Sensory play is more than engaging in fun games and activities – sensory play is an essential part of a child’s development. From day one, babies begin to absorb the senses around them; sensory play helps children to connect with their environment and identify what sensory information is useful and what isn’t.
Children explore the world using their senses, such as touch, sight, smell, sound, and taste. Exposure to these senses through engaging and functional play encourages positive cognitive development.
In 2025, the importance and benefits of sensory play is more widely known than 20+ years ago. Sensory play is now often intertwined in high-quality childcare and early learning centres, helping children in early education to begin to understand and connect with the world around them.
What is sensory play?
Sensory play directly activates and stimulates a child’s senses. Sensory play involves activities where children can explore different sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and visuals. These activities often include playdough, block building, finger painting, swinging, taste tests, musical instruments, and jumping.
At Raising Stars, we’re passionate about integrating sensory play into our early childhood education. Within our early learning centres, we get to see first-hand how the adaptable and accommodating nature of sensory play helps children of all ages and neurotypes self-regulate and facilitate learning and growth.
The importance of sensory play
Sensory play is key in a child’s ongoing learning, development, and well-being. Engaging in sensory play allows children to explore the world around them and understand the needs of different sensory information. Through sensory play, children can create stronger connections to useful sensory information and filter out unnecessary information.
Quality childcare and early education centres understand the importance of sensory play and incorporate it throughout activities and lessons. Sensory play is integrated into childcare centres’ activities and classes to help children:
- Enhance memory and observational skills
- Encourage problem-solving, creating, and independent thinking
- Support brain development and fine motor skills
- Develop communication and social skills
Benefits of sensory play by age
Babies (0 to 1 year)
Sensory play allows babies to explore freely and discover new things, which helps little ones to develop new connections in their brains. Sensory play also supports language development as babies link experiences with their senses and begin remembering the words that went with these experiences. Babies typically enjoy tactile and sound sensory play, like touching various objects and surfaces and hearing how different materials create different sounds.
Toddlers (1 to 3 years)
Toddlers begin to ask questions, express wants and needs, and make sense of the people and things around them; sensory play provides the perfect tools to do each of these.
This is where children start to think critically, creatively, and independently. Toddlers begin to develop an understanding of new concepts like time and sequences, and can better process instructions and express needs. Toddlers also improve fine motor skills through tactile, vestibular, and proprioception sensory play.
Children (3 to 5 years)
Sensory play furthers communication, fine motor skills, problem-solving, and language development for children between three and five years old. At this age, children can start to understand the importance of relationships, learning, critical thinking, and their bodies. Using imagination while creating art or building different shapes, enhancing fine motor skills while playing musical instruments, and incorporating maths, science, and language in play will further encourage these developments.
Types of sensory play
As high-quality childcare and early learning providers in NSW, Raising Stars specifically emphasises play-based learning, including sensory play. We increase exposure to new concepts and ideas, support creative and imaginative environments, and use sensory play as an essential tool in our quality play-based program. Types of sensory play quality childcare centres, like Raising Stars, use include:
Tactile
Tactile sensory play refers to the sensation of touch. It involves exploring objects with hands and teaching children about textures, temperature, vibrations, and pressure. Tactile sensory play includes playdough, finger painting, slime, sandbox, water play, and instruments.
Visual
Visual sensory play includes activities where children can explore colours, shadows, patterns, toy cars and aeroplanes, and hide and seek games, which promote vision development.
Vestibular
The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, maintains steady balance and movement. Vestibular sensory play activities include rolling around, hanging, swinging, and jumping, all of which activate and strengthen various ear receptors.
Auditory
Auditory sensory play helps children differentiate sounds and sharpen their hearing skills. Playing clapping games and musical instruments, as well as reading books, can help them develop skills like understanding instructions and directions.
Olfactory and Taste
Olfactory (smell) and taste sensory play involves engaging the nose and taste buds. Games and activities like smelling flowers, taste testing, and smell tests encourage children to explore their smell and taste senses.
Proprioception
The proprioception sensory system is located in the muscles and joints. It provides a sense of body awareness and controls force and pressure. Proprioception sensory play, including pushing, pulling, and jumping, helps children develop spatial awareness of their bodies.