Educational Series: Sensory Learning
Learning Through Touch
Welcome to the next article in our “Learning Through the Senses” series, where we will be exploring how each of the senses plays a role in children’s development and learning.
As children grow, their sensory experiences influence how they perceive, interact with, and learn from their environment. The way we perceive things can be categorized based on the type of sensory input that the brain is receiving:
- EXTERNAL SENSORY INPUT: Sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell
- INTERNAL SENSORY INPUT: Proprioception, vestibular, kinesis (movement)
In this article, we will be focusing on learning through touch/tactile perception in children. Tactile perception is the awareness of what we have touched and what has touched our bodies. Cells in the skin send information about touch, pain, temperature, and pressure to the brain. It is through touch - without sight - that a child learns about shapes, size, weight, and texture.
Developmental Importance of the Tactile Sense
Touch helps with emotional regulation and stress relief in children. Positive tactile experiences, such as a hug or gentle massage, stimulate the release of oxytocin, which helps children feel safe and secure. Touch also supports motor planning, or praxis, which is how the brain organizes and executes physical actions.
Children with a strong tactile foundation can better navigate their environment, discerning between different surfaces and textures to coordinate their movements effectively.
Learning Through Touch
Tactile learning encourages children to explore the world with their hands, feet, and skin. This helps them develop spatial awareness and the ability to differentiate between textures, shapes, and weights. These activities also support the development of both fine and gross motor skills, which are important for physical tasks and cognitive growth.
The Connection Between Touch and Emotional Development
Touch is also connected to emotional well-being. Comforting and gentle tactile interactions develop secure attachments in children, which creates a foundation for emotional resilience and trust. This allows children to gain a sense of safety and security, helping them to navigate both physical and social environments more comfortably and confidently.
Tactile Development Activities
The following activities can significantly improve the tactile sense:
- Provide different surfaces to feel, lie, walk, and crawl on.
- Walk barefoot on bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, and a doormat.
- Encourage children to explore various textures (soft-hard, heavy-light, big-small).
- Body massage: Add body massage to your child’s routine.
- Explore with hands inside a bag: Use sandpaper, cardboard, velvet, plastic, or items like a spoon, ball, or toothbrush.
- Hide & Seek: Hide toys in sand or play dough and let your child find them by touch.
- Sensory play with different textures: Rice, maize, beans, and discuss each texture.
- Play with sand in water and with toys made from various materials.
- Smear pudding or jelly on a plastic cloth, then pat, wipe, and lick it.
- Use shaving foam or finger paint for tactile art.
- Play with coloured, cooked spaghetti and create a dried pasta collage.
- Let children climb through an obstacle course with different textures, using cushions, duvets, and rugs.
Conclusion
A well-developed tactile system helps children understand their bodies and their surroundings, giving them a strong foundation for both physical and emotional growth. Learning through touch helps our children to build security and a sense of confidence to better engage with the world around them.
References:
- De Jager, M., & Victor, L. (2013). Play Learn Know: A child is a work in progress. Metz Press.
- Field, T. (2019). Social touch, CT touch and massage therapy: A narrative review. Developmental Review, 51, 123-145.
- Hertenstein, M. J. (2002). Touch: Its communicative functions in infancy. Human Development, 45(2), 70-94.
- Parham, L. D., & Mailloux, Z. (2015). Sensory integration. In J. Case-Smith & J. C. O'Brien (Eds.), Occupational therapy for children and adolescents (7th ed., pp. 258-303). St. Louis: Elsevier.
- Laing, Aletta. Owner of Geziggies Pre-Primary School. (Diploma in Higher Education Pre-Primary)
