While playing with water is developmentally appropriate regardless of the child's age or abilities, family members and caregivers should always consider safety factors when children are anywhere near water. Children can enjoy water play with great abandon, but adults need to be aware that young children can drown in less than an inch of water. It is also recommended that parents and family members take child CPR instruction and learn about the safety hazards in and around pool areas. Individual water tubs at a table are great for enhancing fine motor skills. For younger children, eye-hand coordination can be practiced by retrieving objects with tongs, aquarium nets, scoops, and fingers.
Small muscles get a workout as plastic tubes are fitted to funnels and sponges are wrung dry.
Very young children may also enjoy spending many happy moments repetitively filling and emptying containers. Children can learn about measurement by using measuring cups or discovering the best way to squirt long and short distances using squeeze bottles or plant misters filled with water. A child's vocabulary is enriched as she uses words such as funnel, surface, float, and strain. Adults can promote language acquisition by adding foam or rubber alphabet letters or numbers to a container filled with water to be fished out with nets. Name the letters or numbers they catch, spell out their names, or see who can catch the highest or lowest number.