Fun Activities For Toddlers That Help In Development
Toddlers are children between the ages of 1 1/2 to 3 years old. There is a big difference in their abilities over this period of time. By the time a child is three they have mastered many things such as following directions, playing with other children, completing some sentences and enjoying hearing stories and can speak sentences.
The one and a half years old, on the other hand, can pile up 3 or 4 blocks, pick up a toy without falling and begin to jump up and down. Their talk at this stage is described as ‘jargon’ with very few words that can be understood. These activities are directed at the younger child.
It does not take much to entertain a child at the age of one and a half. Everything one does makes them laugh, whether it is blowing on their stomach or doing peek-a-boo with a magazine. It makes one happy just to see their determination and joyful disposition.
It is always an excellent idea to make any games or play time as educational as possible. These kinds of activities let them achieve command of certain things that will be very beneficial in their school and daily life. There are an unlimited number of these kinds of things that are easy to do.
Children love colorful balloons. Blowing up a number of them in the basic various colors, tying them with a string and then letting the child hold the string while it floats in the air always fascinates them. The string needs to be tied on the wrist, of course. When handing them a balloon saying, “Here is the red balloon” or “Would you like the green balloon” will assist them in learning the basic colors.
Reading stories from books on the market, that are made for children, with heavy cardboard pages and colorful pictures is an excellent activity, especially when one has them point out pictures as the story is read. This helps develop their reading abilities as well as being able to associate the picture and the word. Even if the story has to be read every day, the child is learning the sounds and words.
Another learning activity is having a cabinet with easy to open doors, filled with the child’s treasures. After playing with them and their toys, i. E. Stacking blocks, pushing cars (boy), dressing a doll (girl) have them help put the things away. This is a learning experience. While the playing together is fun, it teaches them to put things away when finished.
Children this age like to put things such as blocks, in a small pull wagon, and pull it around. This is a good way to teach pulling to make things move. Having them go down a small slide in the park is a fun thing for them as long as mother or father is there to catch them and helps them to overcome any fears that might develop if this were done at a later age.
Making a tunnel of large pillows for them to crawl through with dad or mom at the other end gives them a feeling of security and is fun for them. Throwing and playing with a soft fuzzy ball is a great activity and teaches coordination. If one is really ambitious, making a board with various knobs and other things that turn or pull will keep them occupied for hours.
Toddlers can have learning experiences built in to their play times. This is part of developing and growing up. It is all part of life but can be fun at the same time when in the company of mom or dad.
