High Chair Sensory Play: 10 Fun Activities for Babies
If you’re a parent to a baby with hearing loss, it’s important to be aware of the activities that you can do with your little one to stimulate their senses and aid in their development. One option is high chair sensory play, which can keep your baby entertained and engage their senses while they enjoy their meal.
Read more sensory activities for babies 6-12 months
When my boys were little, one of the best places for them to play was in their high chair!
Once they started crawling, they were into everything! When I needed to do the dishes, fold laundry or cook dinner, I had to put them in the high chair to keep them put!
My middle child even did his early speech therapy appointments in his high chair!
The high chair can certainly be useful to a parent as a place to put your baby while you do a few, essential chores!
The best part is there are activities that your baby can play with while sitting in the high chair that stimulate their senses and allow you to get a few things done as well. Everyone wins in this scenario!
In this post, we’ll be looking at why high chair sensory play is beneficial and ideas for sensory activities that you can do with your baby while they’re in their high chair.
Why High Chair Sensory Play is Beneficial
Utilizing a high chair for sensory play is a convenient and effective method for engaging your baby in developmental activities.
The high chair provides a safe, contained space where your baby can explore various textures, colors, and shapes in a controlled environment.
Moreover, the high chair’s elevated design brings the play closer to the baby’s eyes, enhancing their visual focus and depth perception.
This setup also encourages fine motor skill development as the baby reaches for, grasps, and manipulates different objects.
Lastly, using the high chair for sensory play integrates fun and learning into meal times. This promotes a positive association between food and sensory exploration.
This could potentially foster an adventurous eater in the future. The convenience, safety, and developmental benefits make high chair sensory play an excellent choice for parents of babies with or without hearing loss.
fun high chair Sensory Activities
Sensory activities engage babies by stimulating their developing senses and promoting curiosity and exploration.
These activities often involve tactile materials such as water, food, or textured objects that babies can touch.
The activities also involve visual stimuli, such as brightly colored objects or light patterns. This captures a baby’s attention and foster their visual tracking skills.
All these experiences contribute to cognitive growth by enabling babies to learn about their environment, understand cause and effect relationships, and develop problem-solving skills.
Additionally, sensory activities also support the development of fine motor skills as babies manipulate objects. Additionally they allow babies to use gross motor skills as they move around to interact with their sensory environment.
With the right balance of challenge and fun, sensory activities can keep a baby engaged and entertained.
Here are a list of 10 high chair sensory play activities to get you started entertaining your baby today:
- Edible Paint: Encourage babies to create art with yogurt mixed with food coloring. It’s safe, fun, and encourages both tactile and gustatory exploration.
- Jello Play: Cool some colorful jello and let your baby squish, poke, and explore its unique texture.
- Ice Cube Exploration: Use plastic ice cubes or freeze small toys inside the ice for a fun and cool sensory activity.
- Dry Pasta Play: Fill a tray with dry pasta of different shapes and sizes. It’s perfect for promoting fine motor skills.
- Fruit and Veggie Exploration: Introduce various fruits and vegetables, let the baby touch, squeeze, and taste them.
- Water Play: Fill a small tub with water and add floating toys. This can be a great way to introduce the concept of cause and effect.
- Textured Cloth Fun: Provide pieces of cloth with different textures like silk, cotton, or wool for tactile exploration.
- Rice Container: Fill a small, sealed container with rice and shake it to create sounds, stimulating your baby’s auditory senses.
- Sensory Bags: Fill zip-lock bags with different materials like gel, beads, or sand. Babies can squeeze and prod these safe and mess-free sensory bags.
- Mirror Play: Attach a baby-safe mirror to the top of the high chair. Babies will love interacting with their reflection, promoting self-recognition.
Plant-Based Food Color Variety Pack by Supernatural, Food Dye Powders, 4 Natural Colors, No Artificial Dyes, Gluten Free, Vegan (Pack of 4)homEdge Food Grade Silicone Flowers Molds, Baking Pan with Flowers and Heart Shape Non-Stick 3-Pack Silicone Molds for Chocolate, Candy, Jelly, Ice Cube, Muffin (Pink, Blue and Green)
Baby Sensory Texture Ball Toy Set,10Pcs Montessori Toys for Babies 6-12 Months,Develop Fine Motor & Sensory Play for Newborns’ Early Learning,Fidget Stress Toys for Autism/Anxiety Relief
15 Pcs Sensory Textured Squares Sensory Bean Bags Teachable Sensory Play Mini Sensory Toys Texture Touchable Covered Squares with Storage Bag for Autism Educational Preschool Kindergarten Classroom
Sensory Water Beads Toy for Kids 6 Pack, Shapes Learning Toy for Toddlers, Fidget Stress Toys for Autism/ Anxiety Relief for Adults, Unique Boy & Girl Stocking Stuffers (Shape)
Keep it Simple and Fun
Remember, the focus of high chair sensory play is to allow your baby to explore and have fun while enjoying their mealtime.
So, keep the activities simple and, most importantly, fun.
You don’t have to have a set plan for what sensory activity you’ll do each time, and you don’t need to have all the new gadgets or toys.
Instead, use everyday items you have around the house and let your baby guide the exploration.
High chair sensory play can be an enjoyable and stimulating way to help your baby with hearing loss develop and learn.
From finger-painting with yogurt to exploring different items and textures, there are many ways to create sensory activities that are safe and fun for mealtime.
With consistent high chair sensory play, your baby with hearing loss will get the necessary sensory experiences they need to help them grow and develop.
Don’t forget to download your free Sensory Play Guide!
more baby sensory resources
How to Create Sensory Games for Babies
