Benefits of Sensory Play

Children learn through play, they develop language skills, they start to learn social etiquette,and they learn what they are capable of. They also learn about the environment aroundthem, they learn decision making skills, they learn about action and consequence, they learnabout inclusion, they develop resilience and so much more. By providing lots of opportunityfor play led activities we can help their development and at the same time encourage theirindependence.

Sensory play is any activity that stimulates one, or more, of your child’s senses – sight,hearing, touch, taste, smell – and a great sensory play session will often trigger more thanone ‘sense’ at a time. Think about things like messy play, your baby might be playing withcolourful sand, pasta, or play doh, triggering both touch and sight and, in some cases, it mayalso be infused with smells. Although sensory play might be a new term that you haven’tpreviously heard of, you will likely find that you have been engaging in sensory play withoutrealising.

How Does Sensory Play Help?

Honestly, the benefits of play on physical development are so numerous that it is hard to list them all. So instead, here are some of the key ones so that you can start to understand just how valuable play time is for young children.

• Coordination
• Balance
• Gross-motor skills
• Fine-motor skills
• Awareness of self
• Develop healthy habits towards being active

Learning can be incorporated into every aspect of sensory play and because it is based inplay it is fun to do and never becomes a chore. Fun sessions, either done independently orwith adult guidance whilst at a young age, can help children to learn in a way that keepsthem engaged and interested. The key here is that learning doesn’t have to be boring, it ismore than possible to broaden your child’s knowledge and their skills as they play.

• Developing their imagination and self-awareness
• Counting skills
• Language skills
• Recognising colours and shapes
• Problem solving and reasoning
• Following longer chain instructions

Here at Bloom Baby Classes we run a range of classes for babies six weeks to six months and sixmonths to mobile. You can check them out via our website or get in touch if you have anyquestions. With several franchises across the UK, we hope you can find a class to suit yourneeds.

Although we are born with the ability to experience and exhibit a range of emotions, ourdepth and understanding of these only grows over time and through a range of experiences.Some children will learn and develop at a faster rate and will be able to manage theiremotions and express themselves clearly from a young age, others will take more time, butall of them will need our support and guidance. Sensory play and in particular role play canbe a fantastic way to support emotional development. Reaching new milestones andexperiencing new feelings and emotions can be a scary time for young children but sensoryplay can be used to help support and bring understanding as these new emotions unfold.

• Role play to explore different emotions
• The joy and happiness of winning
• Sadness and frustration at losing
• Developing resilience
• Developing problem solving skills
• Developing empathy towards others

This outlines just a few of the ways that sensory play can support your child’s development.There are lots of games and fun activities that you can do at home but there are also a rangeof classes that you can join so that you have structured and supported activities but also sothat your child can gain the benefit of socialising with other children of a similar age.