Why Your Child Should Move, Touch, and Experiment

Children are naturally curious, and they have a lot of fun playing, moving, and experimenting, but they also learn from it – especially when their senses are activated. Read on to find out why physical movement and good sensory integration are crucial for your child’s development, learning and well-being.

Highlights: 

• From birth, children utilise their senses to help them understand the world around them.  
• When children engage in active playtime, their senses are activated, they remember and learn. 
• If your child’s sensory motor skills are in place, they will be able to focus better and learn faster. 
• You can easily help activate your child’s senses e.g. by going to the playground. 

Sensorimotor Skills and Learning 

Sensorimotor Consultant, Mette Drescher Jensen, explains why sensory motor skills are so important: 

“From birth, your child utilises all their senses to help them understand the world around them. Later, your child will be able to learn faster, remember better, and stay focused for longer if their sensory motor skills are in place. These skills develop the fastest when your child is young, and all your little child’s activities and movements help prepare their body and brain to learn.” 

The good news is that you can easily help activate the senses of your baby, toddler, or pre-schooler just by encouraging them to move, touch and explore, and by making sure they have some secure physical settings where they can develop and challenge their gross and fine motor skills. 

How to Activate Your Child’s Senses When You Play 

This is something that happens naturally. Every time your child is playing, experimenting and being physically active, their senses are activated, and brain development instigated. Mette Drescher Jensen explains: 

”The whole foundation for learning letters, reading, writing, counting etc. is playing. Your child learns through their body and their senses. The more senses that are involved in learning something new, the better your child will remember it. Your little boy or girl learn shapes, sizes, weight, and distances when they play. Therefore, you should encourage your child to play and move freely. Allow your child to experiment, to fail and then try again.  
Your child learns through all types of play. Outdoor playing such as climbing a tree, jumping, swinging, sliding, and playing in the sandpit are great for activating your child’s senses. The possibilities are endless.” 

So, you don’t have to come up with learning games and activities for your child to learn new things. When you encourage your little one to move with joy and allow plenty of time and space to explore, touch and experiment, you help activate the senses and open up a world of fun, learning and development for your little one.