MUFFIK: Your Partner for Holiday Adventures

Holidays are the time when we travel with our kids more than ever. We hop in the car, board a train, wait at the airport, drive to visit grandma, or head off on vacation. And while the adult usually has some kind of plan, after just a few minutes the child has only one question: “Are we there yet?”

Long journeys don’t have to mean an endless loop of “are we there yet?” and swapping between stories, snacks and toys. The trip itself can actually be a chance for small movement breaks, sensory exploration and games that don’t take up half the suitcase.

And MUFFIK is a great fit for exactly that kind of adventure. Who would have guessed, right?

Orthopedic mats and orthopedic puzzle mats are built around varied surfaces. A child’s foot receives different stimuli, and walking across each type of mat forces the body to react to the change in surface. That’s why we don’t need to think of them as something that only waits at home in the nursery – the same principle applies to sensory mats and sensory play mats for kids, which support healthy foot development.

For the trip, it’s enough to pick a few favorite tiles that fit easily into your luggage. Even more practical can be MUFFIK POP IT, which lets kids work with their hands, too, in addition to walking and jumping, and come up with all kinds of games.

MUFFIK doesn’t have to be just an “exercise tool.” It can be a toy, a sensory activity, a movement prompt, and a small companion on a long journey. It can liven up the trip, but it won’t replace a proper movement break.

Traveling by car? Take off your shoes and put your favorite tile (ideally the soft grass one) right under your feet. It’s pure delight, especially after a longer trip, when your feet need a rest but you still have to sit in the car a while longer.

What to do with MUFFIK on vacation? The child arrives at a hotel, apartment, or cabin. New surroundings, new stimuli, but maybe also rain, heat, or the moment when a parent really doesn’t want to think up another activity. Lay out a few MUFFIK tiles and you have a base – essentially a small sensory walking path right in the room or on the terrace.

Then add some tasks:

• walk across it like a cat

• walk across it backwards

• stop on every single tile

• balance on one like a stork

• hop over the last tile like a frog

If you pack some balance stones too, you can build a whole sensory walking path right on the terrace or in the garden of your holiday cottage.

And then there are the little things that don’t have to be about exercise at all. The Nano puzzle can travel with your child in a backpack, small case, or bag and become a little tactile companion – it’s also a popular Montessori toy that builds fine motor skills and the sense of touch. And if you get the glow-in-the-dark version, that’s another “wow” moment for your child. They can explore the texture with their fingers, compare it to other objects, or invent their own tactile riddle.

MUFFIK as a travel toy that keeps more than just little hands busy. At home it can be a barefoot path, in the car a small sensory treat, on vacation part of the game, and outdoors an inspiration for seeking out real-world textures.

And maybe that’s exactly what traveling with kids is about. Not packing the whole world into a suitcase for them. Taking just a few things along and letting them discover the rest of the world themselves. Because a vacation isn’t only the place we arrive at. It’s also a journey during which there’s so much to walk, touch, discover, and experience.

Karol Tišerová – a successful Czech mom blogger