Baby Play: Cotton Wool Balls

Ava (my one year old) is so much fun to watch when she plays. She's such a little explorer! Everything is new and exciting to her and she has no preconceived ideas about how to play. A simple stimulus - such as cotton wool balls and some supplies from around the house - and she's all set.

When I set out a few bowls, a mini sieve, a spoon and cotton wool balls for her, she got so excited! Her little face lit up, and I swear it was as if she was thinking "I know what to do here!"


Here she is exploring putting the cotton in and out of the bowl and sieve...

She stirred the cotton in a plastic box, quite pleased with the sound it made (and the mess she was making!)...

My cutie bubba girl!

... Which led to another discovery: banging these things together makes loud noises! Woo Hoo! And so it began - spoons banging on stainless steel bowls, ceramic platters, the floor, the TV unit, everything!!  Our poor ears.

Ava played with the cotton wool ball set up for at least an hour. Yup, an hour. For a one year old, that's huge! It's the adult equivalent for a full working day! Well, ok, I'm just guessing, but near enough!
This is a great activity for stimulating your child's sense of touch through offering different textures to play with, and helps develop hand-eye coordination. Please, please try this with your younger tot (10 month old - 18 month old)! It's easy, cheap, quick to set up and engaging. Only one word of warning: getting the cotton fluffy bits out of carpet is quite a task - make sure your vaccuum cleaner is up to the challenge first, or else do it on a hard surface.


Thanks for reading! ~ L.