Indoor softplay area in Thurles

Soft play can be an incredibly fun experience for the little ones. However, this is not the only benefit of soft play for children. It also has demonstrated fundamental cognitive benefits. Soft play helps children develop their motor skills such as hand-eye coordination whilst in a safe environment to practise and develop their skills. The soft play environment will stimulate brain function and development and can help enhance children’s sensory processing abilities, which can improve their focus and attention.

It also helps children to recognise cause and effect - a skill which commonly starts around 18 months, reaching a more competent ability around 36 months. At which point children are able to begin making predictions on what potentially may happen and show indications of reflection over what causes things to happen. These are fundamental skills for children to learn and so doing it in a soft, protective environment allows them to discover and practise them freely and somewhat independently, thanks to the soft play cushions and sensory soft play equipment.

Another role of soft play in child development is the advancement of their social skills. By learning through play, children can gain a basic understanding of how the world around them works. As an example, if you’re not nice to someone, they won’t respond well to you. This is also an example of cause and effect in practice.

Soft play and socialisation go hand in hand. Children build kills and traits such as: confidence, resilience, self-esteem, independence, curiosity and how to cope with challenging situations. Learning through play also helps in developing language, imagination, and when to trust their instincts. Children can communicate and interact with their peers, allowing them to express their feelings, share ideas with one another, and build lasting relationships.

Having this level of intellectual development at a young age will give children a huge advantage as they get older and start to participate in society.

Another key benefit of soft play rooms for kids is physical development. As adults, we don’t tend to think about controlling our movements as it’s so hardwired in us. And when we’re children, it mostly happens naturally.

There are two types of motor development that children will learn - fine motor development and gross motor development. Fine motor development involves learning more delicate tasks, for example, moving smaller things with their hands and balancing. Whereas gross motor development includes bigger movements such as running, skipping, jumping and climbing.

Soft play helps children to develop gross motor development and fine motor development skills because there are so many activities on offer. Rope ladders, stepping stones, rollers and ball pits to name but a few. Climbing over obstacles and navigating the twists and turns of the indoor soft play equipment is a delicate task that requires a level of athletic ability and also decent motor skills. This combination of skills is what makes soft play so essential for a child’s development as it promotes good physical fitness, agility, coordination, and balance.

Regular participation in soft play can contribute to the overall physical health and well-being of children, helping to reduce the risk of obesity and related health issues.