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Kenneth R. Ginsburg, and the Committee on Communications, and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health; The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. Pediatrics January 2007; 119 (1): 182-191. 10.1542/peds.2006-2697

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The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds

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Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children. Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children.

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Toddlers absolutely delight in exploring their world through their senses. Sensory play - play that stimulates any of a child's senses - builds cognitive skills and influences how your child learns about their world.

Squish, squelch, spin, splash, squeeze, bang, run, scoop, shake, drop, smear, toss, spray, and ooze - toddlers absolutely delight in exploring their world through their senses. It sounds (and can be!) messy, so you may often be inclined to cut this type of play short. But in fact, sensory play - play that stimulates any of a child's senses - has an important role in a child's health and development. Through it, your child builds cognitive skills and learns about their world.

What is Sensory Play?

In essence, sensory play includes play that engages any of your child's senses. This includes touch, smell, sight, sound and taste. But it also covers movement, balance, and spatial awareness. When a child is born, their senses aren't fully developed. They only mature over time as babies, toddlers, and preschoolers explore the sensory world around them. Each new experience they have with a different sense builds nerve connections that grow the architecture of their brain.

Benefits of Sensory Play for Babies

Babies learn and develop new connections in their brain through play. Sensory play also helps babies to learn more about the world around them and supports language development as they learn to respond to different stimuli. Babies can enjoy simple sensory play such as touching different objects and surfaces and hearing how different materials create varied sounds.

Benefits of Sensory Play for Toddlers

Toddlers are usually developing their thinking abilities and will start trying to do things for themselves. They are learning about concepts, like time and opposites, so activities that compare light and dark, and sorting colours, will encourage toddlers in their exploration.

Benefits of Sensory Play for Preschoolers

Preschoolers will often be exploring more independently and further developing language. Playing with musical instruments, and creating and building different shapes with various objects and materials, will further encourage these developments.

Overall Benefits of Sensory Play

Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity. It helps to build nerve connections in the brain and encourages the development of language and motor skills. There are many benefits that may go unnoticed, such as the development of abilities to focus and block out distractions.
Sensory play is an important part of childhood and, within reason, there are really no limits to what you can use in sensory activities. Nature can often be your best friend when it comes to sensory play!

What are the Characteristics of Sensory Play?

The different characteristics of sensory play align to the five common senses, along with two additional senses related to balance and proprioception (the perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body).

1. Tactile Play

This is probably the type of play you're most likely to think of when we talk about sensory play. Any time you see children exploring an object with their hands, they're using tactile play. From tactile play, children can learn about pressure, temperature, vibrations, and so much more.

2. Vestibular Sensory Play

Rolling around, hanging, swinging, and jumping can all contribute to your child's development of balance. This is because the sense of balance and movement comes from the vestibular system, which is located in the inner ear. Getting a child's head into as many different positions as possible helps strengthen the vestibular system by activating various receptors in the ear.

3. Proprioception Sensory Play

Think of how you're able to move your arms and legs freely without needing to look at them. That's thanks to proprioception. Pushing, pulling, and jumping all help your child develop spatial awareness of their body. Through proprioception, children learn where they are physically in space and how their limbs relate to the rest of their body.

4. Auditory Sensory Play

Bang, boom, clash! It might not be your favourite type of play, but auditory play helps your child differentiate sounds and develop their hearing. Give your child a wooden spoon and a saucepan and you'll see how they explore sound through play. Disclaimer: this might not be so kind on your nerves.

5. Visual Sensory Play

The Visual Sensory system is closely connected to the Auditory and Vestibular systems. Visual play helps to develop your child's vision and sight. Think of how your child watches the "airplane spoon" as you fly it into their mouth. Playing with, and identifying, colours and patterns is a fun and engaging way to encourage Visual sensory play.

6. Olfactory and Taste Sensory Play

Olfactory relates to the sense of smell. It is also directly related to taste. It's harder to gauge when a child is using their sense of smell and taste, but obvious examples include when they smell flowers or test the taste of their brand new building blocks. Children can develop these senses through games that encourage the exploration of smell and taste.

Theorists

Jean Piaget is somewhat of a celebrity when it comes to developmental psychology. He was perhaps the first theorist of sensory play, suggesting that there was more to "play" than we understood. His theory of play (also known as developmental stage theory) states that play involves a systematic process of learning that can even be identified by stages. Piaget proposed that children need environmental stimuli and experiences to guide their cognitive development. Through sensory play, he suggested that children digest new knowledge and store it for later reference. In essence, he argued that this type of play was key to a child's brain development.

Play at Only About Children

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Exploring the Benefits of Sensory Play for Children

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Sensory play has an important role in a child's health and development and influences how they learn about their world. Learn more here.

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IFSP: Individualized Family Service Plan

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At a glance

An Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is both a process and a document.

An IFSP is provided if your child is found eligible for early intervention services.

An IFSP can help infants and toddlers develop to their fullest potential.

When infants and toddlers need early intervention services, you may hear the term IFSP. IFSP stands for Individualized Family Service Plan. An IFSP is a written legal document that lays out the supports and services kids with developmental delays need to start catching up.

IFSPs are covered by special education law, or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). They're created for eligible kids from birth to age 3 who need extra help with physical, communication, self-help, cognitive, or social-emotional skills.

The "family" part of an IFSP is important. An IFSP outlines what families need to help kids with early intervention. An IFSP takes into account kids' present level of functioning and needs. But because young children develop skills so quickly, it's key for family members to be involved in supporting development.

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IFSP: What Is an Individualized Family Service Plan?

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An Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is both a process and a document. An IFSP is provided if your child is found eligible for early intervention services. An IFSP can help infants and toddlers develop to their fullest potential. When infants and toddlers need early intervention services, you may hear the term IFSP.

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IEP: Individualize Education Program

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Maximizing Parental Involvement in Developing the IEP

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Collaborating with parents and caregivers throughout the school year can make the individualized education program meeting more valuable.