Messy play important for toddlers

My son sriansh loves to get Messy with clay,paints, cooking dough or even with water and I encourage him even when it's lot of effort in cleaning the mess afterwards. Why is messy play important for toddlers? Messy play is an open-ended exploration of materials and their properties. It allows children to use their natural curiosity and engage their senses at the developmental level appropriate for them. They learn foundational cognitive principles as they exercise motor, language, and social skills