Messy play is one of the most fun and delightful ways for your toddler to grow physically, emotionally, and cognitively. By engaging with an array of different materials – whether it’s squishing dough, pouring sand, or splashing water – messy play offers numerous benefits while supporting their development.
In this blog, we delve into the benefits of messy play for young children as well as sharing some messy play ideas, so you can see how embracing mess can lead to a world of discovery and joy for your little one.
What are the key benefits of messy play?
Messy play is a cornerstone for developing essential skills for young children, like learning to focus, problem-solving, and communicating effectively. Below are some of the key benefits of messy play in early years.
Improves cognitive and language skills
Messy play is a very powerful way to enhance your toddlers cognitive skills. When your child engages in activities like mixing paint or shaping dough, they’re experimenting with different textures and materials that stimulate their senses. This sensory exploration helps to develop their problem solving skills as they learn to figure out how to combine different elements or create new shapes.
As well as that, messy play encourages language development too. As your child explores new activities, their language grows and they begin to pick up new descriptive terms like “squishy” or “smooth”, and more often than not, they will tell stories about what they are creating, which ultimately enriches their communication skills.
Develops fine motor skills
Fine motor skills are essential for future learning and messy play is a great way of strengthening these skills. For example, scooping sand helps to build hand-eye coordination and engage large muscles in the arms. As these muscles develop, they help smaller muscles enable the precise movements of fingers and hands which prepares them for everyday tasks such as writing, drawing, and tying shoelaces.
As well as that, pouring liquids like water or paint into cups or buckets and feeling its weight shows that your little one is understanding and enhancing their skills in measuring and handling objects.
Encourages creativity
Messy play is a treasure trove for encouraging creativity because they’re free to experiment with different materials like paint, sand, and even food. With no rules or outcome expectations, this type of play nurtures imagination as they explore new textures in an open-ended environment.
For example, finger painting is a sensory activity where children can illustrate their ideas freely. Adding other tools and equipment, like dough or paint brushes, helps them channel their creative energy into artwork. Asking your little one “what can you make next?” can also be a fun way to spark their creative exploration and use their imagination for their next creation.
Enhances social skills
Through messy play, your child has the opportunity to develop their social skills and learn essential interpersonal skills, like sharing and empathy. For example, they’ll learn to share equipment, such as pens and paintbrushes, with their friends, or improve their teamwork skills by working with a friend to jointly build a dough mountain.
Playing in groups also encourages children to show each other how to use a tool or play a certain way, which enhances important cognitive skills like teaching. This also allows them to build bonds while learning to work together and respect others’ ideas.
Builds confidence and decision-making skills
Two vital aspects of a child’s development are confidence and decision-making skills, and messy play can help flourish these skill sets. When your little one crafts a unique creation and you praise their efforts, not only does it boost their self-esteem, but it also reinforces their confidence.
Similarly, when you encourage them to handle challenges on their own – like if they mix too much water with sand and it becomes muddy – helps them build a sense of capability and independence, which leads to stronger decision-making skills.
4 messy play ideas for toddlers
There’s a wide range of messy play activities that are catered to toddlers. From exploring the outdoors to creating wonders in a sandpit, these activities provide different play ideas for endless learning. Here are four messy play ideas that are perfect for your little one:
- Make use of the outdoors – the great outdoors are brimming with sensory play ideas, such as puddles, crunchy leaves, and mud for example. The best thing about being outdoors is that there is no clean up involved, making it a fun activity for everyone.
- Get your toddler involved with mealtimes – this is a great way for your child to get hands-on learning experience with food as they can work and taste with different textures, colours, and flavours. Get them to help prepare dinner by allowing them to pour and mix different ingredients.
- Consider investing in a sandpit – a versatile investment for messy play, pouring, sifting, or sculpting sand is perfect for your toddler to enhance their personal development including improving their fine motor skills, stimulating cognitive skills, and igniting creativity.
- Bathtime playtime – splashes and bubbles create intriguing sensory experiences for children and incorporating everyday items like plastic cups or sieves make for great bathtime play tools too.
Find out how we encourage messy play
It’s clear to see the benefits of messy play for early childhood development – from encouraging creativity and enhancing cognitive skills to promoting fine motor and language skills. It’s the perfect opportunity for children to have fun while learning and developing essential skills.
At Stepping Stones, we have a large indoor playroom and four outdoor play areas that are full of fun and wonder for your little one. From toys and play equipment like slides, swings, sandpits, water trays, and more to a woodland corner with logs, rocks, and soil, your child has all the available resources to get involved with messy play and enhance their development.
If you’d like to come and see our play areas for yourself, don’t hesitate to book a visit with us. Alternatively, if you have any questions about our nursery, feel free to get in touch with us today.
Messy play FAQs
What are some of the safest materials for messy play?
Some of the safest materials for messy play include sand, water, rice, pasta, and non-toxic paints, but we always recommend having an adult present when your child is playing with messy materials. It also goes without saying to avoid sharp or hazardous objects for young children.
How often should children engage in messy play?
Parents should encourage children to get involved with messy play as often as they can and get them to play with different materials each time so they can get used to different textures. Outdoor play is also a great messy play activity as you don’t have to worry about cleanup.
What safety precautions should parents take for messy play?
Parents should always keep a close eye on their children during messy play activities. Avoid using any sharp objects, and particularly small objects as these could potentially be a choking hazard. Be sure to use non-toxic, natural materials too, like sand and water, to avoid any harm coming to your child.
How can parents encourage messy play while minimising stress and mess?
You can opt for activities with easy-clean setups, such as using washable mats or covering surfaces to avoid damage to furniture. You could also plan simple messy play activities like playing with water or toys to create minimal mess and stress.