Do you ever wonder why children just love getting mucky and making a mess – whether that’s squishing Jell-O Play Unicorn Slime through their hands, smearing mud across their faces or simply playing with water! Many times we are put off by messy play, as although the idea of finger painting or sensory bins sounds fun at first, the reality of paint and materials getting everywhere and the inevitable operation clean up that follows it soon sets in. So does messy play really benefit a child? Yes! Messy play is extremely important for a child’s development.
Many studies have shown that messy play is one of the best ways for our children to learn and develop, so now is the time to embrace it and get messy! There is no right way to carry out messy play, it is all about letting children explore and experiment with different objects and materials without any end goals to restrict them. With materials such as sand, water, chalk, paint, rice, play dough or slime, children’s imaginations can run wild and they can spend a long time exploring these, making their own discoveries, stimulating their curiosity and developing their knowledge. With messy play, the sensory experience also helps children to understand their senses. By exploring how things feel, smell and taste, this type of play nurtures an awareness and understanding of the world that surrounds them. It provides children with an exciting tactile and sensory experience that inspires their curiosity, allows them to explore the world around them and enhances their learning, language and creativity. Children learn through experimentation and discovery and messy play encourages children to explore new textures and manipulate different materials through touch. Not only does messy play enhance a child’s cognitive development and learning, but it also improves a child’s physical development (fine/gross motor skills, muscle strengthening, hand eye coordination, body control & balance, spatial awareness ) as well!
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