Playdough is something all of us have grown up playing with. As a child, I remember it was one of my favorites and kept me busy for a long time.
When Little Miss A started playschool I realized, playdough was an integral part of their curriculum and so was the case when she started formal school. I always wondered how does playing with playdough help in a child’s overall development?
As she played more with it I realized there are many benefits of playing with playdough. Playdough has been a part of the growing years of mostly all children and in many ways, it has a positive effect on their early childhood development.
Playdough might not be a favorite with parents because it dries up often and you find small pieces all over the house means more mess to clean up. However, the benefits of playdough cannot be compared to the cost or the inconvenience.
Playdough was introduced as a toy in the 1950s and considering its popularity is increasing every year, it sure is a great toy. In this post, we will talk about the benefits of playdough and how it helps in the development of a child.
Table of Contents
Benefits of Playing with Playdough
There are many benefits of playdough but the most important one is the countless hours of fun. Playdough helps in the learning and overall development of a child. Read on to know how one playdough can affect all kinds of development of a child.
Next, I will talk about the five areas of development of a child and how playdough can help in each one of them.
To know more about these areas and the milestones, you can read this post, What is Child Development and What Skills Do Children Develop at Different Ages?
Cognitive Development
The development of the brain is a part of cognitive development. The ability to think, figure things out, and explore things around them is known as cognitive development. This means the child develops the skill to solve problems and skills and knowledge which help them to decipher the world around them.
Experts say cognitive development is the area which parents should focus on as soon as they are born as this helps them in talking and in achieving other developmental milestones.
How Playdough Helps In Cognitive Development?
While playing with playdough, the teacher or you will ask the child what they are trying to make or what have they made. Many other questions can be asked and by doing so the person with the child works on the thinking process of the child and also helps them in imagination.
When these activities are done in a group, the kids listen to others and get ideas which further fosters their imagination and helps them think beyond their ideas. While they talk and listen they are working on their cognitive development as they get a new perspective on things and also see how they can solve problems.
Playdough and cognitive development have a close connection and thus, this tool is used by all educators and parents to help the child grow.
Social and Emotional Development
Social and emotional development is the ability of the child to interact and understand others around them. This also means self-control and their capability to help themselves.
I have always said the school cannot decide the future of your child. But yes, a school is one of the most important parts of a child’s growing years. This is because it is here the child develops many skills and social and emotional development being the most important.
In the last year with the pandemic, the kids have not gone to school and met their friends. The worst affected are their social and emotional skills.
How Playing with Playdough Helps in Social and Emotional Development?
Playing with playdough in schools and classes is a group activity. Though most of the time, the child is working with their playdough, still they are with adults and grownups.
Kids share tools, playdough, and other material and they also discuss what they are making and create stories around them while playing with playdough. This is one of the best benefits of playdough as in my opinion social and emotional development of a child is most important.
You should read the post, Why Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is Important?
Speech and Language Development
Understanding and using language to talk and communicate is what is meant by speech and language development.
When a child can talk and express his or her thoughts well, they not only connect better with people around them but this also helps them develop their confidence levels which are very essential in life.
How Playing with Playdough Helps in Speech and Language Development?
When a child is playing with playdough with their peer group or adults there are many times they need to talk and express themselves. For example:
- They ask for some tool or other colors
- They explain to their teachers what they have made
- They create stories around what they make
- Explain how they made it
- Listen to their friends
The ability to express is important and of all the benefits of playing with playdough, this one is very important. The child has to develop their speech and language to be understood by others and playing with playdough gives them a great platform.
Fine Motor Skill Development
Fine motor skills are very important and mostly all schools work on them. This is the ability of a child to use the small muscles of their fingers and hands. These help in holding pencils and writing and also for many other tasks in daily life like using scissors or picking up a small object.
Playing with Playdough and Fine Motor Skills
The development of fine motor skills is the reason we all think why kids are encouraged to play with playdough. This is true as playing with playdough develops the fine motor skills of a child.
Little Miss A’s school focuses a lot on fine motor skills and they have a weekly class with playdough. It is interesting to see how these kids learn to use their hands and fingers to make interesting objects.
Molding the playdough and making shapes and figures, the kids develop strength in their small hands. The kids roll, squish, flatten, etc. and all these help in the development of their muscles which later helps them hold pencils and pens.
Gross Motor Skill Development
Gross motor skill development is when the child develops large muscles of their body. The development of these muscles is important at all stages of life. This facilitates any kind of movement and improves the posture and agility of a child.
Playdough and Gross Motor Skills
Not many people understand and realize that playdough can help in the development of gross motor skills. Many physical therapists use it as a tool. For example, balls can be made from playdough and a child can roll it, throw it and catch it.
Also, a child can play with playdough in various positions. They can sit, stand, on a table and chair and many other ways. All these positions help in gross motor skills and develop the bigger muscles in their body.
Other Benefits of Playing with Playdough
The above benefits of playdough are written to cover the five areas of development of a child. It does not stop here, as playdough has many other benefits as well.
Playing with playdough works on many other skills of a child and helps in their growth and development.
Calming for Kids
This is one of the best benefits of playdough and as parents, we often do not realize this. Kids today are very hyperactive and making them calm is a task sometimes. Here is where playdough can come to the rescue.
Kids calm down when playing with playdough. Today morning only, we had tantrums for no reason. I asked her Miss A to play with playdough and she was busy and in less than 15 minutes she was happy and chirpy and forgot all the issues.
While playing with playdough, the squishing and squeezing are calming and it relieves stress, increases their focus, and helps release excess energy. Anxiety in toddlers and kids can be an issue and playdough is a great tool to help them.
Read 6 Helpful Tips to Handle Anxiety in Toddlers to know more ways to help your anxious child
Increases Hand-Eye Coordination
Playdough set comes with tools and cutters and by deciding what to use and when to use, the child unknowingly develops their hand-eye coordination which is essential for them for sports and other activities.
Numeracy and Literacy
Shapes, counting, measurements, proportions, etc. are some of the skills a child develops when playing with playdough. Kids can also make playdough at home with an adult and while doing this they understand measurements and also work on their scientific skills.
If you want to make playdough at home, watch this video, https://youtu.be/yl8c8ju4vLI.
Enhances Creativity
Playdough comes with molds and cutters and other tools. Using these and different colors, a child can make anything with playdough. If you are looking for such a set, check this one called Shape and Learn Textures and Tools, which we have been using with Little Miss A for a long time and she still loves it.
To enhance the creativity of your child, Lego and Playdough and Magna Tiles are some of the best ways. These are open-ended toys that can be used to make anything the child can think of. The idea and the execution both work on the creative skills of the child.
Increases Playtime
For a parent of the present generation, screen time is a nuisance and we are always looking for ways to reduce it. Playing with playdough is one of the most important benefits as this keeps them away from the gadgets and helps them focus and slow down along with developing skills.
We recently bought an ice-cream playdough set for Little Miss A. This keeps her busy for hours making and selling ice cream.
Why Generations Have Been Playing with Playdough
As adults, we do not understand or rather realize that a child has to learn and develop skills. We take things for granted, but these are extremely crucial for a child. Toys like playdough are a great tool. You must have now realized all the benefits of playdough and why it is the most recommended toy for kids. It is undoubtedly, worth the mess and your effort to clean up. The kids will have countless hours of fun while developing on skills.
