Water play as sensory play

Water play is play in and with water. It can happen in the bath, a pool or by splashing in a basin.

It is a great sensory, developmental and learning experience for children with additional needs. It can help release energy and be either invigorating or calming.

Playing with water also gives children a rich sensory experience. Moving their hands, arms or body through water lets them feel resistance. They may also explore how it moves and feels differently from air.

This helps build body awareness, coordination, and confidence through play.

Benefits of water play

Water play can have many important benefits for a child’s development.

Water play:

• releases energy
• can be either invigorating or relaxing and calming
• increases a child’s ability to concentrate on 1 activity

Motor skills

Playing with water helps a child develop hand and eye coordination skills.

Actions like pouring, squeezing, stirring or squirting can help develop fine motor skills. This includes the different grasp types needed for handling objects in daily life. such as the pincer grip.

Sensory

Water play can help children with sensory needs feel calm and engaged.

As they splash, pour and stir, they explore textures like slippery, frothy or slimy. They learn to notice warm or cold temperatures.

Moving in water also gives children with sensory needs gentle resistance. This activates the proprioceptive system - the sense that helps children understand where their body is in space. This can be regulating, helping children feel more settled and focused.

Water play also stimulates other senses. The sound of splashing, the sight of ripples and even the smell of bubbles or bath products. Together, these experiences support a child's sensory experiences in a fun and natural way.

Creativity

Water play allows children to explore and use their imagination. It gives freedom to choose and become creative.

Words

When playing with water, children will have the opportunity to learn lots of new words, such as funnel, sponges or drizzle.

Life skills

Water play can be therapeutic. It can help children feel relaxed and calm. They become absorbed in the activity, and it helps to improve concentration skills.

Water play often becomes a shared activity. Other people often join in the play, and this gives opportunities for sharing space and toys, taking turns, waiting, looking, listening and imitating.

Water encourages role play, such as washing the dishes or bathing toy dolls or teddies. This lets children practise real-life skills.

Setting up for water play

Prepare the area. Have a suitable space with towels for spillages.

Gather things to use.

These may include:

• plastic bottles
• jugs
• sieves
• funnel
• whisk
• empty yogurt cartons
• soup ladle
• wine corks
• toy tea set
• animals
• boats

Go fishing game

Play the Go Fishing game.

Put a small amount of water into a shallow container and add plastic fish, real shells, small toy animals, rocks and stones and use real fish nets.

Add bubbles for extra fun.