What is Sensory Play?

Sensory play is essential during a child’s development and it focuses on the senses. All children can benefit from sensory play and there are certain groups of children, who will benefit more for this type of play as all children need to be aided in learning how to use their senses. Babies and toddlers explore what’s around them by touch everything and put things in their mouths, make funny noises with their mouths and experiment with everything through sensory play.

When one thinks of sensory play, things like sand and water tables or clay and play-dough might come to mind, however sensory play is not just about touch;

but it is also about all the other senses. 

Sensory exploration is a child's way of examining, discovering, categorising and making sense of the world. Through taste sensory play a child will be able

to identify tastes like sour, salty or sweet.

Sensory play can also play an important part in calming children, as it can  regulate their internal discomfort, whether it is boredom, restlessness or

any other kind of agitation.