Witnessing your sprout make the transition from infant to toddler can stir up many emotions. I won't lie that when my son made that turn into toddlerhood, I was truly sad, but also excited. I had to worry much less about him putting every single thing in his mouth. We had less naps and longer wake windows, which ultimately meant we had more time to PLAY!
Some of our favourite activities to keep our toddler entertained have been in the form of sensory play. Sensory play for littles is sooooo important for so many reasons, and this can start as early as infancy! Although sensory play can be initiated in infancy, this post will be focusing on toddler aged children. Sensory play allows children to form new neural connections, learn about the world around them, support language development, develop thinking skills/problem solving skills, allow exploration of new and different concepts (think time, colour sorting, opposites, etc.), and fosters independence..... all through PLAY!
There are different characteristics of sensory play that align to the common senses (think taste, smell, touch, sight, sounds) as well as the senses related to balance and proprioception (the awareness of their body and it's movement).
1. Tactile Play (touch) is the most commonly thought of sensory play category. In this category, you are encouraging your little to use touch in play. Soap Foam, Playdough, dyed rice, water play, etc all fall into this category.
2. Auditory Play (hearing) is probably my LEAST favourite, personally because I don't enjoy listening to the commotion, however, it is a fan favourite amongst littles. Pots and pans with a wooden spoon, instruments, homemade shakers, etc, will all fall into this category.
3. Visual Play (sight) is my favourite as it's the easiest to incorporate into day-to-day life. Going outside for a walk and letting your child look around, talking about colours and matching, etc all fall into this category.
4. Olfactory & Taste Play is tricky when determining if your child is actually using these senses. How can you be sure your toddler is smelling the flower and exercising that sensory stimulus? You can't but I encourage you to stop and smell the flowers anyways! Bake some cookies and see if your little smells them in the oven or says anything when they taste them! I bet something along the lines of "it's yummy" will emerge.
5. Vestibular Play is important for developing bodies and minds and it's actually quite easy to encourage and get buy in from toddlers. Rolling around, hanging, swinging, jumping, etc, all count in this sensory play. The good news? Most kids are WIRED to love this type of play. Doing this type of play before bedtime as well, also known as heavy-work, is great to get all the jigglies out before bed (a further post on this later).
6. Proprioception Play is another easy to incorporate type of play. Think pulling, pushing, jumping, etc, basically how your body moves and being aware of that movement without having to look at yourself is how this works. This play helps littles learn about their bodies and how their limbs relate to the rest of their bodies!
It's no wonder when you read the list above why sensory play is so important to growing sprouts. Allowing and encouraging your sprout to experience and explore each type of play will allow them to become more familiar with their surroundings and in their own body. If you notice that your sprout isn't fond of a particular play type, keep encouraging them to try, however always note and follow up with your health team as sensory processing disorders can be present (more on that in another blog post!).
Below are a few of our favourite sprout approved sensory play ideas:
Homemade Play-dough
One of the most important considerations when making sensory play items is the question, "Will my kid put this in their mouth, and if so, will it be safe if they accidentally eat it?"
It's no secret children LOVE mouthing objects and exploring. In order to ensure your child's safety we HIGHLY recommend taste safe play-dough. Here is a link to a tried and true recipe:
Sensory Rice Bins
Bubble Foam
Kinetic Sand
Homemade Fake Snow
Homemade Chia Seed Slime
There are soooo many sensory items and ways to play that involve our senses. I hope the few above provide you with a start to make and explore with your Sprout!
Remember to have fun, keep sensory time child led, and most of all enjoy watching your sprouts explore!
Keep an eye open for more sensory play coming soon!
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