How Old to Start Sensory Play?

Somewhere down the line we’ve turned sensory play into this “sit here and play in this bin with these tools and this filler,” but y’all, there’s nothing new under the sun and “sensory play” has been around forever.

From the moment your babe is born, they start their sensory journey, whether you create intentional exposures or not. Your heartbeat, the movement of your chest, the way your body sways as you wear or hold them, the warm light through their sleepy eyelids and on their skin, how your skin feels on theirs, the feathery touches they receive from your fingers grazing their toes, the feedback as you gently squeeze their hand as they grab onto your finger, their proprioceptive system being activated as their pressure is applied to their belly during tummy time, the texture of water in the bath...

This is all input informing them of the world around them and their place in it. So while there are really beautiful invitations out there, I’ll always encourage you to notice what your child notices. They truly receive such a high amount of sensory input just from being outside and with an engaged parent.

However, I totally recognize people want an actual age to shoot for beginning the “sit and play in this bin” kind of sensory play, and I’d suggest 16 months, give or take. “GIVE” a few months if they are particularly “mouthy” (which is so normal, y’all!) or “TAKE” if they’ve got older siblings and want to be included, or tend to explore more with their hands instead of things going straight into their mouth. Each child is different and there truly is no rush. With what we know about attention span, communication, and development in general, sixteen months might be a good starting point.

Up until then, you can STILL give rich, sensory experiences. A corn ear you plan for dinner, a leaf of kale on a baking sheet with a little water, beach shells in a bottle (all supervised of course, friends), a pomegranate from the Farmers Market.

My goal in this space is to help demystify sensory play. We are so quick to see finished products on Pinterest or Instagram, but what we don’t see if the infrastructure underneath, making sensory play manageable and an actual delightful rhythm for your family. One where you aren’t bracing for a catastrophic clean up, play dough in the hair kind of experience. Children aren’t inherently born knowing these boundaries for a sensory bin. We need to explicitly guide and teach.

When you are ready to jump into sensory bins, start HERE. It’ll give you five guidelines to make sensory play approachable and help build a consistent rhythm for this play. We also have an IGTV video that will be helpful as well. And don’t forget to preregister for our Ecourse that will cover all things sensory play!

So feel the freedom to let your child be little a little longer and enjoy the simple, everyday invitations.