My brother and I caught red-handed painting our mother’s refrigerator with chocolate syrup.
Has this ever happened to you before? You turn around for only a few seconds and come back because your child has been a little too quiet, only to find that they have gotten into something you’d rather them not. It can be frustrating to come back to a mess. Parents are so busy, and adding time to clean a refrigerator painted with chocolate syrup can feel like quite an inconvenience. As a young mom of a toddler, I’ve had my fair share of finding that my daughter has made a mess, and I’m sure it will continue to happen occasionally. As frustrating as this can be, there are many benefits to creating opportunities for children to engage in messy play.
Messy Play is developmentally appropriate.
Children are drawn to this kind of play. In an article written by Heather Gruetman, she speaks of Piaget’s theory of development and two of his stages, the sensorimotor phase (ages 0-2) and the preoperational stage (ages 2-8). She states, “The sensorimotor stage from birth to two is all about using the senses to explore this brand-new world. How things feel, taste, sound, look like, and how your baby moves in order to explore these things aids in their cognitive learning.” This quote explains why young children are especially attracted to those things that seem the messiest. It’s easy to forget that our children just got here. This is their first time processing all this brilliant sensory information that tells us about our world. While children are young, it is the opportune time to expose them to various textures, temperatures, smells, tastes, sounds, and sights.
Messy Play Aids Children in Developing Their Motor Skills.
Messy play is so helpful for strengthening little hands and fingers. It is an opportunity to practice squishing, ripping, molding, rolling, and cutting. Gruetman states, “Using the hands and fingers promotes fine motor development such as finger dexterity, hand strength, and shoulder strength. These skills are the building blocks for future handwriting. Using the senses of balance and body awareness enhance gross motor skills.” So, messy play doesn’t only aid in strengthening our fine motor skills crucial to writing; it also builds on essential gross motor skills.
Messy Play Supports Children’s Cognitive Development.
As the quote above states, messy play is beneficial for children’s physical development and crucial for their cognitive development. It is incredible to me how even early mathematical skills can be fostered by messy play. Children can practice size ordering by rolling different-sized balls of playdough and putting them in order. They can learn basic geometry by drawing shapes in the mud. Young toddlers can build on their vocabulary as they describe the materials they are handling. Seriously, the possibilities are endless.
I recently learned of a new concept conceived by Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, called cognitive disequilibrium. He believed that cognitive disequilibrium was a moment of confusion or puzzlement that was useful in the process of learning. It causes our thinking to change in order to take in new information. In an article written by Bernadette Duffy, head of Thomas Coram Centre for Children and Families, she gave an example of cognitive disequilibrium in young children:
“Bubbles intrigue the babies at Thomas Coram and watching their first encounter is fascinating. Their previous experience has led them to believe that spherical shapes such as bubbles are solid and can be held, so as the adult blows the bubbles, they reach out to catch them. But as soon as their hand closes on the bubble it vanishes. The look of surprise on their face as they puzzle on this new insight is a moment of cognitive disequilibrium.”
Messy play allows children to have hands-on experience with their environment. They can make hypotheses of how the material will react to specific interactions. When things don’t go as expected, they are put in a state of cognitive disequilibrium, which allows them to acquire new information about their environment.
Messy Play Builds Social and Emotional Skills.
When multiple children participate in messy play, we create an environment where they can share ideas, take turns, and work together to accomplish goals. This causes children to learn from each other and aids them in developing coping skills that will be invaluable to them as they grow. Messy play also gives children plenty of practice managing their impulses and following directions, for example, learning not to put slime in their hair or keep playdough on the table. I also strongly recommend including children in the clean-up process after messy play; this teaches them independence and respect for their environment.
How to Create Opportunities for Messy Play Without Being Too Overwhelming for Busy Parents.
I know that messy play can be overwhelming for parents. With everything parents work so hard to accomplish for their children, is there room for messy play? You can do it, and it can happen simply and naturally. Going outside and letting children play in the grass, the dirt, or a nearby pond is a fantastic place to start. The outdoors is a great place to get messy because it helps to limit the mess that is going on within the home. If you are feeling adventurous and want to do a messy activity indoors, keep it contained to a small area. Lay down a tarp or a towel and help your child keep their messy play within your set parameters. Also, keep the activity near a sink and a garbage can to help with cleaning up later.
Concluding Thoughts
This is me at Mud-fest
On the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services website, under messy play, it states, “Messy play offers one of the best integrated learning experiences young children can have.” I completely agree with this statement. Children can use all of their five senses through messy play to gain information about the world. It is impossible to ignore messy play’s benefits to children’s physical, mental, social, and emotional health. Although it seems like it would put extra stress on parents, messy play can be implemented simply and naturally.
I hope that you enjoyed reading this post. What are your thoughts on messy play? What are your favorite messy activities to do with your kids? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Citations and Related Reading
The Importance of Messy Play and Sensory Play for Children (growinghandsonkids.com)
Designing Messy Play for Infants and Toddlers | ECLKC (hhs.gov)