Young children love two things more than anything else, playtime and making a mess! Whilst this means a lot of cleaning for parents, both of these things are essential during the early years of a child’s development. So why not try combining the two?
Getting ‘hands-on’ in a messy playtime session can be very beneficial to a child in three key areas…
- Social and emotional development – During play, children increase their social competence and emotional maturity. Interaction with other children in different environments also helps them to build confidence.
- Physical development – Playtime contributes to a child’s motor development as well as improving their body awareness. Incorporating messy substances helps refine a child’s sense of touch, and introduces them to a plethora of textural experiences, which can help inform their cognitive development.
- Creative development – The philosopher Sigmund Freud suggested that every child at play “behaves like a creative writer, in that he creates a world of his own, rearranges the things of his world in a new way which pleases them”. Who are we to argue with Mr Freud?
Inspired by this way of thinking, education resource experts at Hope Education have been researching the importance of getting children involved in messy playtime and have created a range of recipes for weird and wonderful creations that will make the experience even more beneficial!
Many thanks to Hope Education for this resource.
