Messy Play experts, Mess Around, share more top tips and messy play ideas and this time it’s with Jelly – enjoy lots of wibbly wobbly jelly fun!
Our FREE downloadable guide takes you through our top tips for jelly play
@doug.n.dex.adventures enjoying some messy, jelly fun in his Tidy Tot Bib & Tray!
Playing with jelly provides a delightful sensory experience for your baby as they explore the squishy, wobbly texture in their hands and enjoy the sweet fruity taste on their tongue. You know they won’t be able to resist putting their sticky little fingers in their mouth as they play so don’t try to stop them. Just give them jelly to play with and relax in the knowledge that it’s perfectly safe.
Top tip: You can even buy vegan, preservative and sugar-free jelly nowadays so there’s no need to worry about sugar overload.
If you don’t want to get quite that messy try sitting your baby in their highchair and put a pile of jelly on the tray in front of them and just let them play. If you have a Tidy Tot Bib and Tray Set even better! Encourage them to squish and poke the jelly with their fingers and squeeze the jelly in their hands letting it slide through their fingers. You could even enjoy a sing-song as they play which will stimulate their sense of hearing too “Jelly on a plate, jelly on a plate”.
Top Tip: If you’re trying to teach your little one to pick things up and feed themselves, try adding small pieces of soft fruit such as banana to the jelly and let them pick it out and feed themselves. Make learning to self-feed fun!
You could make different coloured jelly and set plastic toys in it to create a messy jelly play scene. How about bright red jelly with black plastic spiders lurking in it, or a green jelly swamp with crocodiles?
Top tip: Spoon jelly into a plastic ziplock bag with some plastic shapes or toys to create a mess-free sensory play bag which your little one can squish about.
Experiment with different mixtures so that your little one can experience different textures. Perhaps make a runny jelly and let your little one go fishing like this happy tot:
There are so many different play scenes you could create! The only limit is your imagination. How about this fabulous princess play scene.
You could give older tots some props to help develop their hand-eye coordination and imaginative play. All you need to give them is a few plastic spoons, plates, bowls or pans and they will soon be engrossed in their own make-believe world. Chat with them and encourage them to pretend they’re cooking dinner for the family in the kitchen or having a tea party with their toys.
Have lots of wibbly wobbly jelly fun!
