Why You Should Encourage Messy Sensory Play
This post and giveaway were made possible by iConnect and Dreft. I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% mine.
A happy toddler = a happy mom
And yes, that is 1000% true for us. When Squeaker is having a good day, I have a good day. And when Squeaker has a great day, I tend to have a great day. Sure, we still have our ups and downs and our power struggles.
But when she is happy, I’m also happy. Sometimes her happiness stems from my overall mood. Mostly though it’s from what she’s doing during the day.
And a good day for her is a balanced day. Sometimes we do pages from a tot pack and sometimes we’ll go for a walk and talk about what we see. We also read plenty of books throughout the day.
And we play.
Free play, pretend play, guided play, playdates, playing at the playground.
And on occasion we do messy play. Messy play is fun for her and it’s also a sensory experience. It’s also ridiculously easy to set up.
I can hear some of you saying, “but Kori, this is a waste of money” or “Kori, this is a waste of baby food!”
And yes, you may be right.
But it’s still being used. And she’s playing. She’s learning through this play experience. So to me, it’s not a waste.
That and she was never a huge fan of squash so it’s still not a waste.
So what else do you need for this easy messy sensory play experience?
Still not convinced that this isn’t a waste of money? Check out these tips from Dr. Dyan Hes:
- Throwing food can definitely be messy, but did you know it helps with their development? Little ones are also still developing object permanence, which means that they don’t know that when they throw things, they won’t come back to them. So throwing food or dropping in on the floor can actually help them learn this basic lesson in physics! Maybe just lay a mat on the floor to protect carpet or allow for easy clean up.
- Use your little one’s food as a fantastic way to learn how to begin counting. When snacking, start counting with your little one and encourage them to use their fingers. Also, this is a great time to use food to help them learn how to properly grasp things. It will take time and practice
so let them get a little dirty with their food and practice, practice, practice! - When you expect a mess, dress baby with a fabric, such as cotton, that can easily be cleaned up effortlessly. When it comes to fabrics, it’s also extremely important to seek out a gentle and hypoallergenic detergent to care for the items that touch baby’s sensitive skin. Wash baby’s
items with a specially-formulated product such as Dreft, the #1 baby laundry detergent choice of pediatricians to be gentle and hypoallergenic on baby’s skin that has been trusted by parents for over 80 years.
As you can see, for this particular play experience, we stuck with a bib and a pair of pants.
Ah yes, Squeaker the skeptic. I tell her, often, to not play with her food. So she was a bit confused by this. But it really didn’t take her long to get down and messy.
At one point, she was more concerned about her boo-boo but she got over that pretty quick!
She also realized that her bib made for a good napkin… just so she could get messy all over again!
Even if you aren’t fully convinced, I encourage you to try messy sensory play with your baby or toddler. And we’re happy to partner with Dreft to give you a little added encouragement.
Parents can enter to win Dreft’s America’s Messiest Baby Contest for a chance to have their little one featured on the cover of Parent’s Magazine by submitting a photo of their favorite messy baby moment at www.parents.com/dreftmessiestbabycontest or posting their photo on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #messiestbabycontest. Winners will also receive a supply of Dreft laundry detergent of course!
Want some more incentive? Be sure to enter my giveaway!
What, you still need more incentive?! Okay, well… there’s a Twitter party happening on Monday, November 14th at 9PMEST/6PMPST. Put that on your calendar, be sure to RSVP, and be there! Why? One of the prizes is an iRoomba Robot. Now how cool is that?
Does your toddler or baby enjoy messy play?
Kori
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