Why are magnetic play tables good for kids?
Most young children are fascinated by the way magnets stick to things.
A magnetic play table is a fun way for your child to:
- learn about colours, shapes, letters and counting
- improve fine motor skills
- experiment through play.
A magnetic play table can keep your child engaged and entertained, both at home and while you’re out and about. It can be especially good for a road trip, because your child can experiment and play with the magnets while you concentrate on driving.
What you need to make a magnetic play table
You can buy magnetic play tables, but it’s easy and low cost to make one yourself.
1. Find something to use as a magnetic base
It’s best to use something that’s the right size for your child. If it’s too small, your child won’t have room to move the magnets around. If it’s too big, it might slide off your child’s lap.
You can use a:
- baking tray
- small magnetic whiteboard
- chocolate or biscuit tin.
A tin is useful for storing the magnets when your child isn’t using them.
2. Collect or make magnets
You can use:
- large alphabet fridge magnets
- flat magnets – for example, promotional printed magnets for local businesses
- novelty or souvenir magnets – for example, of animals, TV characters or tourist attractions.
If you have some large flat magnetic fridge calendars or menus, you can cut these up into shapes, like stars, circles, squares and triangles.
Anything smaller than a 20-cent coin is a choking risk for toddlers. Product Safety Australia’s free, do-it-yourself Choke Check tool can help you identify toys and other objects that are choking or ingestion hazards.
How to use a magnetic table for play
How to do magnet play with your child
- Set up at a table, on the floor or even outside – let your child choose.
- Put the magnets onto the base and show your child how they stick.
- Follow your child’s lead. They might just want to move the magnets around on the table. Or they might want to make patterns or pictures.
- Sit with your child while they play. Talk about what your child is doing and ask questions. For example, ‘It looks like you’ve made a car. How fast does your car go?’
How to do magnet play on a road trip
- Make sure the magnetic table is comfortably placed on your child’s lap and won’t slide off.
- Put the magnets onto the base and show your child how they stick.
- Explain to your child that you won’t be able to turn around while you’re driving.
- While you’re driving, talk to your child about the magnets. Which do they like best? What are the colours and shapes? Do they have any animals or characters?
- If your child drops the magnets or tray, ask a back-seat passenger to help, or pull over when it’s safe.
- If you have a back-seat helper, they can keep extra magnets in a bag and give them to your child for variety.
Small strong magnets aren’t safe for children. In Australia, there’s a permanent ban on selling certain toys and jewellery that contain separate or loose small strong magnets. Find out more at Product Safety Australia – Small high-powered magnets.
How to adapt magnet play for children of different ages
Younger children
If your child is younger, they might not have the fine motor skills to hold flat magnets. Here are other options:
- Look for chunky magnets that your child can easily hold.
- Make chunky magnets by gluing small toys or blocks to flat magnets.
Older children
If your child is older, these options can get them thinking and creating:
- Group magnets by colour, shape or quantity.
- Use the magnets to make shapes or objects.
- Use letter magnets to make words.
How to adapt magnet play for children with diverse abilities
Magnetic table play is great if your child has limited mobility because you can bring the table to them. You might need to hold an edge of the tray to keep it stable .
If your child has difficulty with fine motor skills, big chunky magnets for easy holding can be good.
If your child is still developing pretend play skills, you could use visual or verbal prompts to help them expand their play.
If your child has difficulties with social interaction, magnetic play can be a way for them to play alongside other children without having to look directly at faces. You could make individual tables for each child.
You can get more ideas for adapting this activity from our articles on play and autistic children and play and children with disability. You might also like to explore our other activity guides. They can all be adapted to suit children with diverse strengths and abilities.