Why it is beneficially for mental development to play with playdoh or modeling clay

Almost all children love playing with playdoh or modeling clay and use all suitable materials for it – from sand at the playground to cookies dough. This activity is not only exciting but also beneficially. The benefits for the parents are obvious: the child is busy for a long time. The benefits for children are much more significant.

For mental development

When kids crumple playdoh (or other material) in their hands, they create different shapes, attach them to each other, flattens, stretches, developing fine motor skills in this way. It has been scientifically proven that it directly affects the development of a child’s speech, coordination of movements, memory, and logical thinking.
When a child concentrates on this activity, they learn to be patience and perseverance.
When they create new forms or mix colors, figurative, abstract and logical thinking develops, revealing creative abilities.
When kids roll a ball or a sausage with two hands, both hemispheres of the brain activate, inter-hemispheric connections are strengthened, which, in turn, promotes attention and self-regulation.
This activity develops memory, the ability to compare facts and images, logical thinking, patience, the ability to gather, concentrate, complete the task and evaluate the result, comparing it with the original one.
When a child plays with modeling clay or playdoh, imagination, creativity and creative thinking are developing.

Playing with modeling clay and playdoh is important for health and emotional state

These exercises have a beneficial effect on the nervous system, mental and emotional state of the kid.
Regular exercises help to normalize sleep and reduce excessive activity and irritability.
If necessary, playing helps children non-verbally express existing internal conflicts and contradictions.
Activities with modeling clay or playdoh allow you to overcome fears through physical interaction – break, crush figures or change it to make something good.
It is associated with a wide range of feelings: from tactile sensations, color perception and smell to complex internal states – excitement, interest, joy.
Play with modeling clay or playdoh helps a child to express emotions (including negative ones) in a socially acceptable manner, to cope with pain, anger, anxiety.
The crafts that the child creates will help adults understand and assess the presence of emotional or personal problems.
Creating, a child is able to relax, relieve tension, calm down and get rid of a bad mood.
For little dreamers, creating becomes a kind of bridge from the world of own fantasies to real life. It helps to accept the existing world and come to terms with its imperfections.
Psychologists are actively using modeling clay as one of the areas of art therapy, which refers to the inner hidden self-healing resources of the child.
The experience of creating masterpieces from everyday materials convinces a child of importance and necessity, teaches them to look at things from a different angle and find original solutions in different situations.

Activities with modeling clay and playdoh helpful for kids personal development

This activity is a simple and effective way to identify hidden abilities and develop the natural skills of kids, to demonstrate their uniqueness and creativity.
Playing with modeling clay or playdoh introduces children to the concepts of shape and color. Gives the experience of tactile perception at the difference between “soft-hard”, “warm-cold”, “wet-dry”.
Work with materials, which shape can be changed to a new one, develops the child’s self-confidence, responsibility, and curiosity.
The child learns new things and tries to consciously use his skills to achieve the desired result.
In addition to basic motor skills, modeling develops a sense of purpose, perseverance, and accuracy.
Working on 3D images, children study characteristic features of objects, clarify details, interpret the basic qualities of objects. They form knowledge about the properties and laws of the surrounding world, they train the visual perception.
Modelling plays a significant role in the aesthetic education of the child and the development of their sense of beauty.