The Benefits of Role Play Centres for Babies | Mother & Baby
Did you know, at our Tiny Town Role Play Centre, we have designated areas that are perfect for babies and non-walkers! Every child develops and grows at their own pace which is why, at our Role Play Centre, we welcome children from birth up to any age. We want to ensure new mums feel welcomed and safe when visiting our Role Play Centre, creating a safe and calm environment for their babies to grow and develop during play. You can book for a Mother and Baby play session via our online booking system.
When creating our Tiny Town Role Play Centre, we wanted to make a space where babies could grow and develop during role-play. Our Forest play area is specially designed with little ones in mind. The cosy and calm atmosphere is the perfect place for babies to crawl around and explore. It’s a secure and carpeted area, with cushioned rugs and soft pillows available for your baby to lay on. Children can engage in story times with our woodland themed books, to enhance their communication and language skills. Our baby areas are specifically focused on sensory play. We have treasure baskets filled with bright and colourful sensory toys that will enhance your babies physical, cognitive and social development. A visit to our Tiny Town Role Play Centre will allow your baby to enhance its 3 prime areas of development.
3 Prime Areas Of Development
Prime areas of development and learning lay the important foundations in the early years.These are the core aspects of early childhood. The EYFS states that they are ‘crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive’.
The 3 prime areas are:
- Personal, social and emotional development (PSED)
- Communication & Language (CL)
- Physical Development (PD)
These 3 areas learning and development can be seen throughout our baby areas in our Tiny Town Play Centre.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development.
Babies develop a sense of self by interacting with others, and by exploring their bodies and objects around them. We have treasure baskets, filled with different toys in our woodland area – Treasure Basket play allows babies who can sit up to choose what to play with. Our resources are arranged so that babies/toddlers can access them freely, without needing help. This encourages children’s independence and self-confidence.
Toddlers will be learning to play with increasing confidence on their own and with other children. They will start to feel confident when taken out to different locations and enjoy exploring new places with their key person. Tiny Town can offer new experiences that they might not have encountered at home.
Physical Development
Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop throughout early childhood. This includes; sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength.
Sensory play encourages babies and toddlers to move and actively get involved in play. This helps them develop their fine motor skills – actions such as squeezing, pulling, pushing and throwing. We have baskets filled with sensory toys of different shapes and materials for babies to explore, stimulating touch and all the senses. Babies will be learning to use all their senses in hands-on exploration. We have a collection of natural materials such as wooden logs and bark, different types of leaves, pebbles and rocks so children can explore and understand different textures and surfaces.
Babies will be learning co-ordination and positional awareness through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults. We have provided a comfortable and clean floor space for babies to experience tummy-time and back time. Our forest areas are carpeted and have cushioned rugs, soft pillows and teddies; perfect for babies as they begin to crawl in different ways and directions. This allows them to develop gross motor skills such as kicking, waving, rolling and reaching. Babies will feel safe and confident to try new things such as sitting without support.
Our treasure baskets are placed on the floor so that babies can reach out for objects, pass things from one hand to another or pass them to others; this develops their coordination.
Communication & Language Development
Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development.
Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories will give children the opportunity to thrive through conversation, storytelling and role play. We have a range of Usborne books that are available throughout our Tiny Town Play Centre. We have created comfortable places for you and your child to share books; such as reading areas with soft pillows, cushioned rugs and teddies. As you read to your baby they will try to copy what the adult does, taking ‘turns’ in conversations (through babbling). Babies will listen to simple stories and try to understand what is happening, with the help of the pictures; books with lots of pictures can especially encourage conversations
Babies can develop their communication and language skills by using musical instruments and different toys to make and explore different sounds. In our Tiny Town Play Centre we have lots of musical themed toys and instruments such as drums and shakers. This allows your baby to experiment with different noises and sounds; this can include shaking a rattler/banging a drum etc
The importance of Sensory Play for babies:
From birth through to early childhood, children use their senses to explore and try to make sense of the world around them. Sensory play is any activity that stimulates at least one of your child’s senses, this could be hearing, sight, touch, smell or taste. It also includes play that involves movement or balance. Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity. At our Tiny Town Role Play Centre, babies will have the chance to practice sensory play in our woodland and forest area.
Sensory play can create an opportunity for children to work on their own individual skills such as:
- Social skills
- Communication and language skills
- Fine and gross motor skills
- Cognitive skills
FAQs
Is Tiny Town suitable for Babies?
Yes, our play centre is suitable for babies and non-walkers. We have designated baby areas that are perfect for non-walkers and babies who are crawling.
What are your baby areas?
Our baby areas are woodland and forest themed and are specially designed for little ones. We have treasure baskets filled with bright and colourful sensory toys, puzzles and forest-themed teddies. The soft cushioned rugs and bean-bags are perfect for tummy time and babies who are still crawling around!
How much is it for babies?
It is £4.95 for Babies and non-walkers to visit our play centre in Sheffield and Chesterfield, but free with a playing child!
Is Tiny Town a good place for new mums?
Yes, our Tiny Town play centre is the perfect place for new mums to visit and meet together. We have special baby areas where you can take your little ones to explore. Our forest play area has sensory toys that will enhance your baby’s 3 prime areas of development; physical, social & emotional and communication & language development. You can also grab a drink and choose from our selection of yummy cakes from our café area. We welcome new mums with our ‘Parent & Baby’ offer.
Do you have baby facilities?
Yes, we have plenty of baby facilities at our Tiny Town Play Centre. We have multiple high chairs that are accessible throughout the duration of your play session. We also have dedicated baby changing facilities at our play centre. Nappy bins are provided, as well as nappy bags and wipes.
Do you sell baby food?
We do not sell baby food at our play centre, however, you are welcome to bring your own.
Customer Feedback
“Had an absolutely wonderful experience. Tiny Town is a great place to enhance the three prime areas of EYFS (C&L, PSED & Fine/Gross Motor). The children LOVED being here and so did we! Would absolutely recommend Tiny Town for school visits. Especially as you can have the whole venue, so its secure for little ones. Also – superb cake! J”
Ridgeway Primary School
“Curious Creators from St John’s absolutely loved our visit to Tiny Town. All our Nursery children enjoyed the role play experience and they have learned so much. We cannot wait to come back again. The staff are accommodating, friendly and fabulous! We would absolutely recommend Tiny Town for school visits as it’s a safe, secure environment where children are stimulated by new experiences and no doubt will remember this visit for a long time. You are amazing! Thank you!”
St Johns CofE Academy
“Our Nursery class had a fantastic trip to Tiny Town! Role Play is a very important part of children’s creative and imaginative development as well as helping to build confidence and make relationships!”
Worksop Priory Nursery
To enquire about Tiny Town email hello@tinytownuk.co.uk or use our contact form