For a process as complex and miraculous as a child’s development from birth to toddler age, it is amazing how simple and natural the learning comes to their spongey little brains. Sure, you can get a formal education and obtain all of the newest research on learning theory and child development, but the bottom line will remain that children thrive when they are provided informal play experiences that balance the opportunity to interact with their natural environment with their exposure to the newest learning toy or app.
This topic came to mind as I was scrolling on Facebook, and found myself bouncing around to different pages for followers to share ideas for sensory play. People are SO creative with some of the themed activities or sensory tubs they create for their kids! But (as typically happens with social media), I then realized that I had gotten sucked into the black hole of comparison and was convinced that I’m not doing enough for sensory activity with my own kid, or that the activities that we do weren’t developing the right motor skills, or exposing him to enough tactile learning, yada, yada, yada. Cue the frantic search around the house for the perfect materials for the most interactive sensory box to make up for all of my lack of effort… I know I am not alone in this spiral of thoughts and I would like to note that when I do succeed in prepping the cutest activity or craft, it usually ends in tears from one of us (type A trying really hard to not ruin all the fun), and MAYBE 5-7 minutes of engagement.
However, on this day, before I could find the perfect yarn for spaghetti noodles and the ping pong balls to use for meatballs, I decided to pause to make supper. My little guy loves to help in the kitchen, so I usually just grab a couple of utensils and a bowl and let him play while I cook, but he was reaching for the ends of the zucchini and squash that I had cut up, so I just moved them to where he could reach, and went back to supper. He stood there playing for at LEAST twenty minutes- stacking squash “butts” on his favorite paintbrush.
And so again, I was reminded that the five minutes and tears that created a really sad (almost scary) footprint Santa and handprint reindeer were SO not worth it; and I’m sure that the spaghetti and meatballs would not have been either. So we stacked squash “butts” on paintbrushes and had ourselves a memorable kitchen dance party that I feel certain was more productive for his development than getting tangled in a mess of yarn :)
Along the same idea- play kitchens are one of my favorite toys for young children; but even better than a nice piece of plastic fried chicken, is a nice, sloppy mud pie. The structure of a play kitchen with plastic food and a refrigerator to store it all in makes a tidy mama happy, but taking the pans, dishes, and utensils out of the kitchen and into the “wild” sparks creative thinking, imagination and problem solving; all skills that will serve our kids well in life.
So, this is just a quick reminder that sometimes, we need to step back and let play be natural. That when you are too busy with other kids, work, and life to create the perfect sensory activity for your littles, or don’t feel like you have the creativity to do so- you’re thinking too hard. We’ve all heard someone say “give a kid a toy, and he will play with the box”. Child development is natural- it’s easy- and sometimes when we over complicate it, our kids are actually missing out on so much more!