What is Sensory Play? Will my baby like it?
16 November 2020
You may be shy to ask “what is sensory play?” but it’s a great question and I will try to answer it in this blog.
Babies arrive in to the world with a huge brain all ready to leap into action, but they are a blank slate in terms of experiences. Sensory play is a way to start introducing the world of sensations and experiences to your baby in preparation for childhood where their learning takes more sophisticated paths.
Will my baby like it? – yes!
Babies love discovering new sensations, and the aim of a sensory play session is to introduce a wide variety of objects and sensations for your baby to explore. There are endless possibilities – sights, smells, sounds, textures and colours are all around us all the time, simple things such as glittery pan scrubs are lots of fun especially if you don’t have to do the washing up!
What are the benefits of sensory play ? It’s all to do with brain development every time we have a new experience a little physical connection is made within the brain filed away for future reference, it’s how we begin to learn what is safe , pleasurable, dangerous or maybe just a bit uncomfortable. The more of these experiences we can get during our early years the better for our confidence, well-being and enjoyment of being in the world later in life.
What happens in the sensory play session?
The sensory play session is very informal, here at Baby Boo we have rethought our layout and now have individual mats for each baby and parent/carer which can be socially distanced in the main theatre. Each place has a variety of small objects to offer to your baby.
We create a warm and relaxed environment, with soft lighting and music and the babies can enjoy taking their time to explore and play with the objects. It’s a great opportunity to have focussed play time with your baby, we start to see the world through their fresh eyes and ears. The objects lose their everyday function and become a set of interesting shapes, colours, textures and movements.
We begin to realise that even the simplest items are new and fascinating to babies – after all this may be their first encounter with a nail brush, or a bracelet, or a scrunchie and alongside that we adults start to discover new ways to play with these simple objects to bring them alive. Can we make an noise with a nail brush? Twizzle the bracelet like a gyroscope? Ping the scrunchie into the air? Yes to all those questions and many more possibilities too!
Baby Boo sessions will be re-launching in the New Year after current lockdown restrictions have eased. Please join me!
Places can be booked through The Boo’s website – sessions are free of charge but must be booked in advance.