Summer in Tucson can be harsh! You must have tried water play with your child to cool off, but there is much more to water play! It can provide hours of rich and valuable early childhood experiences to develop children’s creativity and imagination. AND it can also calm hot, bothered, grumpy kids (and adults).
Water play comes in many forms. It can be done in a lake, a creek, community pool, the bath, or splashing with some buckets or tubs of water. It can be done solo or with friends. It can be indoors or outdoors.
No matter what form it comes in, playing in/with water can give children a new sensory experience, some strength training, a chance to develop motor skills and to improve coordination, thus helping with brain development.
Here are some water play activities you can try with your child:
Babies
- When giving the baby a bath, pour water in front of them, let them feel the trickle and try to grab the flowing water with an eager grasping hand. This will help them to develop gross and find motor skills.
- Let them experiment with squeezing bottles, sponges, or other toys, to develop their small hand muscles.
- Bubbles can be fun for babies to chase after and help them develop eye-hand coordination.
Toddlers
- Use water to pretend play. For example, giving a car toy for a car wash, having a tea party with a tea set, create a waterfall with a cup etc.
- Give them chores that involve water, like watering plants or spray with spray bottles, which are excellent for strengthening their fingers and arms.
- A bucket of water and a paint brush can keep toddlers occupied as they ‘paint’ fences or paving, or draw on the ground.
Preschoolers
- Try small science activates that involve water. For example:
- Sink or Float: put different items in water to see whether they’ll sink or float. Let your child make hypothesis and then test it.
- Invisible Ink with lemon juice. Instructions are here.
- Colored food dye is great for creativity and discovering what happens when different colors are mixed together.
- Use outdoor exploration as a chance to let them know about life forms in water, like fish and frogs, leading to new biological adventures.
Important Safety Tips: Remember to never let children play in or nearby water unsupervised, only allow children CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) approved toys, and do not trust flotation devices solely to support a child who cannot swim on his or her own.
Sources:
5 Interesting Benefits of Water Play in Early Childhood Development
-Xuan, Children's Librarian, Joel D. Valdez Main Library
Read, Write, Talk, Sing, Play!
Play comes so naturally to children and is an essential element to lifelong success. When children play, they are practicing and perfecting early literacy and life skills!
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