Water Balloons in Play Therapy
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Okay, so last week I brought reusable water balloons into session and honestly? It was one of those moments where I wanted to text every therapist I know and say go get these right now.
Here's what we did. I asked my client to think of one thing that brings up big feelings, something that makes them angry or scared. Then they got to throw the water balloon and yell it out loud. "I hate bullying!" Splash. "Snakes are scary!" Splash.
My kiddo laughed. Like a real, full-body laugh. And then let out this big sigh and just... started talking. About the thing. About what was actually going on.
That's the magic of doing this work the way we do it. The play creates the opening.
Why Reusable Water Balloons Are Great for This
I want to be honest about something I think about a lot as a play therapist: I'm not bringing things into session just because they're fun. Fun is great. But fun with a clinical purpose is the whole point.
I say this in supervision all the time -- you have to understand the WHY behind what you're doing, and then you get to have SO much fun with it. Directive play therapy isn't about grabbing random Pinterest activities. It's about knowing your theory, knowing your goal, and then finding creative, developmentally appropriate ways to get there. Once you really know that, you can use water balloons. Or slime. Or puppets. Or whatever your kid is into.
So what's the WHY here? A few things.
First, kids often can't just sit down and talk about big feelings. Heck, a lot of adults can't either. We don't always have the words in the moment, and even when we do, saying something scary or painful out loud can feel like too much. The throw gives kids a physical action to attach the feeling to. It moves the emotion through the body rather than just leaving it stuck somewhere in the chest or the throat.
Second, and this is something I feel really strongly about: some of our biggest, scariest experiences get stored in the brain as images rather than words. Especially trauma, especially early experiences, especially anything that happened before a child had strong language. The body holds those things. Play and physical activity give us a way to access and express what language alone can't reach. This is left brain right brain integration, and it's part of how healing actually happens.
The reusable balloons specifically were amazing for the practical reason that they fill in seconds. No prep, no mess of broken latex all over the sidewalk, and my client could just keep going. Fill it up, name a feeling, throw it, fill it up again. The repetition and the rhythm of that is regulating in itself.
Then We Did This Afterward and It Became a Full Intervention
After the balloon throwing, we grabbed water and paintbrushes and painted pictures and feelings words onto the sidewalk. Just water on concrete. And then we watched the sun dry them away.
We talked about feelings that way. How they come, how real they are when they're here, and how they change. The picture is there and then it's gone. That's not the same as pretending the feeling didn't matter. It's more like, the feeling got to exist and be real and now it's shifting.
You can also use this as a coping skills metaphor, which I love. The sun drying up the picture becomes a stand-in for the things we do to help ourselves through big feelings. The sun is the skill. What are your suns? What helps you feel better when something's really hard?
It's simple. It's cheap. It required basically no prep. And it gave us material to work with for the whole rest of the session.
What This Actually Looks Like as a Session Plan
In case it's helpful to see the whole thing laid out, here's roughly how I structured it.
• Start inside. Brief check-in, nothing heavy. Just land in the space together.
• Move outside with the water balloons. Explain the activity simply: we're going to throw some feelings today. What's something you really don't like, or something that makes you mad or scared?
• Let them throw as many as they want. The refilling is part of it. Let it be loud, let it be silly, let the laughter happen. The laughter is not a sign that the work isn't serious. It's a sign that the child feels safe enough to actually be in it.
• Transition to the sidewalk painting. Brushes and a cup of water. Paint pictures, paint words, whatever comes up. No art skill required.
• Watch it dry together and let the conversation happen. Follow their lead on where it goes.
• Come back inside to close. What did we do today? What did you notice? Brief, calm, grounded ending.
A Word About What's Really Going On Underneath This
Sometimes people see play therapy from the outside and think we're just playing. And I get it. It can look that way.
But play is the natural language of children. It's how they make sense of the world, process experiences, and communicate what they don't yet have words for. When I'm using something like water balloons or puppets or slime in session, I'm not reaching for a distraction. I'm meeting a child in their language and using that language to help them do something that's actually really hard.
The most important thing I do in any session isn't the activity. It's creating safety. In the space and in the relationship. Because when a child truly feels safe, they will do the work they need to do. They always do. Our job is to build the conditions for that.
The water balloon just happened to be a really good door into that this week.
The Supplies I Used
The reusable water balloons I used fill in seconds using a simple magnetic closure -- no tying, no fussing, no wasted time between throws. They're durable, they don't leave latex pieces everywhere, and honestly they're just more fun than traditional balloons because the child can be independent with them. They fill themselves up and go again without needing help.
Click HERE for the re-usable water balloons I used.
Some links may be affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend things I've actually used.
You might also enjoy:
• Why Slime Belongs in Your Play Therapy Room
• How Play Therapy Helps Children with Anxiety
• 5 Ways to Use Wax Craft Sticks in Play Therapy Sessions
• The Best Puppets for Play Therapy (and How to Use Them)
Have you tried water play activities in session? I'd love to hear what's worked in your room -- drop it in the comments.