this blog and video, check out their product pages: Children's Cutlery Grips | Children's Table Mats | CupCaps

I can safely say that 2020 was not the year we were all expecting! Luckily 2021 is in sight.

For me, 2021 holds a wealth of opportunity, and I will hopefully get to see more of my friends and family (of course, as and when the government deem it safe). Staying connected with my friends and family in the coming year is going to be one of my main focuses, and I believe this to be in line with that of the UK population. We have all missed out on seeing family during milestones such as birthdays.

During this time, please keep in your mind, relatives or friends who are struggling to live independently and may require your assistance from time to time, check up on them and make sure they are doing well, this is what Christmas is all about. We know it can be challenging to spread the Christmas spirit when barriers such as lockdowns are in play. However, these people are a part of our community and deserve the utmost care.

2021 in terms of Tenura is another full year of helpful videos, and continued commitment to deliver our high-quality products inter­nati­onally, to help everyone worldwide who hasn’t yet discovered the wonders of Tenura.

Fingers crossed we will see you at one of the exhibitions we plan on attending. However, it is too early to give any more details on the whereabouts, as we know, from our 2020 experience, these details are subject to change. Subscribe to the blog to stay up-to-date (and receive a 10% off discount code).

As for our opening hours during the Christmas period, they are as follows:

Date	Opening Times
Friday 25th December till Tuesday 29th December 2020	CLOSED
Wednesday 30th December till Thursday 31st December 2020	08:30 to 17:30 - LIMITED SERVICES
Friday 1st December 2020	CLOSED
Monday 4th January 2021	OPEN + FULLY OPERATIONAL

If you are going to make a purchase and would like it in time for Christmas, we suggest ordering before the 23^rd December if delivery is within the UK and for the rest of Europe order before the 24^th to avoid disappointment.

From the bottom of our hearts here at Tenura, we wish you all the best for the new year, and we hope that Christmas goes as well as it can, even if we can’t be with our loved ones, we can connect with them in other ways.

Now is a time to reflect, reminiscence and create goals for a joyous new year. Let us know your aspirations for 2021 by connecting with us on our socials (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram)

A recent survey by the University of Basel and the Ruhr-university Bochum have found a direct correlation between the amount of depression cases around the globe, and the amount of people with depression who have a degenerative joint disease such as arthritis, and more. The study was performed on 14,348 subjects aged fifteen years and older, so a broad and concise spectrum of results could be obtained.

Roughly one third of all participants of this study who suffered from depression, also suffered from a joint disease. This is an alarming number and shows how such illnesses, diseases, and ailments can affect day to day life for those who suffer with them. This also shows how depression could have a link to developing some joint diseases like arthritis. The study suggests that depressive symptoms give people a general lack of interest in undertaking physical tasks, hobbies, or any other physical activity which may help to prevent this disease. These could range from running, playing tennis or any other physical activity that depressive symptoms can make seem pointless and give you a general lack of interest. This could lead, if the study goes into more depth at some stage, to some interesting results in how depression could be causing arthritis in some people, and it will also give insight into how miserable this disease can make you feel.

Tenura was created to try and help people make day to day life that little bit easier for those who suffer from degenerative or physical impairments. Our products strive to try and create a normal as possible life for people, without them becoming sad or depressed because normal tasks have become so much harder or next to impossible. Tenura jar and bottle openers are such product designed to help around the home. Designed to fit neatly around many jar lids and bottle tops, the increased grip reduces the amount of strength and pressure required, making jars and bottles easier to open, with the silicone giving an enhanced comfort also. They can also be used on taps, door handles and other twist to open or release items. For many, this can reduce the cost, preventing the need to spend a lot of money on electronic assistance machines.

Tenura has many other grip enhancing and non-slip products which have also been created for this purpose, we aim to make as many areas of the home as disability and impairment friendly with our strong non slip mats, coasters, cutlery grips, cup caps and bathrooms products.

You can order products direct from the Tenura website, and those who are VAT Exempt can register to buy Tenura silicone products VAT free. Free shipping is also available on all orders over £35.