7 Incredible Benefits of Play Dough for Kids
The benefits of play dough for child development are not something that should be overlooked! There is a reason this is a classic and timeless piece in most households.
As children squish, roll, and shape this doughy material they develop and practice many important skills. From improved coordination to enhanced concentration, the benefits of play dough are truly endless.
If you want added bonding time with your little ones, you can make homemade play dough using just a few simple ingredients!
So grab your dough and a few fun props and let your child enjoy hours of learning through play!
7 Amazing Benefits of Play Dough for Child Development
Here are 7 incredible benefits of play dough that can help your child develop to their fullest protentional!
1. Fine Motor Skills
Playing with playdough is one of the best fine motor activities in early childhood. As kids fold, mold, and maneuver play dough, they are strengthening those little tiny muscles in their hands and fingers.
Fine motor control is a major pre-writing skill that helps children learn to write with ease when they are developmentally ready.
Incorporating common household items such as buttons, beads, or cookie cutters can help facilitate your child’s fine motor development.
2. Coordination
Being able to coordinate hand and arm movements can actually be quite challenging for young children. Playing with playdough is a great way to practice body awareness and improve hand-eye coordination.
This playtime activity can also help to develop an important pre-writing skill called crossing the midline. When children do not practice moving their hands and arms across the center of their bodies, they tend to have uncoordinated and awkward writing techniques.
Having proper coordination is incredibly important in helping your child be confident in their skills both in and out of the classroom.
3. Emotional Regulation
Play dough is an amazing tool to help young children develop emotional regulation.
The effects of playing with play dough are similar to that of a stress ball. This playtime activity is very calming and it can help relax an anxious or worried child.
It’s also a great way to calm a group of children who are overstimulated from a noisy environment.
Since emotional regulation is a necessary school-readiness skill, it is important we provide our children with fun activities to help them learn how to manage and regulate their emotions.
4. Language Development
Playing with materials like play dough is a great way to improve a child’s language development.
When kids play they are constantly learning new words to grow their vocabulary. Through this type of play, they practice using many different verbs like roll, cut, squeeze, and smash. They also gain a better understanding of descriptive words like sticky, stretchy, and lumpy.
Playing with play dough is also a great way to improve social skills. Kids love talking about their creations with others and the more they engage in conversation the more they develop their language and social skills.
5. Science and Math Skills
Kids learn about complex concepts the best when they are presented through hands-on experiences.
Making play dough together at home is a fun and easy way to explore the maths and sciences. As children measure and mix the ingredients, they learn how different substances come together to form something new.
You can also use play dough as a learning tool to teach counting, sorting, and categorizing which are all very important early math skills.
6. Creativity
One of the most amazing benefits of play dough is the effect it has on a child’s creativity.
Kids basically have to start from scratch to make something special from a plain ball of dough. Through their imagination, they can create whatever they want, whether that’s a chocolate chip cookie or an erupting volcano!
To spark your child’s creativity even more, try including different props and tools, or even different materials such as sand or water into their playtime.
The more children grow and develop the more creative they will be when playing with play dough.
7. Attention and Concentration
Playing with play dough is a great sensory activity to improve your child’s attention span and concentration.
Since playdough requires children to sit in one place for extended periods of time, it forces kids to focus on their creations.
The more children play with play dough, the more intricate and detailed their creations will become. Offering play dough during kids’ free time is a great way to keep them busy while also improving their attention span over time.
Remember…
Even though play dough can be a little messy, it is worth the mess! There are so many amazing benefits of play dough and the opportunities to learn and create are truly endless!
I hope you enjoyed learning about the benefits of play dough for kids! Happy playing!
