Cognitive Activities for Toddlers Ages 12 to 24 Months

Name That Noise

• Ask your toddler to identify noises as they occur, such as the telephone ringing, an ambulance passing by or water running. This encourages the ability to process information and recognize sounds in everyday life. You can also play this game with different voices. Place your toddler in a separate room. Either you or your husband should then call the toddler's name loud enough that she can hear you, instructing her to come into the room where you are. Ask her which one of your called her name. Being able to recognize voices and noises helps your toddler understand there are many levels of meaning behind the sounds she is hearing.

Teach Her How to Choose

• Decision making is an important part of cognitive development. It fosters the ability to think for yourself and come up with solutions that are not obvious. Encourage early decision-making skills by giving your toddler two choices and allowing her to pick. Ask her if she wants applesauce or some melon, or give her a choice of what book she wants you to read to her.

Sing the ABCs

• Sing the Alphabet song to your toddler so she begins to learn it herself. Make the song cheerful and dance along, encouraging her to join you. Also provide electronic toys that sing the ABCs. Letter recognition is a helpful part of acquiring language skills and is the first step in the early reading process. As soon as your toddler is comfortable listing all of the letters (in the form of a song), you can move on to showing her the letters and having her match each one with its name and sound. This will prepare her for reading.

Create Counting Games

• Toddlers between the ages of 1 and 2 should be able to count and know how many people or objects appear in front of them. Make counting fun by lining up your toddler's stuffed animals and counting them aloud or counting her toes as you get her dressed. Learning the numbers is the first step in acquiring basic mathematics skills. You can encourage early addition and subtraction by placing objects in front of her one at a time and announcing how many there are, such as, "Here is one bear. I'll add one more and now we have two."

Sing Nursery Rhymes

• Don't limit your singing to the alphabet. Toddlers love songs, which can function as excellent teaching methods. Rhyming songs teach toddlers rhythm and help with language development, while songs such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" can teach a toddler where body parts are located.