Nicky Jansen
❤ De-stimulate with sensory toys❤
This blog post will be online in mid-December. It's a time of intense stimulation and emotional outbursts for many children. I hope that by the time you read this, the children will be asleep and you'll be taking a moment to de-stress yourself ;). Enjoy reading! 😉
Offering sensory toys can bring calm to the processing of too many stimuli, or in short: overstimulation . 😵
Every parent has encountered an overstimulated child who can't seem to control their emotions. We already know that ignoring or blocking out emotions isn't the long-term solution. Allow emotions to exist and help your child calm down. Under the motto " calm brings calm ," offering sensory materials is ideal for such moments.
Sensory toys stimulate the senses and encourage further exploration. By offering toys with bright, contrasting colors, sounds, or different textures, you encourage your child to explore further with their senses and also shift their focus. Conversely, it's best to keep the environment understated with soft pastel or earthy tones.
Tip: Sensory play often also trains fine motor skills. This motor skill of learning to use the muscles in your hands properly is crucial for learning to write, cut, build, and so much more.
Other benefits of sensory play:
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Intelligence: Children are cognitively challenged. Their memory and hand-eye coordination are further developed. 👀🖐
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Stimulating language development: New sensory stimuli encourage children to explore verbal and nonverbal ways to express themselves. This expands their vocabulary. 🗨
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Fine motor skills: Sensory play and fine motor skills go hand in hand. The ideal preparation for tying shoelaces, building, writing, and more. ✍
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Social skills: Sensory toys can encourage your child to play more interactively, share with others, build self-confidence, and communicate, among other things. 🙍♀️🙍♂️
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Calm down: As mentioned above, sensory toys often help calm overstimulated children. They shift their focus and can process stimuli better, calming themselves down. 🧘♀️🧘♂️
Sensory play is very easy to make yourself. All you need is a container or sensory table (e.g., the IKEA Flisat children's table). Add some kinetic sand or colored rice/pasta/chickpeas. Combine this with small cars, animals, and more, and your child can explore to their heart's content. There are also companies like @out_of_the_box_play that share ideas about sensory play. Nathalie De Martelaere even wrote a book about it called "Speel" (Play)! Highly recommended for anyone looking for inspiration for smart play and discovery.
Do you have any questions about this topic? Feel free to email us at info@littlemoustache.nl and we'll be happy to answer all your questions.