Wonder of balloons – Child

ETTS Wonder of Balloons Child WPChildren enjoy the fun of balloons, especially as part of celebrations and active play. Balloons inspire chasing, jumping, bouncing and passing games! Balloons can be drawn on, played with alone or with friends. They are great when there are children of different abilities as everyone can get involved, not just those who are good at throwing and catching.

Did you know?

Batting a balloon can be a great way to get rid of excess energy and relieve feelings of stress and tension. Learning acceptable ways of managing big feelings and excess energy helps your child’s emotional development.

Other Development

Balloon play can be a great way to boost resilience; which is the ability to recover from setbacks and keep going even when things go wrong. It can also build persistence as they learn to keep trying even when it is difficult. These skills are important for emotional development and learning new things. Using positive self-talk helps develop resilience in young children e.g. “Oh it popped! That’s frustrating. Never mind. Let’s try again with another one!”

Playing with balloons is great for investigating and exploring early science and maths concepts. Count how many “blows” it takes to fill the balloon or how many hits to keep it in the air. You can find some great ideas for simple science projects by an internet search of “balloon experiments young children”.

Variations

Water balloons can be fun and used to aim at a set target. Drawing targets on the pavement with chalk, then trying to hit these with water balloons to wash away the chalk can be a fun variation for older children.

A blown-up balloon that is not tied off, can be lots of fun for children to chase and promotes active play and hand-eye coordination.

Safety

Balloons can be a choking hazard.

Across the ages

All the activities listed on our “Play Ideas’ page can be applied across different age groups. Check out how the wonder of balloons can be fun for babies, toddlers and playgroups.

Activities listed under “child” are suitable for children aged 3 years and older. Children of this age enjoy more complex activities where they can develop their skills and use their imagination while playing with friends.