The Benefits of Water Play in the Early Years.
The Benefits of Water Play in the Early Years.
Making a Splash!
The attraction and joy of playing with or in water is almost universal in young children. Children can spend hours pouring, splashing, jumping or soaking in water. So why do young children enjoy water play so much? Are there any benefits of water play to their development? Yes! In fact, all nature based play materials e.g. water, sand, grass, sticks, stones, trees etc share many properties which make them both enjoyable and beneficial to children’s physical and mental health and development.
Combining natural materials with water play
Natural materials tend to have irregular and varying shapes which enables children to play with them in lots of different ways. Combining water play with toys such as animal figures, dolls, vehicles, or other natural materials such as stones, sticks or sand enables children to change the game or expand themes from one play session to the next.
Research shows that this type of ‘unstructured’ play has many benefits to children’s mental health. Through play, children are transported to another place where they can defeat the ‘baddies’, play teacher, ‘house’ or any other role they choose. This can help them feel less powerless in stressful situations in ‘real life’ and thus less anxious and upset about events outside their control.
Free play is also a great way for children to practice and gain confidence in interacting with other children. When a game has no clear rules and fluid themes, children can participate at any level they feel comfortable. Natural environments and materials tend to be easier to tolerate for sensitive or anxious children. Nature based free play can often be an activity they feel more confident interacting with their peers in.
In summary, water play is an activity that is fun, soothing, imaginative and social. There are many benefits of water play for children and it can help build resilience for coping with stressful life events. But undoubtedly the best thing about water play for children is …you can make bubbles!!
By Ines Lawler, an occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience. Ines has worked with neurodevelopmental conditions, intellectual disability and more recently, mental health difficulties in clinics, home and education settings.