How to Pick Fun Activities With Toddlers
Toddlers approach life with gusto, creating a flurry of activity as they celebrate their increased mobility and developing sense of self. Keeping them busy and out of the pots and pans poses new challenges for parents but also provides new opportunities to interact on a more personal level. Choosing fun activities geared toward developing your toddler's physical, emotional and cognitive skills provides plenty of time to have fun while learning about the world around him too.
Things You'll Need
- Pretend play props (clothes and accessories)
- Riding toys
- Cardboard boxes
- Wooden blocks
- Pillows
- Soft blankets
- Picture books
- Bubbles
- Balls
Instructions
Look for toys with moving parts for your little one to manipulate and explore. While a 1-year-old can work dials and knobs and open and close lids or covers, a 2-year-old often enjoys riding or pulling toys with moving wheels. As your toddler nears 3, he is old enough to try riding a tricycle. Provide your toddler with toys for pretend play. These include stuffed animals, dolls, toy vehicles, action figures, and play sets designed with imaginative play in mind. Include dress-up clothes, old purses or wallets, play phones and old costume jewelry. Let your toddler take the lead as you join him in his make-believe play. Collect cardboard boxes to make playhouses, spaceships or pirate ships to stretch your little one̵7;s imagination. Add a touch of paint and few decorative touches to the outside and let your toddler enjoy an afternoon in dramatic play. Transforming an unused corner of the house into a magical play space keeps toddlers busy with wholesome fun for hours. Give your little one an assortment of wooden blocks and challenge him to make towers, create patterns with the colors or sort blocks according to color or shape. Join in on the fun, create patterns of your own, and challenge him to to repeat the pattern. Young toddlers can distinguish simple patterns such as alternating colors, while older toddlers can create more complex patterns. Create a reading nook with pillows and a soft blanket and provide her with sturdy books she can read on her own. Choose books with brightly colored images of everyday objects, animals or trucks and trains. Take turns reading with your toddler and talk about what is happening in the book. While a 1- to 2-year-old can point and name pictures of common objects, a 3-year-old can describe what she sees in the pictures and may be able to retell the events of the story. Take an excursion to the park and blow bubbles with a wand. While a 1-year-old will delight in watching the bubbles float in the air, older toddlers can chase them or even make some of their own. Bubble blowing provides the opportunity to teach your child positional words such as up, down, over and under. Play ball with your toddler to exercise large and small muscles. Choose balls in a variety of sizes and encourage throwing, kicking and chasing to give your little one a workout while having fun. Previous:How to Tell Nursery Rhymes
