Play tent: What makes it fun and what do they learn from it?
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A play tent is a stretched-out shelter that is relatively easy to set up and take down.
The roof and walls of the tent usually consist of textile or plastic, supported by a skeleton of, for example, metal, plastic, wooden or bamboo sticks.
Characteristic of a play tent is that it can be dismantled and is easy to move, but also quite stable.
That makes them so nice for the nursery or for the garden. Don't you need it anymore? Then you just break it off.
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Is a play tent educational?
A play tent teaches children that they can have their own place, somewhere they can retreat with their feelings.
It also provides a safe place to play, and some children get more out of their pretend play in a fenced environment. A safe place to try out some new things.
In addition, the play tent itself is also a nice accessory for fantasy play because it can also serve as a fort, castle, or simply as an Indian tent.
The most educational tents are those that you can build yourself.
While children build a tent, they also learn how to get along with other children. They can try to find a solution together when building. The building itself is also educational.
Also read: these are the best play tents we've reviewed
Why is a play tent so much fun? 10 reasons
- A tent arouses the curiosity and imagination of your child.
- It offers your child the opportunity to play and keep them away from their iPads and other devices.
- If you have a child who is struggling to take a nap, a tent may be more attractive to do this.
- You can take the tent with you to the park. pool, lake and beach for shade.
- You can have a picnic in it.
- You can hide their toys in it.
- It is the nicest place to read books with your child.
- Your child can use it indoors and outdoors all year round.
- Your child can invite friends, brothers and sisters to the tent.
- Your child can organize a sleepover in the tent.
Toddlers need a break sometimes, just like us. A safe place is then perfect to retreat to. A play tent is the perfect place because it's small, enclosed, and theirs. It gives the first sense of a private life apart from parents.
It can help your child reduce stress and offers security they don't find so easily in the grown-up world.
Some children like to sit in a small space. That feeling of being enclosed can offer them safety and security.
Even little ones need privacy every now and then.
Children also like to squeeze through different spaces, learning to do this carefully so as not to knock over the tent.
Some play tents offer tunnels, or you can build more yourself, such as with a cushion or a sheet.
Having their own place gives children the opportunity to create their own game, a world in which they are in charge.
Five ways to use the play tent
A cozy sitting area
A play tent is above all a cozy place, so make it as cozy as possible and your child will not be able to stay away from it.
With a few pillows and a soft cushion underneath, the tent will become your child's place to rest and recharge.
A nice relaxing space where they can always go.
A place to release great emotions
Sometimes your child is frustrated and gets angry. They can be overwhelmed by new things and don't know how to handle their emotions.
Being angry is allowed, and sometimes you want to do that in a safe place, without judgment or external reaction.
In the play tent, your child can throw everything out in complete privacy and relax. No more pent up feelings. Extremely valuable as they learn to recognize and regulate their emotions.
A nice reading corner
We always have some books in the play tent, next to the soft cuddly toys and pillows. His favorite books and every now and then we swap a few for some new material.
He can't read yet, but often imitates the stories he knows from us, and quite well!
Also nice to create a cozy reading corner in the evening with a flashlight to relax before bed.
A secret hideout
The play tent shields what is inside from what is outside. It's a great way to practice object permanence with babies.
The tent can last for so many years from baby to toddler. The secret hideout slowly transforms into a pirate lair with a treasure chest, or a princess castle with a jewel box.
A ball pit
We bought a lot of plastic balls but never really a ball pit. The play tent has always been the ball pit.
A very nice game because we always threw the balls in or out through the window.
And of course Daddy always got pelted!
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.