Kids' water play: encouraging cool-down fun

Water play is a great way to keep kids occupied on hot days, particularly those ages one to six. It's easy. Just find a spot, indoor or outdoor, where you don't mind water mess. Place a small wading pool on the ground or a large tub or dishpan on a table and prepare to go to town. As with any water activities, you will want to make sure you supervise your splasher.

Once you have your body of water, add a bit of food coloring-try blue, green or purple!-to make the water easier to see and visually appealing. Then, it's time to fill it with goodies sure to stir a young imagination: boats, cars, sea animals, rocks, shells, sponges, buckets, waterwheels, shovels, cups, plastic bottles, funnels and more. Miniature fishing poles, pool accessories like diving rings and squirt toys can add to the mix. Add some retrieval tools like tongs, fish tank nets and kitchen implements.

Children are natural water babies, so it's unlikely you will have to tell them what to do with their water environment. Especially with younger kids, start off with just the water and a toy or two, then add items as their interest wanes.

Put on some light music and watch your child while away the day keeping cool, having fun and learning developmental concepts like empty/full, heavy/light and shallow/deep. You can also heighten the sensory experience by squeezing some baby shampoo into the tub for bubble fun, or by adding a few drops of an extract with a pleasant scent, like lemon or peppermint. If you're outside, you may also want to incorporate the fun and refreshing spray from a hose. Don't forget to encourage your kid to look for rainbows caused by the refraction of the sun's light!

You'll want to empty your pool or tub after each use to avoid bacterial growth and to discourage insects.

Creating a homegrown water table or buying one from a toy store is a great start, but there are many other ways to arrange for happy water play. Set up a tub of sudsy water, a clothesline and some pins and bingo, it's doll's laundry day! A tub filled with foam letters to be fished out with nets or scoops can be a terrific way to teach the alphabet or spelling. A paintbrush and a bucket of water can encourage your little worker to "paint" the patio, slide, sidewalk or playground equipment.

Of course, every parent remembers having fun in the sprinklers as a child. Encourage Just make sure you supervise your child to help avoid cuts, scratches and bruises.

Gallons of watery fun can also make for a terrific play date or party. Step up the supervision a bit (you might want to enlisst another parent to help out) and invest in a sprinkler toy like the Geyser Blast Kids Sprinkler, where youngsters can jump over an unpredictable spinning spray (about $17-$22) or an old-fashioned Slip 'n Slide ($20 to $25). Cheaper provisions can include water balloons for fighting or tossing; limit balloon play to older kids, as balloons pose a choking danger for toddlers.

There's no limit to the fun that kids can have with water play. So ready, set, h2o!

Learn more about this author, Sarah Torribio.
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