If you have a toddler, I'm fairly sure you would have experienced those days when your child seems to be moody and difficult for no apparent reason. My brilliant mother gave me some great advice for those days, which has worked a treat for my daughter. Drumroll please....WATER PLAY!!
Although it’s not a magic pill to cure grumpy little munchkins, it seems to calm them very quickly. It makes sense, if you think about it: remember how you feel at the beach, or on a boat? Zen gardens have running water through them, water features are popular for their calming qualities, beauty spas have relaxation pools and play waterfall-type sounds to help relax clients, and so on. Why would our children react any differently than we do?
There are so many ways to introduce your tot to water play. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Let your kids help you water the garden; give them their own little watering can, if possible
- If you don’t have access to a paddling pool, or if weather is inclement, run the water in the bathtub, put your bubs in their bathers and have ‘indoor pool’ playtime
- When Eden was about nine months old onwards, I used to lay some towels on the tiled area of our home and fill a shallow tub with lukewarm water. I laid out rubber duckies, funnels, small containers, sieves, small jugs, etc for her to play with.
- When she got a bit older, I set the area up in the same way, but gave her a plastic doll, washcloth, empty bottles of shampoo/conditioner and a spare towel, so she could bathe the doll. If your child's doll has hair, add a comb. This is a great one to incorporate a bit of role play.
- On a day to day basis, if you need to fill a sink or the bath, let your child hold their hands under the running water.
- I love letting Eden "do the dishes". I just fill my sink with water and a squirt of detergent, set out a sponge, a bottle brush, a chux cloth and steel wool, and throw a few plastic plates and spoons, a sieve, tongs, wooden spoons, etc, into the sink. She stands on a stool, and washes, and re-washes, and re-washes again, and when she's eventually done she has pruney hands and a big smile on her face. Tip: don't include plastic bowls or cups unless you're keen to see how much water can end up on either your child or the floor. I speak from experience.
- For babies, take advantage of any time you have an extra pair of hands helping you, to make their bath time a bit more interesting. You could use a shaker from your kitchen (or something else with lots of holes) to pour water over bub's tummy. You could teach them to pour with a little container, or splash with their feet (a pain to clean up, but great for teaching cause and effect, and very fun for your little one). Experiment with props to see what your baby enjoys.
- Lay some towels on the floor (or do this outside) and fill a shallow, wide tub with warm water. Let your littlie stand and splash around in their undies or nappy, holding your hands to keep their balance.
If you incorporate water play into your child's day, you're providing them with an outlet for their emotional frustrations and I reckon you'll begin to see a real difference. Let me know what you think! ~ L.
I wish I had thought of this earlier! On a warm day recently, I put a bit of water into a shallow container, popped baby Ava into her highchair and added some bits and pieces for her to play with: plastic toy food, a rubber sieve, measuring spoons, wooden spoon and a spatula. Then, I stood back and let the splashing begin! 
If you're looking for an activity to promote fine motor skills and introduce your tot to the concepts of transference and volume, then this is it! It was so easy to set up, and occupied Eden for a solid 45 minutes while I cooked dinner.
You have to buy a pack of foam sheets (try saying that five times fast, foam sheets, foam sheets, foam sheets...). They're only 50 cents for a pack of 10 sheets (yup, I just double checked my receipt, 50 cents folks!), and they're such a versatile item to add to your craft box. 
I drew some basic shapes onto some sheets with a pencil, then cut them out - keeping the off-cuts too, as they tend to make the most interesting forms. I gave them to Eden with a shallow container of water and a sponge brush, and she brushed the foam shapes with water and stuck them to the window. 
The concept is for your child to create pictures on the windows, - which Eden did, but then she put the sponge brush away and started soaking the foam in the water. She told me she was washing them 'til they were nice and clean, then hanging them out to dry. She also used some squares as sponges, cleaning up the drops of water on the floor ("is messy, messy, messy. That's better, hooray!"). She's been at it for an hour and a bit now, with no signs of abating! 
