Dear Dr. Debbie,
The summer has barely started and the heat is unbearable. The shade trees in our backyard aren’t enough to keep things comfortable when the humidity soars. Other than staying indoors with the curtains drawn all day, what’s a SAHM of a four-year-old and a one and half-year-old to do?
Waiting For Winter
Dear WFW,
Water play is the answer. Dress to get wet. Swimsuits and water shoes are perfect. (Crocs or flip flops work, too, to protect against accidentally stepping on a bee.) Get some large plastic bowls, underbed storage boxes, big buckets, or a wading pool. Use the garden hose, or harness kid power to fill them with water from the house with pitchers. Add: empty yogurt tubs, sponges, plastic or metal straws, funnels, colanders, plastic medicine droppers, turkey basters, spray pumps from something non-toxic such as liquid hand soap, and maybe a couple of ice cubes. (Anything you already play with in the bathtub is fine, too.) Then join in the fun.
Sciencing
The laws of gravity dictate that water, when unimpeded, goes downward. Your little one may still be surprised at this when filling one cup with another past the full point. (Remember, if you dress appropriately, it’s okay, in fact desirable on a hot day, for the water to spill on the children!) A four-year-old might be challenged to create a track for water to run, from a higher point to a lower point, using straws and funnels. You can help by holding some of the parts in place as the track is designed.
The children will experience water displacement if your containers are large enough for one or both of them to get into. The ancient Greek scientist Archimedes is said to have discovered this principle in his bathtub. The amount of space his body took up, he observed, pushed up an equal volume of water. Your children may not be able to put the science of water displacement into words, but the more they play with water, the more of its principles they will absorb. (Including how skin cells have a limit for how much water they can absorb!)
It takes careful experimenting to work a spray pump or a turkey baster. Enough air has to be removed in order to create a vacuum effect for water to take its place. For the baster, squeeze the bulb while it’s underwater or very close to the surface. Slowly release the bulb to allow water to get drawn in. Success requires practice and patience. Likewise a spray pump needs to be in the water as you press down several times on the spring to push out the air. As space in the tube is emptied of air, continued pressing draws in water. When all the air is out, as you press the top, water comes out instead of air! A pump can defy gravity bringing it from a lower to a higher place. Don’t worry about explaining it, just let the children experience it.
If you’ve added ice cubes to the fun, make guesses and observe how long it takes for them to melt. The four-year-old might place some cubes – maybe each in its own yogurt cup – in the shade and some in the sun. Maybe you can set a timer for checking on the cubes.
Pretend Play
Your children are both in the age group that spends a lot of time in make believe play. Depending on the materials provided, and the children’s interests, the water play could be a restaurant scene involving concocting and serving food. Add spoons, an egg beater, a flour sifter, small plastic pots and plates and a serving tray. Again, getting spilled on is part of the fun.
Or the children might use the props provided for a re-enactment of unloading the Dali at Baltimore Harbor and reloading everything onto smaller vessels. You can add the sound effects for the crane.
Are either of your children future architects? They might design and build a floating structure with the items provided. This might be a seaworthy castle, hospital, or vacation resort. Be sure to ask about the details of the various spaces as the construction is carried out.
Social Skills
Use play time to work on social skills between the siblings as well as between each child and yourself. If you want to use something that is in another person’s hands, you ask and wait for a reply. You might have to wait a minute or two until they’re finished, or find another object to trade for what you want.
As the grownup on the scene, you can encourage one child to include the other in cooperative play, that is, play in which two children are better than one. For example, the younger sibling could assist with the water track being created by the older one – either fetching pieces or helping to hold the parts together. If the younger child is the director and main character in a kitchen/restaurant scene, the older child could be the hungry and appreciative customer (with you as assistant director and supporting actor).
There is bound to be some spilling and splashing with water play. And on a hot and humid day getting immersed is part of its purpose! However, between playmates, especially siblings, there may be unwanted soakings. Help the children express, “I didn’t like it when . . .” And help them to set and respect boundaries for each child’s splash zones and tolerance for getting soaked. Be sure to model being a good sport as the playmate who doesn’t mind getting wet. (Did you dress appropriately for the activity?)
The forecast has lots more days of extreme heat ahead. Welcome them with outdoor water play!
Deborah Wood, Ph.D. is a child development specialist www.drdebbiewood.com and founding director of Chesapeake Children’s Museum www.theccm.org.
The museum is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Online reservations are available or call: 410-990-1993. Each Thursday there is a guided nature walk at 10:30 am. Art and Story Times with Mrs. Spears and Puppy the Puppet are on Monday mornings at 10:30 am.
On July 17 the museum is hosting FROZEN Yummies from 1-3 pm. You can make and taste mock ice cream from frozen bananas and taste other delicious frozen fruits.
The next Get Wet Day at CCM is Saturday, August 10 at 11 am. Come in your swimsuit and go home in your towel!
Read more of Dr. Wood’s Good Parenting columns by clicking here.
