With the boom of technology and gadgets around us, our kids tend to get hooked on this habit quite early in their development. Excessive use of mobile phones and tablets can predispose children to a lot of health problems. In good old days, children were encouraged to find creative ways of staying engaged such as playing with the sand, coloring or making paper craft. Research suggests that letting your child play in sand can be very helpful for his/her health and well being.
Here are a few reasons why you should encourage your child to play in the sand more often:
1 . Helps To Practice Coordination
Playing with sand has been found to promote coordination skills in toddlers. The basic coordination skills include, bilateral and hand-eye coordination which one learns in the very first few years of our life. All these activities, while a child plays with sand, aids the use of hand-eye coordination (called visual motor integration) and helps him to read and write in the long run.
2 . Promotes Creativity
It allows and encourages the toddlers to create imaginary objects and build a story around them. It promotes creativity and enhances the child’s imagination. Sand sculpted objects can be decorated using pebbles, leaves and flowers that add to the overall artistic expression of the child. It pushes the child to think beyond his/her boundaries and therefore help in his/her overall development.
3 . Encourages Social Skills
Playing in the sand is usually a social activity. Even children aged around 4 and above can enjoy this activity. It will require them to talk, listen, share his thought/ ideas and listen to their friends’ ideas. It will help to enhance their vocabulary and will help them to practice his language.
4 . Promotes Cognitive Skills
Playing in the sand exposes an individual to different scenarios; one where he has dry sand and another where he may have wet sand. The child is exposed to use the two for playing which thereby help to enhance an individual’s cognitive skills. The building of structures and tumbling down of the structures provide them a sense to compare the two.
5 . Introduces Mathematical Concepts
Usually a child is made to play with his toys and other engaging games, however playing with sand exposes the child to ideas that include the concept of “more than”, “less than” or equal to. He tries to measure the quantity using spoons/ spatula or cups and understands terms mathematical terms much better.
6 . Aids Physical Development
Playing with sand involves a whole lot of activities such as filling buckets, making structures, drawing on the sand with a stick, decorating the created objects and many more. All these activities require digging, sifting, pouring, building and cleaning which needs a lot of energy. Therefore these activities help to develop a child’s muscles and gross motor skills.
So, having learnt why sand playing is considered as one of the ideal ways to further the development of your child’s mind and body, make sure you encourage your little one to enjoy these sand games. Stay Happy, Stay Healthy!