The Surprising Benefits of Sensory Play for Parents!

by Louise

Mother and child playing with PlayTRAY and Inspire My Play accessories

Louise @inspiremyplay

Part of the @InspireMyPlay team. Sensory play specialist and mum to two boys.

When we think of sensory play, the focus is often on how beneficial it is for children. After all, sensory activities — such as playing with sand, water, or even squishy playdough — are deemed essential for their cognitive, motor, and emotional development by educators all around the world. In our home I juggle multiple responsibilities, I work almost full time in my day job, I have two children in primary school and my husband works away from home at least half of the week. It's easy to feel overwhelmed, and I have often felt disconnected from the engaged, present parent I would like to be. But engaging in sensory play, even for short periods of time, offers a surprisingly powerful and simple way to re-connect with my children while simultaneously nurturing my own emotional well-being.

The Stress-Relief Power of Sensory Play for Parents

I think most parents can agree that managing daily stress can be a challenge whatever your life looks like. Whatever your home set-up looks like or who you have around you, the mental load can be overwhelming. The parent-guilt starts to creep in, telling us we should be doing more, playing more, being more present, or we start comparing ourselves with the staged examples we see on social media.

Personally, it takes a conscious effort for me to properly settle into a play activity at home without my brain constantly whirring away in the background, sifting through the to-do lists in my mind and mentally preparing for upcoming events - I have feigned interest or nipped in and out of games, more times than I care to admit.

This is how sensory play has offered me relief from the daily stress:

1. Mindful Moments

The stimulating nature of sensory play makes it much easier to remain in the present moment. The repetitive actions of squeezing playdough, pouring water, or feeling different textures can all naturally draw us into a state of mindfulness. Mindfulness doesn’t have to mean being still and quiet, in our busy household this would never happen anyway! Mindful moments can also be found by simply allowing the body to be occupied with a low-demand task that doesn’t place any extra challenge on your brain, allowing your mind to meander along as you play.

Even taking short mindful moments has been shown to reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, and promote relaxation, making it an ideal way to clear some of that mental clutter whilst giving quality time to our children.

2. Lowering Stress Hormones

The human body relies on it’s senses for so many things! When we engage in fun, tactile experiences, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system—the part of the body that controls rest and relaxation. When this part of our nervous system is ignited it decreases the stress hormone Cortisol in the body, helping us to feel calmer and think more rationally. We release endorphins which are the body’s natural “feel-good” hormones. This chemical boost helps humans feel more energized, positive, and relaxed. Babies and children know this instinctively and will seemingly spot opportunities to play anywhere and with anything – play is as natural as eating and breathing to them!

Getting stuck in with sensory play gives parents the opportunity to tap back into our own inner child and creativity.

3. A Quick, Effective Stress-Buster

Sensory play doesn’t require hours of preparation or long-time commitments. Even just 10-15 minutes of playtime can help relieve stress and reset the emotional state. It might take a few minutes to relax into it, but it’s always surprising how quickly you can become immersed and begin to feel the calming effects. Even a short period of play allows me to return to my daily tasks with a clearer mind and more balanced perspective.

Strengthening Parent-Child Bonds through Sensory Play

Of course there are many great ways to play. We love a good board game or card game in our house. Football in the garden or family Mario Kart is always popular too, but I’ll be the first to admit that role-play and make-believe games have never been that enjoyable for me personally.

With every winner there must also be a loser, art projects when there is a 3 year age gap can lead to self-comparison, role-play can often lead to power struggles, and so it goes on… so I find myself trying to appear present whilst also anticipating the next development or supporting them in managing themselves… never quite being as engaged as I would like to be.

One of the most beautiful aspects of sensory play for parents is that it creates unique opportunities for truly shared experiences. Engaging in these activities with my kids doesn’t just support their development—it strengthens our connection too, because there is no set of rules to be followed, nothing to win or lose, no right or wrong way to do it. We are just together enjoying a visually pleasing, tactile experience in our own way at our own pace and level, but together.

Here’s how sensory play connects me to my children in ways that other types of play sometimes cannot

1. Quality Time

By engaging in immersive play together, I’m showing them in a natural way that I value their point of view, their creativity, and their company exactly as it is. Children have a strong sense of when an adult is truly connecting with them and I believe that this type of shared experience fosters that connection and trust.

1. Non-Verbal Communication

Sensory play encourages non-verbal interactions – with the absence of rules, instructions or end goals children are often satisfied to play without lots of verbal input from me which is a lovely break from the norm. We play side-by-side and share observations, or ideas and ask to be next in line to use a tool, but I often find there is naturally less verbal interaction because they are immersed in their own exploration and encouraged to keep playing in that way by the fact that I am there doing the same, even if it’s just for a short while before I go back to adulting. This kind of low demand communication helps to regulate everyone’s emotional state, including mine!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Inspire My Play ® (@inspiremyplay)

3. Co-Parenting and the family unit

When their Dad is at home with us, sharing sensory play activities also means sharing in bonding with our children. When we all participate together after spending chunks of time apart the emotional connection isn’t just between a parent and their child, it is between all of us and re-establishes us as a unit in that moment.

The power of play for parents

So to summarise, when you take even just 10-15 minutes out of a day or a week to engage in sensory play, you are not just engaging in play with your children for their sake; you’re actively improving your own well-being. I hope this encourages you to give sensory play with your children a go and invite you to explore our blog and Instagram pages for inspiration on getting started!

You can subscribe to our newsletter here to receive our free eBook ‘Getting Started With Sensory Play’ as well as a 10% off code to use on our website.

We’ll send you regular ideas for play that are quick and easy to set-up using items you probably already have at home!

Happy Playing!