Babies love to play with all odd items, especially food! Have you seen how babies play with spaghetti or noodles served on their plates? They will lift it, twist and turn and try to detangle the strands with their tiny hands. Spaghetti play for babies is not just for fun for them, it will be so much fun even for parents to see their babies fully engrossed in their spaghetti play activities.
Sensorial play is an important method of effective learning for babies and young children. Sensory play is where your baby uses all five senses to explore or play. Such activities help babies learn and understand more about their bodies, likes, dislikes as well as their environment.
In This Article
- What is Spaghetti Play?
- Can Babies Play With Spaghetti?
- When Can You Introduce Spaghetti Play to Your Baby?
- Top 6 Developmental Benefits of Spaghetti Play For Babies
- What Would You Need For Rainbow Spaghetti?
- How to Make Rainbow Spaghetti?
- Spaghetti Play Activity Ideas For Babies
- FAQ’s
What is Spaghetti Play?
Spaghetti play is where your baby gets to play with cooked spaghetti. Yes, the food item -is spaghetti. It is edible, fun, and safe!
In spaghetti play, your baby will explore and play around with spaghetti that is cooked. When you cook spaghetti, it becomes longer, thicker, and more flexible. Your baby can bend, crush or squish the strands and play with them. The strands are slippery and will entwine with the baby’s fingers and hands.
Can Babies Play With Spaghetti?
Yes, of course! Babies love to play with long strands of spaghetti. It is fun, messy, and very interesting for babies. Once your baby can sit up and play you can engage them in spaghetti play activities. For smaller babies, if they can hold up their heads well, you can let them explore the colored spaghetti during tummy time, under close supervision.
Playing with the spaghetti strands and trying to hold or lift them will help engage your baby effectively. They will develop many skills and learn a lot too. Since it is edible and has no rough or sharp edges, you don’t have to worry about your baby hurting themselves or putting it into their mouth.
When Can You Introduce Spaghetti Play to Your Baby?
You can introduce spaghetti play to your baby once they are able to sit on their own and can play independently. It may be ideal to wait until 6 months or till your baby has started solids. Babies tend to put everything in their mouth. For this reasons, you may need to wait until your baby is at least 6 months old or even later. Do make sure to monitor your baby when they are playing since spaghetti can cause choking if your baby is not yet used to eating it.
[Read : When Do Babies Sit Up Without Support?]
Top 6 Developmental Benefits of Spaghetti Play For Babies
Spaghetti is a simple and fun play option that can benefit your baby in many ways. Some of the benefits are
1. Fine Motor Skills
Playing with the slippery strands requires a lot of finger strength and control. The more your baby plays with these strands, the more they will use their fingers and hands, thus improving strength. Twisting and turning the spaghetti strands will help improve dexterity and finger grip. Spaghetti play activities are essential for developing fine motor skills in babies.
2. Hand-Eye Coordination
Your baby will have to spot a strand and pull it up. Since the strands are long and slippery, they will keep slipping out of those tiny hands. The baby will have to pick it up again. This improves hand-eye coordination. As they get better with spaghetti play, they will learn to track a single strand and pull it fully out of the pile.
3. Social Skills
Doing this activity with another baby or interacting with adults around as they play will help improve social skills. You can ask them what they are doing and encourage communication and language development.
[Read : Social Emotional Developmental Milestones in Infants]
4. Visual Development
When you use multi-colored strands in spaghetti play, babies have visual stimulation. They like colors and pick the color that attracts them the most. When the strand slips, they will pick up the same strand or another strand of the same color. It helps improve their focus, tracking, and color perception.
What Would You Need For Rainbow Spaghetti?
To make rainbow spaghetti and give your baby something very colorful, you need the following items:
- Good quality dried spaghetti that won’t break easily.
- Water for cooking the spaghetti.
- Large pot to cook the spaghetti in.
- Food Coloring (Food colors in rainbow shades if you want to make rainbow spaghetti).
- Plastic bags or pouches to mix the cooked spaghetti and the colors in.
How To Make Rainbow Spaghetti?
You can use different plastic pouches or bowls if you want to avoid using plastic. Follow these steps to get your rainbow-colored spaghetti ready in no time:
- Cook spaghetti for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, so that is it well-cooked and softer.
- Rinse it with cold water, drizzle a little oil, and spread them out on a flat surface to avoid clumping or sticking.
- Add just 2 drops of food coloring to the plastic bag or bowl (adding more will make the color intense but will come off on those tiny fingers, and will also be hard to get it off).
- Drop desired quantity of the cooked and cooled spaghetti along with the color and give it a good shake. Ensure you don’t handle it much as the strands will start breaking.
- Repeat the process with other colors. Keep aside a few strands without adding any color too.
- Let the spaghetti sit in the color for a day or at least overnight for the color to seep in and set.
- All strands will not be equally colored and this is what you want to make the spaghetti play activities colorful.
[Read : When Do Babies Start Seeing Colors?]
Spaghetti Play Activity Ideas For Babies
Here are some ideas to engage your baby in spaghetti play.
- The food coloring is bound to stick on your baby’s fingers and transfer to their clothes. So, dress them up accordingly
- You can let them play outdoors if the weather is pleasant
- Lay out a towel or a sheet for your baby to sit on and play
- You can give them the colored spaghetti on a tray (just pile up one color next to the other)
- If your baby likes to transfer things, you can give them an empty plate or bowl to transfer the colored strands to.
- Now, just let them play and explore in their own way and speed. Do not interfere or give directions. Free or open play helps in better cognitive development and will also make them come up with creative ideas.
- Though the spaghetti is completely edible, you need to supervise your baby.
Sensorial play activities like spaghetti play for babies can help babies gain a lot of physical skills and cognitive development at the same time. When they engage all their senses and have fun exploring and understanding a material like spaghetti, the learning is deep and long-lasting. It helps in the overall development of your baby and helps them attain milestones easily.
FAQ’s
1. How Long Can You Keep Colored Spaghetti?
If you store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, the colored spaghetti can last up to a week. Ensure you check it every time before giving it to your baby to play with.
2. How Do You Use Color Spaghetti For Messy Play?
Take a plastic bag or a small bowl. Add a drop or two of food coloring in a shade of your choice. Drop a few strands of well-cooked spaghetti in it and give it a good mix.
3. Can Babies Eat Colored Spaghetti?
If you use edible colors and cook the pasta well, it is okay if your baby tastes a few pieces. However, if you are using colored spaghetti that is not fresh or was in storage for a day or two, try your best to prevent your baby from eating it.
Read Also: Bubble Play For Babies – How it Helps in Baby’s Development
