The Importance of Water Play for Children

We often tell families about the importance and outcomes of play. However have you ever seriously considered and reflected on children’s play and the opportunities you provide to achieve these outcomes.

Let’s look at water play…

We usually only provide this type of exploratory, sensory play in the warmer months however water play really should be part of our daily experiences.

Do you often find children “playing” with taps and water in the bathroom or intently watching the water dribble from their drink bottles or maybe secretly smuggling water into the home corner or sandpit to create more realistic experiences. Over the years I have observed many of these behaviours and started to question why water play was only available in summer. Why can’t we provide these wonderful experiences at any time of the year, if not daily?

So I started to do this through adding warm water to the water trough, allowing children to use water in their dramatic play for “cooking purposes” and of course for that great cup of tea! We also encouraged exploration of water and its many purposes such as measuring rain fall, creating a water wall fountain, water wheels, water in the sand pit, water with clay, bathing dolls, cooking experiences, gardening and of course for hygiene and drinking purposes. Water became part of our everyday curriculum and its importance was often discussed.

However during this transition phase we also noticed something else…. children appeared more settled and engaged, the water wall became a space where children would relax and self-regulate and have discussions about its flow and movement supporting different vocabulary and thinking.

So while we enjoy water play in these warmer months have a think about how water can become part of your every day practices as it not only invaluable to life and existence but also provides children with learning experiences like no other!