The sense of touch is often associated with infants—we talk about “skin-to-skin” contact, cuddling a baby, or soft comfort toys. It is true that touch plays an enormous role from the very first days of life. However, that does not mean it is only important during infancy. On the contrary—older children, in preschool and early school age (around 3–9 years old), also rely heavily on touch to discover the world. Children learn with their whole bodies—they engage all their senses, and their world should be rich in a variety of shapes and textures so their senses can fully develop. In this article, we explain what the sense of touch is and why it is so important, how it affects the cognitive, motor, and emotional development of older children, how to stimulate touch through play for children aged 3+, what to look for when choosing tactile toys, and we will also give examples of activities and products that support this sense.

What Is the Sense of Touch and Why Is It Important?

Touch is one of the basic human senses, present from the very beginning of life. It develops very early—it is believed that already during the prenatal period a child begins to feel tactile stimuli, and after birth the sense of touch is fully developed. A child’s skin (and later the older child’s skin as well) is covered with millions of sensory receptors that register information about temperature, pressure, texture, and pain. Thanks to them, a child can distinguish whether something is warm or cold, soft or hard, smooth or rough. Touch therefore provides a very wide range of sensations—from pleasant ones (for example stroking or a plush teddy bear) to warning signals (a prick or a burn).

However, the importance of touch goes far beyond the physical aspect alone. Touch is often called the “language of love”—tender physical contact is a message of closeness, safety, and acceptance for a child. Research shows that children who regularly experience warm touch from caregivers have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and higher levels of the bonding hormone oxytocin in their blood. Such affectionate touch builds a sense of security and self-confidence in the child and forms the foundation of healthy emotional development. Every parent knows the soothing effect of a hug on a distressed preschooler—physical closeness often works better than words.

Importantly, the role of touch does not decrease as the child grows older. Yes, a newborn perceives almost everything through the skin, but older children still learn to receive and understand the world through the sense of touch. Grasping objects, exploring their surfaces with fingers, feeling different materials and temperatures—all of these experiences shape a child’s sensory perception and support cognitive development. Touch is also an important “exploratory” sense: it allows the child to literally feel the world, understand how something works (for example, that clay changes shape when squeezed in the hands), and discover new properties of objects. In short, touch provides knowledge about the environment while also helping to build a bond with the world and with other people.

The Influence of Touch on the Development of Children Aged 3–9

The preschool and early school years are a time of intensive development of cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional skills. The sense of touch takes part in the development of each of these areas, often in ways we do not notice at first glance.

Cognitive and Sensory Development

Touch provides the brain with a great deal of data, helping a child better understand what they see or hear. In practice, this means that by combining different senses, a child learns more effectively. An example? A young child will remember the shape of a new letter or figure much more easily if they can touch it and explore it with their fingers, rather than only look at it. Through touch, a child also develops awareness of their own body—they learn where the boundaries of their body are, which later supports motor coordination and confidence in movement.

Sensory integration specialists point out that the sense of touch affects a surprisingly broad range of abilities: from body awareness and motor planning, through better processing of what we see and hear, to language comprehension. A child who can explore the world through touch builds a richer sensory experience—they know how something actually feels. This later translates into school learning: it becomes easier to connect facts and ideas, because behind abstract concepts such as “rough,” “smooth,” or “round” there are real sensations the child has experienced. What is more, tactile play often engages creativity and teaches concentration—after all, the child must focus in order to recognize what they are holding with their eyes closed. As a result, regular tactile stimulation may lead to better attention and observation skills in everyday life.

Motor Development

It is impossible to develop hand skills and full-body coordination without tactile input. It is through the skin and muscles that a child feels how they are moving and where they are in space. Touch helps with movement planning—for example, when grasping blocks of different sizes and textures, the child learns to adjust grip strength and precision to the object. Manual activities that provide a variety of stimuli (molding, kneading, threading, pouring, and so on) are excellent for developing fine motor skills. When a preschooler kneads gingerbread dough or squishes modeling dough, they stimulate tactile receptors in the hands while also strengthening finger dexterity. This is direct preparation for later activities requiring skill, such as learning to write or draw—a child who has done a lot with their hands has better hand-eye coordination and stronger hand muscles.

Balance and gross motor skills also benefit from tactile experiences. Walking barefoot on different surfaces (grass, sand, pebbles) provides the feet and joints with information needed to maintain balance. That is why physiotherapists often recommend activities such as sensory paths—they improve not only the tactile sensitivity of the feet, but also the child’s overall motor coordination. The more varied the tactile experiences, the better the integration of movement and sensation. It is worth remembering that a lack of such input can even lead to problems: a child who is under-stimulated in terms of touch may have trouble with concentration or coordination, or on the contrary, may seek strong sensations (for example, constantly touching or squeezing things). That is why it is so important to provide rich tactile experiences during play.

Emotional and Social Development

The role of touch in emotions is enormous—even for older children. A preschooler still needs a hug from a parent when they are sad or afraid. Affectionate touch calms—it lowers stress and anxiety levels and helps children regulate their emotions. Children who feel physically safe are braver in exploring the world and forming relationships. Developmental psychologists emphasize that children who are often hugged, carried, or held on a lap explore their surroundings with greater confidence—they know that, if necessary, they can return to the supportive closeness of a caregiver.

Touch is also a form of social communication: when children play together, they often touch one another (during games like hot-and-cold, tag, and so on), learning about boundaries and empathy. Through touch, a child learns to build relationships based on trust and openness—for example, by shaking hands with a new friend or hugging a younger sibling, they express positive emotions.

Touch runs through many aspects of a child’s development. It affects how a child explores the world (cognitively and sensorially), how they gain control over their body (in terms of motor skills), and how they build relationships and emotional security. That is why activities involving the sense of touch are so valuable—through them, a child develops harmoniously in many areas at once, often without even realizing it (because they are simply having a great time!).

Ideas for Tactile Play for Children Aged 3+

How can you play with a child every day in ways that develop the sense of touch? Fortunately, there is no need for complicated or expensive gadgets—simple activities that are easy to organize at home can provide lots of fun and stimulation. Here are a few suggestions suitable for children from around age 3 and up:

Playing with Molding Materials (play dough, modeling clay, kinetic sand)

Kneading, squeezing, and shaping different materials is a classic form of tactile stimulation. Children love play dough or homemade salt dough—they can squeeze it, roll it, and shape it into whatever they like. This kind of play gives the hands lots of sensory input and develops manual dexterity, while also fostering creativity. You can encourage your child to make simple figures, press patterns into the dough with molds, or simply squash it into a ball and stretch it in all directions. For older children, kinetic sand is an interesting variation—pouring it, building sand molds, and making castles provides sensations similar to sandbox play (but indoors). Kneading and molding are excellent for stimulating tactile receptors in the hands and strengthening grip, while also allowing the child to express ideas in a creative form. Importantly, these kinds of materials are harmless and easy to clean up, so even “controlled mess” is perfectly fine (it turns out that getting messy with different textures is highly important for a child’s development!).

A Sensory Path Outdoors (or at Home)

This activity mainly engages the feet, but also the whole body. You simply prepare a path made of different materials for the child to walk on barefoot. On grass or carpet, you can place, one after another, for example, a terry towel, a piece of bubble wrap, a tray of dry beans, a coconut-fiber doormat—anything safe that gives distinct sensations. Walking barefoot on different surfaces is an amazing experience for a child: first soft and warm, then cool and rough, and so on. A home sensory path teaches children to differentiate stimuli through their feet and supports balance (the child learns to stay stable on changing surfaces). Preschools often organize these types of activity tracks—children enjoy them greatly, and at the same time stimulate receptors in their feet and muscles. If there is no space to lay out a large path, you can use ready-made sensory mats or panels (available in stores), or even organize a mini-path by placing different objects in a box for the child to touch with their feet. The important thing is for the child to move slowly and pay attention to what they feel under their feet—you can encourage them to describe the sensations (“is it soft or hard?”, “smooth or rough?”). This kind of play teaches sensory awareness and brings lots of laughter, especially if the whole family tries walking the unusual obstacle course barefoot.

“Magic Box” – Tactile Guessing Games

This is a great game for tactile perception. Prepare an opaque box or bag and place inside several different objects with clearly different textures. These could be, for example, a small plush toy, a toothbrush, a rubber ball, blocks—such as Mini Waffle blocks—a feather, a shell—anything, as long as they differ in shape and surface. The child’s task is to put their hand into the box, choose one object, and—without looking—guess what it is. At first, an adult can help by giving hints (“something soft… maybe a stuffed toy?”), but children quickly understand the rules and start asking for more difficult items.

This kind of guessing teaches the child to analyze tactile stimuli and compare them with memory—the child searches their mind for what feels soft, furry, or cylindrical, and so on. For a young child, this is quite a challenge and an excellent training in tactile perception. You can take turns—sometimes the child guesses, sometimes the parent (which makes it even more fun, because the child enjoys putting you to the test). A surprise box is easy to make yourself, yet it can work like a professional sensory integration tool. In a “fun” version, instead of naming the object, the child can describe it through sensations (for example, “it’s cold, smooth, and round”)—this is great for developing vocabulary related to touch.

Bringing Touch into Everyday Activities

Sensory development does not require special sessions—every day offers many opportunities to give a child tactile experiences. Cooking together is a perfect example: let your child get their hands messy in flour, knead chocolate dough, or mix salad with their hands. The child will be happy to help and at the same time feel different consistencies (powdery flour, sticky dough, slippery jelly). During bath time, we can use sponges with different textures—one soft and fluffy, another porous—and name the sensations (“this sponge is rough like a grater, and this one is soft like a cloud”). Encourage your child to use touch during small tasks, such as fishing toys out of a bowl of water (wet objects feel different), sorting dry laundry (the difference between silk and denim), or dusting with different cloths. Even something as simple as washing hands alternately in warm and cool water provides interesting sensory stimulation. Through these everyday activities, a child learns that touch is everywhere—and begins to notice the richness of sensations surrounding them. And for the parent, it is also a lesson in creativity: it turns out that ordinary household chores contain many “sensory” elements that can be turned into play.

What Should You Look for When Choosing Toys That Develop Touch?

Now that we know tactile play is important for older children too, it is worth thinking about which toys and sensory tools best support the development of the sense of touch. Here are a few things parents should pay attention to:

Safety and Age Appropriateness

This is the most basic criterion for any toy. For younger children (ages 3–4), make sure the parts are not too small (so that play does not create a choking risk) and that they do not have sharp edges. Materials should be non-toxic and skin-friendly—young children like to put things in their mouths or rub them on their faces, so it is better to avoid toys coated with, for example, irritating paint. Older children (ages 6–9) can manage smaller pieces, but we should still pay attention to solid workmanship, just as with Waffle-style blocks. Sensory toys are often squeezed, stretched, or stepped on barefoot—they need to withstand that! It is also good if they can be easily washed or cleaned, especially toys for food play or bath play. Check the recommended age range on the packaging as well—it will help you judge whether the toy will be too simple or too difficult for your child.

Variety of Stimuli vs. Simplicity

A tactile toy should offer interesting sensations, but at the same time should not overwhelm the child with too much. If everything lights up, makes noise, and also has ten different textures all at once, the child may get confused or quickly bored by the chaos. Sometimes less is more: one clear tactile feature (for example, a very soft ball or blocks with a rough surface) is better than combining every possible attraction in one toy. Pay attention to whether the key element is emphasized—for example, in a sensory book the background may be subdued, while the different materials to touch stand out clearly. Older children (ages 7–9) will appreciate more complex toys, such as our Constructor Expert blocks, but even they can get tired of overly intense stimulation. Especially if a child is sensory-sensitive, choose toys that introduce new sensations gradually rather than bombard them with everything at once.

Educational Value and Multi-Sensory Engagement

The best toys are those that grow with the child and allow for versatile play. In the case of tactile toys, those that involve other senses or skills in addition to touch work especially well. An example might be toys that react to touch—for instance, a rubber figure that squeaks or squirts water when squeezed. The child then has a reason to use their hands and tactile force (because something happens), while also connecting tactile input with auditory or visual stimuli (they see the effect of their action). Similarly, games in which touch is combined with thinking—for example, tactile memory games (matching pairs of materials with the same texture)—engage both the senses and memory at the same time. When looking for a toy, think about what the child can learn or experience with it. Does it develop hand skills? Does it introduce new words (such as “rough” or “smooth”)? Does it make the child think, match elements, or plan movement? The ideal tactile toy combines pleasure with usefulness—it entertains while also developing skills.

High Quality and Pleasant to the Touch

Since we are talking about toys that a child physically experiences, it is important that they feel pleasant or intriguing to the touch. Good sensory toys are made from materials that invite touching—soft, velvety, flexible, or on the other hand, interestingly rough (but not irritating). If a toy is meant to develop the sense of touch, it should itself provide a rich tactile experience. For example, blocks made of soft rubber will be more pleasant and safer than hard ones, while also offering different types of input (flexibility, surface texture). Our blocks can be described as follows: “The blocks are made from a soft and flexible material, making play with them extremely pleasant, safe, and quiet. Their texture provides children with valuable sensory experiences, and their varied shapes allow for the creation of all kinds of forms.” Exactly—texture! Pay attention to whether a toy has a texture that tells the child something (for example, raised patterns, massage bumps, fur to stroke). This also applies to books or cards: those designed for younger children often include sensory elements (different materials to touch), but older children can also enjoy tactile puzzles. If you are choosing a ball, perhaps one with massage spikes is better than a smooth one? If a notebook, maybe one with a glittery or suede cover so that it is interesting to touch? Children are naturally very sensory, so the quality of materials and finishing matters a lot here. A pleasant-to-touch plush toy or blanket may become a favorite for years precisely because of its texture. By contrast, a cheaply made toy that feels rough or sticky in an unpleasant way will probably end up forgotten in a corner. Look for toys that invite touch on their own—because that is the best guarantee that the child will actually use them.

Examples of Toys and Activities Supporting the Sense of Touch

There are many toys and tools on the market that intentionally engage the sense of touch. Below are a few examples of toy categories and activities that may appeal to children aged 3–9, while also positively influencing their sensory development:

Soft Building Blocks and Construction Toys

Blocks are a timeless toy, and there are now versions specially designed with tactile experiences in mind. An example is Mini Waffle blocks—they look like classic construction blocks, but are made from a soft, flexible, and pleasant-to-touch material. This means the child can not only connect them into three-dimensional structures, but also squish them in their hands, bend them, and experience their texture. The lack of hard edges means that even stepping on such a block barefoot does not hurt, and play remains quiet (the blocks do not clatter). What is more, the “waffle” texture provides valuable sensory input during building. The child can build according to their own ideas or use the included inspirations—these soft blocks connect easily, allowing both flat mosaics and spatial structures to be created. Playing with such a set develops imagination, manual skills, and logical thinking. Similarly valuable are three-dimensional puzzles with large raised elements (for example, textured 3D puzzles), foam bath blocks that stick to tiles when wet, or foam puzzles with different surface patterns. All of these require the child to manipulate the pieces and feel their shapes, which develops both touch and hand-eye coordination.

Tactile Games and Puzzles

It is worth paying attention to games based on recognizing or matching through touch. For younger children (ages 3–5), tactile memory games are an excellent choice—instead of picture cards, a pair consists of two objects with the same texture or shape, which have to be matched by feel. Another option is sensory puzzles—for example, puzzles where parts of the picture are made from different materials (a dog’s fur, a wooden fence, felt grass). For older children (ages 6–9), you can suggest logic puzzles with a tactile element, such as the earlier example of guessing with eyes closed, but in a more complex form—for instance, one child describes a hidden object by touch, while the other draws it on paper according to the clues.

Books and Educational Materials with Sensory Elements

Although tactile books are usually associated with infants, there are also publications for older children that engage touch. For preschoolers, there are, for example, science books where you can feel different surfaces with your finger (rocks, tree bark, dinosaur skin, and so on)—while reading, the child can actually touch what they are learning about. Another interesting idea is tracing lines and letters with a finger—exercise books or cards in which the path of the line is covered with rough material, and the child is asked to run their finger along it. In addition, tactile puzzles such as “find the way through a maze with your finger and your eyes closed” or “guess the shape of the letter drawn on your hand” can make ordinary learning more interesting. Many such materials can also be made at home—for example, by gluing pieces of different materials onto cardboard and playing sorting games.

Toys for Squeezing, Squashing, and Massage

In the category of tactile toys, it is impossible not to mention all kinds of squishy toys and anti-stress balls, which have become hugely popular with children (and adults too!). Rubber spiky balls, soft squishies shaped like food, silicone pop-it toys for clicking with the fingers—all of them provide unique tactile sensations and are great for releasing emotions. An interesting variation is massage toys—for example, spiky rollers, sensory brushes, or little “hedgehog” balls with protrusions. These can be rolled over the child’s body (or the child can use them on you!), providing pleasant tactile-proprioceptive stimulation.

Let Your Child Develop Through Experience

Touch is more than just receiving stimuli through the skin—it is a fundamental way for a child to explore the world and express emotions. Although sensory toys are often discussed in the context of infants, it is clear that preschoolers and younger school children also gain a great deal from play that engages touch. Stimulating this sense contributes to intellectual development (better perception, concentration, association), motor skills (coordination, movement planning, fine motor control), and the emotional-social sphere (sense of security, self-confidence, ability to cooperate). Through wise, purposeful tactile stimulation in the form of play, we help the child better understand both the environment and themselves—while at the same time strengthening the bond between us. The most important thing is that play should be adapted to the child’s age and needs. When a child feels safe and interested in the activity, learning happens naturally, almost “incidentally,” through great fun. So whether it is building with soft blocks, walking barefoot on grass, or guessing “what object is this?” with eyes closed—all of these experiences are an investment in the child’s development. Let us therefore allow children to touch, squeeze, squash, stroke, and experience the world with the whole surface of their little hands and feet. It is one of the best ways to support their curiosity and potential. After all, as the old saying goes, learning through play is the most effective—and we might add: play through touch may be the most enjoyable lesson in life for a child.