Bubbles are not just a fun activity for kids; they are an educational tool that we, as parents, can use to teach our children even more about the world around them!
Bubbles are not just a fun activity for kids; they are an educational tool that we, as parents, can use to teach our children even more about the world around them!
What Studies Shows:
Studies have shown that bubble play improves children’s development in various ways. For instance, it helps improve visual tracking, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and oral motor skills. Engaging in bubble play also supports cognitive development, including problem-solving and critical thinking, as children explore scientific concepts through hands-on experimentation. Additionally, bubble play fosters social interactions, communication skills, and cooperative play among young children. Incorporating bubble play into daily routines can provide a fun and effective way to support your child’s growth and learning.
Developing Visual tracking skills
Bubbles are an excellent way to help your baby or toddlers developing visual skills. We are not born with the visual skills we need for learning, including the skills to fix, follow, track, focus, converge, diverge and so on. These skills need to develop over time. How well your baby develops her visual skills, from the earliest months of life, will help her learn now as well as later at school. Because bubbles are both eye catching and slow moving they are a great way to help your little one learn to use her eyes and develop these skills.
Gross motor movement, balance and muscle tone development
For little babies, bubbles are a fun tummy time activity and every bit of happy tummy time helps with development! In this position bubbles also encourage head turning – right, left, up and down, movements that are needed to help control primitive reflexes, so important for future smooth, coordinated movement and learning.
Fine motor development
Once your child can grasp, he will want to hold the wand. It does get messy, but any practice at grasping, holding and manipulating the wand in and out of the container helps the development of fine motor control, important for the development of the correct pencil grip, writing and working with tools in the future. Give him plenty of opportunity to do this with both the left and the right hands
Hand-eye and foot-eye coordination
Popping the bubbles, be it with the whole hand, two hands, a finger, a foot or a toe all involve the development of hand-eye or foot-eye coordination. These early movement experiences form the basic building blocks of the catching, hitting, throwing and kicking skills involved in ball sports.
Spatial awareness and directionality
Bubble play can encourage the understanding of concepts such as; up, down, over, under, in front, behind, next to, above and below. For example: “Look up! There’s a bubble above your head!”
Speech, hearing and language development
Playing with bubbles provides many good opportunities for the development of speech, hearing and language. The early speech sounds of ‘buh’ in bubble and ‘puh’ in pop are naturally used and imitation encouraged during bubble play. As your child grows, bubbles provide many opportunities to encourage developing language skills as you talk about the bubbles being; big, small, wet, slimy and how they are moving; fast, slow etc
Developing Oral-motor skills
Once old enough, help your little one to learn to blow the bubbles himself. Blowing is good exercise for the developing muscles in the jaw and mouth. Learning to blow bubbles isn’t as easy as it seems and it may take a while to work it all out. Sucking in instead of blowing out is fairly common to start with but he will eventually get the hang of it and how to use the correct amount of force when he blows.
Developing Social communication skills
Bubbles are wonderful for groups, be they siblings, baby friends. The fun is infectious! In groups children further develop body and space awareness as they learn to move around and pop the bubbles without bumping into each other!
How Bubble Play Supports Children’s Development
| Developmental Area | Skills Developed | How Bubbles Help |
| Visual Tracking Skills | Fixing, following, tracking, focusing, converging, and diverging with eyes | Bubbles are eye-catching and slow-moving, making them perfect for helping babies and toddlers practice using their eyes and develop visual skills essential for learning and school readiness |
| Gross Motor Movement | Balance, muscle tone, head control, primitive reflex integration | Bubbles make tummy time fun for babies and encourage head turning in all directions (right, left, up, down), which helps control primitive reflexes needed for smooth, coordinated movement and learning |
| Fine Motor Development | Grasping, holding, manipulating objects, pencil grip preparation | Holding the bubble wand and dipping it in and out of the container develops fine motor control important for correct pencil grip, writing, and working with tools. Practice with both left and right hands is beneficial |
| Hand-Eye and Foot-Eye Coordination | Coordination for catching, hitting, throwing, kicking | Popping bubbles with whole hand, two hands, finger, foot, or toe develops hand-eye and foot-eye coordination, forming building blocks for ball sports skills |
| Spatial Awareness | Understanding directional concepts and spatial relationships | Bubble play teaches concepts like up, down, over, under, in front, behind, next to, above, and below through natural interaction and verbal cues |
| Speech and Language Development | Early speech sounds, vocabulary expansion, descriptive language | Natural use of sounds like ‘buh’ in bubble and ‘puh’ in pop encourages imitation. Provides opportunities to describe bubbles as big, small, wet, slimy and their movement as fast or slow |
| Oral-Motor Skills | Jaw and mouth muscle development, breath control | Learning to blow bubbles exercises developing muscles in jaw and mouth. Children learn proper blowing technique and force control, though it may take time to master |
| Social Communication Skills | Body awareness, space awareness, cooperative play | Group bubble play with siblings or friends is infectious fun that teaches children to move around and pop bubbles without bumping into each other, developing social interaction skills |
| Cognitive Development | Problem-solving, critical thinking, scientific exploration | Children explore scientific concepts through hands-on experimentation with bubbles, supporting cognitive development and understanding of cause and effect |
Making Bubble Play Fun and Safe
Bubbles are exciting, but a few tips can make playtime even better:
- Use Non-Toxic Bubble Solutions: Always choose safe, kid-friendly bubbles to avoid irritation if it gets in their eyes or mouth.
- Play Outdoors or in Easy-to-Clean Areas: Bubble solutions can be slippery, so outside or on mats is best.
- Use Different Bubble Tools: Try wands, hoops, or even homemade shapes to keep play creative and engaging.
- Set Simple Rules: Encourage kids to take turns popping bubbles and not running too fast to avoid accidents.
- Incorporate Learning: Count bubbles, talk about colors, or guess which bubble will pop first to make it educational.
Final Thoughts:
Bubbles aren’t just fun—they help kids learn, move, and grow! When children chase, pop, and blow bubbles, they are practicing important skills like talking, moving their bodies, and understanding the world around them.
At Listening Ears, we love seeing kids learn through play. Activities like bubble play make learning exciting and help every child grow happy, confident, and ready to explore new things!
FAQ's
Why are bubbles good for my eyes?
Bubbles help kids follow moving things, focus their eyes, and improve visual tracking skills, attention, learning ability, eye coordination, and overall brain development.
Can bubbles make me stronger?
Yes! Chasing and popping bubbles helps your muscles, balance, coordination, endurance, overall physical strength development, agility, energy, and healthy growth.
How do bubbles help my hands?
Holding and using the wand makes your fingers stronger, better at writing, drawing, gripping, using tools carefully, improving dexterity, hand control, and precise movements.
Can bubbles help me play sports?
Yes! Popping bubbles with hands or feet improves coordination, timing, reflexes, accuracy, strength, ball-handling skills, speed, agility, movement control, and reaction time.
What is spatial awareness?
It’s knowing where things are around you, like up, down, behind, beside, near, far, above, below, or around objects safely, clearly, and carefully.
How do bubbles help me talk?
Saying “pop” or “bubble” helps you practice sounds, speech skills, new words, pronunciation, language understanding, talking confidently, communication, and sentence formation.
Why should I blow bubbles?
Blowing bubbles makes your mouth and jaw muscles stronger, improves breath control, speech clarity, oral strength, coordination, breathing technique, and talking ability.
Can I play bubbles with friends?
Yes! Playing with friends teaches sharing, taking turns, moving safely, cooperating, teamwork, communication, social skills, friendship building, and learning patience together.