Benefits of Water Play!

Water and Kids

It is starting to get beautiful out and one thing we are really missing is swimming. With COVID19, all the pools in our community are closed. I think this is the longest my kids have ever gone without swimming. I’ve been a water baby my whole life and am so happy that my kids love to swim as much as I do. During the winter, we swim at least twice a week as a family (I swim 4 times a week) and in the summer …. that all just increases. Not this summer though, so we’ve had to get creative! We’ve been using the sprinker, watering can, hose and water tubs/buckets and we’ve been having a ton of fun (and learning along the way!).

Water play with kids is so important in terms of development. Water play helps develop motor skills, sensory play, problem-solving and social-emotional growth. I will walk through these points below and give some examples from our little family unit.

Motor Development

Water play gives many opportunities to develop fine and gross motor skills across all age ranges. Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination will be developed through actions such as pouring, scrubbing, stirring, squeezing and squirting!

Sensory Play

Water play is an awesome sensory experience. Kids are introduced to textures such as slippery and slimy and also temperatures!

Problem Solving Skills

If you put a stick in a tub of water, doe it sink or float? How about if you put a rock in? What would happen if you sat in the tub of water? Would the water go up or down? What happens when you get out of the water tub? Tons of problem solving opportunities!!

Social-Emotional Growth

This one is quite relevant in our household right now as we’ve got some water squirters that the kids love to play with. Squirting water at each other is all fun and games …. until it isn’t ;) Both kids are learning to recognize the desires and needs of the other and are working hard to listen to each other. It is a work in progress, but their awareness of both their actions and the other’s reaction to their actions has greatly increased and it has been really neat (but I will be honest - at times trying) to watch and be a part of.

Turn taking is also a big part of social-emotional growth and this is also something we are working on in our household. Talking about sharing and taking turns with the hose, sprinkler and watering can: these are real conversations we are having on a daily basis. All part of growing!

Tell us how you are turning to water this summer! How are you getting creative to keep your kids active, learning and of course cool!?