A child from 1 to 5 years old (the age, of course, varies – all children are different) actively explores the world using their five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. But it is touch – tactile sensations – that is one of the most important for development at this age. This is expressed in the fact that the child loves to touch and grab everything with their hands.
Why does this happen? Nature does everything for a reason. When grabbing an object, the child presses on it with their fingertips, where special endings connected to a part of the brain are located. This part is responsible for speech communication. Therefore, the more a child's fingers touch different textures, the faster and better they begin to speak, form sentences, express thoughts, and engage in dialogue.
For a child to explore the world in various ways — fluffy, prickly, smooth, wet, bumpy — it is important that these diverse textures properly impact them: from the fingertips to the brain, and then to speech.
How to organize this?
- Surround the child with toys of different textures.
- Make a tactile mat – a patchwork of different fabrics: silk, leather, velvet, cotton, linen, coarse textures. The child can walk, crawl, play, and touch the surfaces with their fingers on it.
- Use developmental furniture. This is exactly what the brand MAMA does.
For example, we have a highchair with holes in its backrest: shoelaces can be threaded through them – this teaches the child how to lace and tie shoelaces. The highchair turns into a training device.
There is an unusual table with puzzles in the tabletop: one can draw on it, or insert puzzle caps into the holes. This develops fine motor skills, coordination, and memory – as the child memorizes shapes and colors.
And also – a shelf with lower cabinets, whose fronts are made of different textures. Curious toddlers, crawling up to the lower drawers, always try to open them – and their fingertips come into contact with various surfaces, which also favorably affects development.
There are many opportunities. Develop in good health!
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