5 – 7 minutes read

Hip Hip Hooray and Three cheers and all of that. We love our Soft Play Equipment and know that it is a great way to provide a safe and engaging environment for all children to explore their senses and process new information.

BUT I also really like what it does for us and by that I mean the parents, the carers, the teachers, the aides, the support workers etc. etc. Soft Play Equipment is not only fun to use but significantly reduces the risk of injury which means greater piece of mind for all of us who are caring for someone who loves to be active when they play and has a disability.

In this month’s blog, I want to talk about the benefits of Soft Play Equipment but I would also like to place an equal emphasis on YOU the people who manage the wellbeing of the young people in your cares and would like to assist you to reduce your levels of stress as your kids go about their play.

What do the experts say?

According to multi-sensory experts experia USA, sensory soft play is very popular with children of all ages and needs. Soft play provides a safe and fun environment for kids to explore and hone their gross motor skills.

I have seen this myself. I have loved watching kids of all abilities playing on Soft Play Equipment where their imaginations can take them to places in their minds that are anywhere but in the safe playing environment they are in. This is where the imagination allows the climbing corner to become a mountain like Everest or the soft foam Balance Kit becomes a foot bridge or an underground tunnel and the foam platforms transform into stepping stones across a river full of unknown dangers.

I can see what experia USA means when they say that Soft Play Equipment stimulate the senses, temps the super-active and offers a calming sensory experience all at the same time. I have seen kids get lost (only figuratively of course ha) in their own play time. The time that resets their minds as they leave their existing environments and explore the beautiful world of child’s play.

experia USA states that there are nine benefits of Soft Play. Now I am NOT going to disagree with the experts, but I actually think there is a tenth and I will leave my tenth till the end. www.experia-usa.com

 

Here they are:

1. Cognitive development and growth

One of the main benefits of soft play is its enhancement of the thought process; soft play helps children understand cause and effect. Soft play also helps a child to gain a comprehension between the relationship of items and hand-eye coordination.

 

2. Social skills

Although extremely popular with toddlers, sensory soft play is not limited to the younger years. Older kids often love to hang out on soft cushions and interact with one another. For some, social skills develop naturally. However, sometimes a motivator or safe place is needed.

 

Soft furniture can provide a hangout for such interaction and development. Using lights and sounds can also enhance the soft play area and make it even more enticing. What's more, if children are using the soft play area as a group, they will face new dynamics to share and practice teamwork

 

3. Security

When in a safe, sensory space, children can feel more secure within themselves, thus giving them a sense of security. The feeling of security within a soft play area can encourage movements and interactions that ordinarily might prove a challenge. As the child becomes more confident, these skills can then be transferred into the outside world.

 

4. Problem solving and adaptability

A new environment, such as a soft play sensory room, offers new opportunities to experiment and tackle problem-solving. These new situations require creativity to try new approaches and techniques to adapt and absorb what works in these new surroundings.

 

5. Creativity

One of the many benefits of soft play is how it can nurture and encourage creativity. Children can interact positively with the sensory soft play equipment to really engage their brain. A soft play area makes a great prompt for storytelling; for instance, a fort, playhouse or tunnel adds to the sensory experience.

 

6. Communication skills

New environments provide new opportunities to extend vocabulary and different ways to communicate! Children can learn to describe what they are doing and label actions such as 'pull' or 'push' or even learn the names of different textures such as 'rough,' 'soft' and 'smooth' with the use of soft play equipment.

 

7. Relaxing

A soft play area can be very therapeutic for the user. Soft play helps with engagement and increased communication and helps children relax as they are in a closed-off and safe space.

 

8. Exercise and sleep

When a child is in a soft play area, all their senses are stimulated. A soft play area is bright, colorful and most importantly, a fun space where a child can be free to explore! They can discover each piece of sensory equipment and run around as much as they want to. In turn, this should improve their quality of sleep that night – a positive result for parents and guardians!

 

9. Motor skills

Soft play encourages motor development as children can work on stepping, climbing, crawling, jumping and rolling without fear of injury. Having an open space with good sensory lighting can provide the sensory-motor diet needed to move and learn. With movement comes speech and language skills, which will support them in an education setting.

 

Within a soft play area, children are encouraged to throw, squeeze, squish, pull and push the sensory equipment. This is not only fun for the child but also emphasizes strengthening their tactile skills.

 

10. Hooray for Coffee Time – Now this is a little tongue in cheek BUT what I am really saying to all parents, carers, aids, support workers please look after yourselves. There are so many scenarios and so many levels of disability that there is no one size fits all when is comes to care advice BUT if you are looking to reduce injury risk as much as you can increase enjoyment it may be worth seriously considering setting up a Soft Play space in your home and or school or other environment that might be appropriate. Play time could even be coffee time too as you enjoy watching and monitoring kids as they explore your Soft Play equipment.

 

Thanks for reading my blog everybody. If you would like any more information on Soft Play or just to have a chat please feel free to reach out. I can be contacted on 1300 946 745 or hello@disabilityequiponline.com.au.

Until next time. Take care everyone.

 

Julie-Anne Dietz

Founder and Owner – DEO.

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