When we talk about sensory play, we refer to an essential process in a child’s life since, through it, the child’s development and growth are positively involved. Because of the significant impact, these sensory experiences have on a child’s life, we can say that they allow for more effective development.
It is important to note that we can achieve these experiences even in playgrounds that allow children to connect with their senses. Let’s look at three benefits of sensory play in a child’s life:
Cognitive development
The developmental process of any human being begins as soon as you are a baby. By engaging in sensory experiences, you will be sending signals to your brain, and in turn, you will have recorded the incident. It will allow the little one to exercise his brain and guarantee practical development.
Sensory play and development go hand in hand as the child grows because he will learn to respond to the different senses according to his growth. For example, the child will develop balance as they know to walk and so on with any other activity.
Language development
As we explained before, sensory play and development go together, but the child will need a vocabulary to describe it when recording the experience. The child will describe the essential characteristics of a situation, food, textures, and shapes.
In this process, adults’ participation is necessary since they will take the time to help children expand their vocabulary to describe their different sensory experiences. One of the significant advantages of sensory play is that children can participate in it alone or with their peers. During this process, children will learn to communicate with the other children to develop necessary communication skills.
Self-Awareness
The child directs this type of experience, so the child will be the one to decide when to start or end, like playing, who will play. It will allow him to determine what he likes and dislikes.
When we give children the space to discover their personal preferences, we allow them to understand that they are autonomous beings, which helps them know who they are and affirm their uniqueness in the world. We already know three benefits of sensory play in children’s lives, so we can give them the space and tools they need to achieve optimal development.
What do you think about this topic? What other sensory benefit do you think a playground has?
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