What is sensory play for kids? And why is it so important?
In this article, you will learn what sensory play is, why it is important, and tips and tricks to implement it into your daily routine. As well as ways to keep it (almost) mess-free.
Sensory play has a big label around it these days, but that doesn’t mean it is difficult. On the contrary, you’ll soon learn that you can use what you already have around the house to help your kids learn and grow in a healthy way.
This article is written with the help of Gillian Andrikos. Gillian is a registered Occupational Therapist and Primary School Teacher who has worked with young children with special needs for the last 13 years. Gillian is passionate about play and actively engaging kids in activities that facilitate their development as unique individuals.
What is Sensory Play?
Basically, sensory play refers to any activity that engages your child’s senses. This type of play encourages kids to experience new sights, sounds, textures, and more. While sensory play may seem very simple at first, there is a vast array of benefits to this kind of play.
The main reason for encouraging sensory play is because the senses are how we observe and subsequently, understand the world around us. It is the first way our children make sense of what they are experiencing. How does it taste, how does it feel? What sound does it make when I throw it on the floor? Children don’t know the answer to these questions until they experience them for themselves.
In other words, sensory play is all about experiencing and exploring. So that they can catalog these experiences and attach meaning to them. Since children learn best through play, sensory play is an essential and valuable tool for healthy childhood development.
An easier way to understand this is with an example. Imagine that you’re holding an orange in your hands, how would you describe it if you’ve never seen an orange before? It feels a bit rough, it looks like an orange ball, it smells and tastes a bit sweet. Experiencing all of these things sends signals to your brain, which then connects these experiences with an orange.
Building these connections in the brain is the major benefit of implementing sensory play. However, it’s just one of many reasons why sensory play is so important. There’s more about the benefits of sensory play below.
The Different Senses
When we talk about the senses, there are more than the main 5 that are commonly known. These include:
- Touch
- Smell
- Sound
- Sight
- Taste
- Proprioception
- Vestibular
Proprioception – is the sense of self-movement and body position. In other words, knowing where your body (arms, legs etc) are in space and in relation to the rest of your body.
A common example of proprioception is being able to touch your nose even while your eyes are closed.
Vestibular – sense of balance and spatial orientation, in order to coordinate movement with balance.
In other words, it helps you to keep your balance even when there are changing conditions.
An example of this is jumping off a balance beam. Spinning around like a helicopter, or even just standing up from sitting down in a chair.
Even though you’re moving, you don’t fall over. That’s your vestibular system doing what it does best.
Examples of Sensory Play
Without even realising it, all parents provide some sensory play for their kids.
Play activities during bath time are a great example of sensory play. Children really enjoy splashing in the water, pouring with cups, and playing with floating and squeeze-type toys.
At the same time they engage their senses in lots of different ways, for example:
1. Sight: watching how toys float on moving water, watching water moving as it is poured or sprayed, watching the whirlpool formed when the plug is pulled out.
2. Sound: listening to the sound of a big splash or trickling water from the tap.
3. Touch: feeling the water as trickles down their back or drips from their fingers; feeling warm vs cold water, feeling slippery soap or foamy bubbles.
4. Smell: the smell of soap, shampoo, and scented bubble bath.
5. Movement and balance: feeling their body move through the water and seeing the impact of this movement on the environment, exploring different body positions by playing sitting up, lying down in the water, rolling over etc.
(Please remember it’s really important to always monitor your child in the bath to ensure safety).
If you’re looking for some more sensory activities you can look at different examples of:
- Sensory bins
- Sensory bottles
- Sensory books
- Sensory toys
What are the Benefits of Sensory Play?
Now that you know what sensory play is. It’s time to learn why it is so important for your children.
Since sensory activities can be so varied, there are a huge amount of skills to teach your kids. But the most common ones are:
- It encourages the brain to build nerve connections for future learning.
- Problem solving and scientific thinking
- Developing fine motor skills
- Language development
- Introduction to Math concepts
- It’s a type of mindfulness activity which is important for emotional growth and regulation.
Read Benefits of Sensory Play for more in depth explanations of each of these developmental areas. If you have a picky eater, then you definitely want to read this post to see how sensory play can make dinner time a lot easier.
Who is Sensory Play for?
Is sensory play only for children with special needs? No, all children can benefit from sensory play.
If you are familiar with Autism and SPD then you’ve probably heard of sensory play.
However, if children have difficulties as a result of sensory processing differences, then their parents and carers should seek advice from an Occupational Therapist before using sensory play to try and target specific areas of difficulty.
What age can you start Sensory Play?
Even very young babies enjoy exploring their world. Babies as young as 3 – 4 months old can begin sensory play.
In fact, I found that setting up a fun and interactive play activity made tummy time a whole lot better. Since the babies are distracted by the toys and activities, they are more tolerant of tummy time.
If your baby hates tummy time, then definitely give any of these taste-safe sensory activities for babies a try. They make a world of difference.
As your kids get older, they can enjoy different types of sensory play.
Toddlers can start to play with sensory bins that aren’t edible, but this opens up a whole new list of fun play opportunities. Check out this list of 10+ Sensory Bins for Toddlers to see where to start.
If you have a preschooler, you can once again add another layer of interest to each sensory bin. This can include math or literacy components to the sensory bin, or even basic engineering projects.
Apart from sensory bins for preschoolers, your 3 to 5-year-olds can also enjoy more vestibular and proprioceptive activities.
Tips for sensory play
Do you need tips for incorporating sensory play into your child’s life? Here are some simple ways to make sensory play fun and (almost) mess free.
Keep it simple
Think about what you already have access to. For example, you can give your child a baking tray and spoon to play with while you’re working in the kitchen. Or you can use safe items from your recycling bin to make sensory toys such as shakers/ rattles.
Incorporate sensory play into your existing routine.
For example you can stop at the local park on your daily walk to explore different textures. Or you can introduce a few toys at bath time.
Use the time you have.
Short, simple activities can be very effective – especially if they are done regularly. Five minutes a day for a week can often be more effective than a one-off 30 minute session.
Set your child up for success
Model play for your child. Show your child some of the things they can do with sensory items (particularly when introducing new activities). Once they’ve got the idea you can then follow their lead.
Allow time for independent exploration (be sure to monitor your child to ensure safety).
Tap into your child’s strengths and interests. If they enjoy music you might like to start with sensory activities that incorporate sounds such as musical instruments or noisy toys.
Related: Musical easter egg sensory bin
How to keep sensory play mess free
Try not to worry too much about the mess during the activity. Your child will pick up on your anxiety and may be more reluctant to engage with the activity themselves.
When setting up a sensory activity you should keep 3 things in mind:
1. The area
2. The container
3. The rules
The area – Set up messy sensory activities in an area which can be easily cleaned. Such as, outside, on a tiled area or tarpaulin.
The container – Another way to keep sensory play contained is to invest in a contained area. A bath, ball pool, or sandpit work perfectly.
However if you love sensory play then I would highly recommend the Large Play Storage Bag and Play Mat. It is a combination of a play mat and a storage container. It makes cleaning up so easy, you can have everything packed away in less than 2 minutes.
The Rules – Have some rules in place that give your kids the freedom to explore without making the experience too overwhelming for you.
For example, my three rules are:
- No eating
- No throwing
- Keep it on the mat.
I do most of our sensory activities on a mat or blanket. By making one of the rules, to keep it on the mat, it makes cleaning up so easy. You just grab the corners of the mat and pour everything back into the tub.
You can also get your child to help with the cleaning up. Packing things away and helping with cleaning (at an age-appropriate level) will encourage further skill development, like how to use a dustpan and brush.
Provide lots of praise and encouragement for helping with the clean up.
What can I use for sensory play?
You can use anything you want for sensory play. Typically, toys do not really fit into this category because kids want to experience everything, they want to experience what you do. Some favorite are:
1. Kitchen utensils
2. The garden or park
3. Food-based sensory bins
4. Different types of Water Sensory Bins
Of course, I can’t go without mentioning Rainbow Rice which is my all-time favorite sensory bin filler. I first made it 2.5 years ago and my kids still play with it regularly. That’s more than I can say for any other toy or sensory bin I’ve tried with them.
For more great ideas check out my collection of Sensory Activities for Kids.
What is sensory play? As you’ve discovered the whole purpose of sensory play is to explore. You need to experience the world to understand it, and you can only experience something through your senses.
There is a whole range of benefits to this type of play and it’s easy to incorporate into your daily routine. Set your child up for success by encouraging sensory play.
