Sensory Play for little ones (without needing an entire Pinterest board).

Look, I’ll be the first to admit it—I’m a total sucker for a good Pinterest board. You know the ones: perfectly curated sensory trays, colour coded craft drawers, wooden toys placed just so on an aesthetic shelf.

But does this ring a bell?… you finally get your baby something new and exciting that you saw all over Instagram... and they go straight for the box it came in.
Classic.

That right there? That is sensory play. And as I said in my very first blog post, play doesn’t need to be complicated to be enriching.

REAL LIFE = REAL PLAY

The best thing you can do for your little ones? Interact with them and bring them into your world.
You don’t need themed activities or fancy setups. Everyday life is packed with the necessary sensory experiences for your little ones, right from birth.

Case in point: coffee at a cafe with your girlfriends.
It’s a huge sensory win for your baby, think new sounds, smells, faces, movement, and you get that much needed, soul-filling adult time (even if it’s not quite the same as going solo).
A total win-win in my opinion.

So what exactly is sensory play?

It is defined as any activity that stimulates any of your children's senses - sight, touch, hearing, smell or taste - as well as movement and balance. [Read more about it here]

But it is so much simpler than what you might have previously thought. Our everyday life is filled to the brim with sensory experiences. And here is the best part: you're probably doing so much more of it without even realising.

Everyday sensory wins you're probably already doing:

• Talking and singing to them (yes, even off key counts!)
  Your voice is both familiar and comforting from the moment they're born. So every time you speak, narrate your day, or sing silly songs, you're doing powerful things for your little ones. Stimulating their auditory senses in a safe way, helping them recognise rhythm and tone, and building language and communication skills.
  
  Try this: narrate your daily happenings, i.e. now we're putting on your socks, one and two! or sing a made up song whilst preparing their lunch.
  
  
• Splashing in the bath
  Bath time is a gold mine for sensory input.
  Water play stimulates touch, temperature awareness, movement, and can even become a soothing sensory experience for your little ones. Add a washcloth, or some bubbles and you're also introducing; cause and effect (water moves when i splash), fine motor practice and body awareness. You don't need to do anything, just throw in some toys and watch them explore.
  
  
• Playing peek-a-boo
  This isn't just a cute game to play with your little one, it's also brain boosting. Every time you disappear and reappear- your baby is learning about object permanence (that objects exist even when they can't be seen). It also helps develop social skills, anticipation and memory and emotional connection.
  
  
• Including them in cooking
  This can feel challenging to some parents, but you don't have to hand them a utensil to make it enriching, just include them. Pop them in their highchair, pram etc and narrate what you are doing, give them a wooden spoon to explore or ingredients to smell. This will help give them new smells, textures and even sounds to explore, whilst building their language development and increasing their connection and belonging.
  It may slow you down, but isn't that the point?
  
  
• Pram walks and nature adventures
  Going outside is the biggest open invitation for sensory exploration and stimulation. From sunlight to shadows, dogs walking past and leaves rustling, your little ones will soak in everything happening around them. It doesn't have to be a huge adventure, even a short stroll around the block will help stimulate their visual and auditory systems, introduce them to new smells, sounds and movements, and provide opportunity to create calm, develop observation skills and hopefully a nap!
  
  
• Taking them grocery shopping
  This is such a mundane task at times for us, but for our little ones its another HUGE sensory adventure. Such an abundance of colour, textures, sounds and smells! It provides the perfect opportunity to narrate with your child to boost their language development as well as building their visual tracking, visual stimulation and social observation.
  Try this: Saying things like; "look at the spiky pineapple", "feel the bumpy avocado" and "listen to the beeping at the register".
   
  
• Tummy time
  Another super simple sensory play activity for our little ones that needs little to no added resources. Not only is it amazing for helping strengthen their neck msucles (so important!), it also offers visual stimulation, gross and finer motor skill building and tactile feedback from the surface they're on (squishy mat, soft blanket, hard floorboards etc).
  Try this: Add a little hand held mirror or floor book to increase the sensory input, little toys that they can reach for or even lay beside them, face to face!
  
  
• Meal times
  This one is a no brainer. Food = a full sensory experience. Every baby will eventually begin exploring solids, but even if they are watching us eat, mealtimes offer exploration of their smell, taste, touch senses, as well as developing their fine motor skills through grasping and smooshing as well as enhancing their social and language development.
  Yes it's messy, but that mess is part of learning!

The truth is, you're probably already doing more for your baby's development than you realise - just by living life together.

You don't need to recreate Pinterest perfect activities or set up elaborate stations for every playtime/ Your voice, your cuddles, your everyday routines - they're enough!

So next time you feel that creeping pressure to "do more", remember:

Your baby doesn't need perfection, they just need you!

And if they'd rather play with the cardboard box than the Montessori toy?
That counts too.

You've got this, Mumma!
Share your everyday sensory wins in the comments -  and let me know if you'd like a follow up blog with some low-prep play ideas that still pack a sensory punch.