The Power of Messy Play
By: Ashley Godwin, MSP, CCC-SLP
As a parent, it can be hard to watch your baby get food everywhere during their first experiences with solids. It’s messy, it’s chaotic, and sometimes it feels like more food ends up on the floor than in your baby’s mouth. But what if I told you that all that mess is actually essential for your baby’s development?
As a speech therapist with a special focus on feeding therapy, I’ve seen first-hand how messy play can benefit babies when introducing solids. In fact, it’s not just fun and playful—it’s a vital part of the process that promotes healthy eating habits and supports the development of important skills. Let’s dive into why messy play matters and how it helps your baby as they navigate their food journey.
- Sensory Development and Exploration
When babies start eating solids, they’re exposed to a wide range of textures, smells, tastes, and visual experiences. Messy play encourages sensory exploration and helps babies build a positive relationship with food. Sensory experiences, such as feeling different textures in their hands, are a crucial part of the early stages of food introduction. Research has shown that babies need multiple exposures to new textures and flavors to become comfortable with them.
Letting babies play with their food—whether it’s squishing peas, smearing sweet potatoes, or playing pat-a-cake with oatmeal—helps them develop the sensory processing skills needed to manage these new foods. It’s also linked to the development of fine motor skills, as babies use their hands to explore food, improving their hand-eye coordination and grasping abilities. These skills are foundational for later learning to feed themselves with utensils and master more complex tasks.
- Oral Motor Skills and Feeding Confidence
As babies experiment with food, they use their mouths in different ways. They’ll chew, suck, bite, and explore textures, helping to develop their oral motor skills. For example, when babies play with foods like mashed avocado or banana, they practice how to move food around in their mouths, strengthening the muscles needed for chewing. This type of play also teaches them how to manage food in their mouths, which is an important part of learning to swallow safely.
- Building Positive Associations with Food
Messy play helps reduce any negative or anxious feelings that babies might develop around food. When mealtime is fun and exploratory, babies learn that food is something to be enjoyed, not feared. If you’ve ever tried to force-feed a baby or made mealtime feel like a battle, you know how stressful that can be. Messy play helps avoid this by giving babies a chance to engage with food in a no-pressure environment.
By letting your baby smear food around, pick it up with their hands, and even make a bit of a mess, you’re setting the stage for positive food interactions. They begin to associate mealtimes with fun, creativity, and freedom—something that will carry over into later years when they encounter new foods and mealtime routines.
- Language Development and Communication Skills
Believe it or not, messy play can also promote language development. As babies explore food with their hands, they are often talking about it—either babbling or mimicking sounds. This type of vocalization is important for the development of language and communication skills. As a speech therapist, I encourage parents to talk to their babies during mealtime, describing the food, its texture, and even the actions they are doing.
For example, you can say, “Squishy banana,” or “You’re picking up the peas with your fingers!” By verbalizing these actions and experiences, you are giving your baby a rich language environment. Research has shown that babies who are exposed to language during mealtimes have a better understanding of food-related vocabulary as they grow.
- Supporting Emotional and Social Development
Eating is a social experience, and messy play helps babies feel more connected to the family’s mealtime routines. When babies see others eating and interacting with food, they are more likely to feel engaged and want to participate. Messy play fosters a sense of independence and confidence. As they explore food in their own unique way, babies build a sense of mastery over their eating experience. It’s empowering!
When mealtime is a relaxed, fun activity, your baby learns to engage with others during meals and feel comfortable trying new foods without stress. The act of playing with food in a safe, enjoyable way helps babies build a positive connection with eating, which is essential for their long-term health and wellbeing.
- Reducing Feeding Struggles Later On
Parents often worry that messy play will result in bad eating habits, but the opposite is actually true. Allowing babies to explore food in a natural, messy way can reduce picky eating later on.
The more opportunities your baby has to engage with a wide variety of foods, the more likely they are to develop a broad palate and a willingness to try new things. So, don’t be afraid of a little mess—it’s actually helping your baby become a more adventurous eater in the long run.
The Takeaway: Mess Is Good for Baby
The bottom line is this: messy play is an important and beneficial part of your baby’s feeding journey. It’s not just about making a mess—it’s about creating opportunities for sensory exploration, building oral motor skills, encouraging language development, fostering positive food associations, and supporting emotional growth. Messy play isn’t just fun—it’s a key part of helping your baby develop the skills they need to become a confident and healthy eater.
So, the next time your baby smooshes peas into their hair or throws mashed potatoes across the room, remember: it’s all part of the process! Embrace the mess and enjoy the wonderful milestones that come with introducing solids.
Happy feeding, and keep playing!
Our Midtown Charlotte and Pineville based Speech-Language Therapists won GOLD, and had the honor of being voted Charlotte’s Best Speech Therapy Practice in 2024! To schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with a speech therapist, call us at 704-332-4834 or request an appointment online.
