At two years old, a child engaged in messy sensory play activates touch, proprioception, smell, and vestibular systems simultaneously, which is why occupational therapists watching a toddler smear yoghurt across a tray see more neurological work happening than during a tidy worksheet.

Occupational therapists see four sensory systems firing at once when a toddler plays with yoghurt — tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, and olfactory. Here's what the neuroscience actually shows. The post At two years old, a child engaged in messy sensory pl…