We are all well aware that children’s play is of great importance for a child’s development. In today’s blog, we will read about the effects of playing in the water and why we should ensure this type of play in the comfort of your own home.
It all starts in the domestic bathtub. It sounds strange, but it really depends on what kind of attitude the little one will have towards water, after the first contact. Above all, we must make sure that he always feels completely safe. The fact is that the fear of water is the most common reason why most children do not know how to swim. In any case, it is recommended that he be accompanied in the bathtub by various accessories or water-friendly toys that will immediately grab his attention.
So what are the benefits of playing in the water?
Playing in the water can calm or invigorate children, depending on the activity presented, whether it will be a vigorous splash or floating on the surface of the water. Water play also offers many opportunities for the development of fine and gross motor skills at all ages. Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination are constantly improved as children scoop and pour water and fill and empty containers in many different ways. While gross motor skills and physical fitness are improved by splashing or by swimming.
Water play also offers children opportunities to explore their senses and experience different sensory experiences. Adding materials such as sand, ice, soap or slime to the water allows children to place their hands in different textures (soft, slippery and slimy) and experience different temperatures (warm or cold).
Also, playing with water is a great way to develop early math skills. As children fill containers of different sizes, they learn about volume and begin to understand concepts such as full/empty and more/less. At the same time, they are already starting to find solutions to in-game challenges by thinking outside the box. They start asking questions like “how to make a ramp for the toy to slide down”, “how much water can I add to the sand so that the castle doesn’t get destroyed” and “how to turn the water purple if I only have basic colors available” . All concentration will be directed towards this, and any activity that holds the child’s attention for a long time will contribute to increasing his attention and ability to concentrate later in life.
A selection of our favorite water play toys
Offering your child some interesting and unusual toys is a great way to encourage their exploration. An excellent learning tool and guaranteed fun is definitely the Janod water puzzle. As many as four means of transport for exploring the world are included, which stimulate the child’s imagination.
Swimming through the waterproof neoprene gates provides additional fun for little ones at the pool or in the sea and is also an excellent aid for swimming training.
A cute game, where children will catch fish and small boats right from the bathtub, is ideal for developing the child’s skills and concentration. Who will manage to catch more of them?
Last but not least, there are cute activity toys for the youngest, which include water books or cubes, with wonderful illustrations that certainly stimulate the imagination and allow children to create their own stories and water memory, to develop skills and, of course, memory.
“Childhood is not a competition to see how fast a child can read, write and count. Childhood is a period of time in which a child learns and develops at his own pace. Faster is not better.”
Magda Gerber