Born to play

We recently took a look at how Edward plays with help from Pampers and found out he loves Active play. We were invited to try out the Pampers Active Fit Play challenge for one week, were sent a week’s supply of Pampers Active Fit nappies and tried out some of Dr Maggie’s Redshaw’s play tips for the other 3 types of play – social, make-believe and exploratory play.

We’ve used Pampers nappies since Edward was born and for this challenge have been trying Pampers Active Fit nappies size 5. They fit well and haven’t leaked once (despite rigorous play!) and I think we have previously been using the wrong size. Over the last week we have been trying lots of different activities:

Social play encourages social skills.

I always think of Edward as a social bunny, especially confident with people he knows. He chats away in his own language and can wave, give kisses and cuddles when he’s in the right mood! He loves copying us and spends ages on his phone talking away, he is also always on the lookout for a time when we leave the laptop open so he can mimic us and tap away on the keyboard. We try to walk to our local shop and yesterday I gave Edward his own money so he could pay for his chocolate buttons. He gets a little more confident every time we go and  sat on the counter and babbled away to the shop owner. He loves playing with daddy and last night I watched Edward sitting with him whilst he mixed spices for our curry. Edward loved using the mortar and pestle (although I might have to invest in his own plastic set!).

Make-believe play helps grow your child’s imagination.

This has been a really interesting type of play to observe. Edward spends lots of time with me at home and this is an area I think we can improve the most. He’s always loved having imaginary conversations on his phone but when I’ve introduced other toys, such as pretend fruit, he hasn’t really known what to do. He enjoys playing with his pretend lawnmower and loves the playhouse at the local library I’m just not sure he is using them for pretend play – but does it matter as long as he is having fun? He has a plastic policeman’s hat which he thinks is funny if we all wear so I might invest in some more dressing up items to see if this will engage him more.

Exploratory play nurtures your baby’s curiosity and love of learning.

I love this type of play as Edward has always been very inquisitive! He’s really funny and can endlessly play with boxes, putting things in and taking them out. He likes to feel different textures too and the sandpit and water table have been brilliant purchases over the warmer sunnier months. This type of play is very cheap and he loves looking through our recycling box and playing with his toys in the bath. He’s a typical boy and has just received his first train set. He loves playing with it with daddy and spends hours with each piece, seeing how it works and pressing the buttons. He also loves mega bloks, simple wooden blocks and anything which makes a noise from his own ‘iPhone’ to his Winnie the Pooh laptop. I’m also trying to get him to take a greater interest in the natural world and on our latest trip to the park we collected leaves, pine cones and acorns.

 

I enjoyed looking at the different play types and how they matched the way Edward plays. I like reassurance so found it helpful to see how his playing changes as he gets older, the skills he is developing and picked up some new ideas to try out with him too. I like to think I’m quite crafty and creative and need to be braver with Edward and get messy. We bake together quite a lot but I’m keen to break out the paint pots I’ve squirreled away and try finger painting and play dough.

We love Pampers Active Fit nappies (which contain innovative Dry MaxTM technology) which feature the best Pampers dryness as well as the best Pampers fit, to help your baby take playtime to the max. They’ve always done us proud and stand up to Edward’s outside or indoors adventures.

If you would like to know more about any of the types of play, you can have a look at the Pampers Born To Play hub and pick up some of Dr Maggie’s Redshaw’s play tips at www.pampers.co.uk/play