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Toddler Play Time
Playtime
While he’s playing, he’s learning. You can be the best teacher your child will ever have and it can all be done through play.


Toys for toddlers
Good toys needn’t be expensive ones; that cardboard box can become a space rocket, that old hat you bought for a wedding can make him into a scarecrow.
Water, bricks, sand… these simple things will help your toddler learn some basic things about the world. Play-dough can be moulded into very satisfying shapes, but why do some things change shape and others don’t? What makes the loudest crash when it’s dropped? Why will bricks stack on top of each other but balls won’t?
Push-along toys, shape-sorters and simple puzzles can all be fun, especially if you help. As he gets older, tape-players he can operate himself to listen to music, rhymes and stories will be enjoyable, too. And every toddler likes crayons and finger paints. This is the time when masterpieces start decorating the kitchen walls!
Just as your toddler learns to use his body over the second and third years, he will spend a lot of time learning how to ‘be’ in the world, too. He may want to imitate his parents, and will appreciate ‘real life’ toys like a tea set or a tool set so that he can copy you. When you go out, he may want to push his teddy in a buggy, or drive a toy car. There will be times when you need to explain that this just isn’t going to work – but allow it when you can.
Make-believe games will become more important as your child grows. Dressing up clothes can simply be some of your old ones, or shoes or handbags, but they allow your child to be a doctor, a firefighter, a train driver, or a daddy to his toys.

Memory and thought
Your toddler is remembering more and figuring out how things work.
At around a year, most toddlers:
  • are able to wave bye-bye
  • search for a lost toy because he can remember it.
Around 18 months, most toddlers:
  • are able to point to their eyes, mouth and nose as you name them
  • go back to a game if interrupted.
At around two, most toddlers:
  • are able to ‘post’ simple shapes through holes
  • remember when you do things; sit on the bottom step when it’s time to put shoes on, fetch a book for story time.
By three, most toddlers:
  • are able to do large-piece jigsaw puzzles
  • act out versions of the real world; pour a cup of pretend ‘tea’, take toys for a ride.
TV
Most television doesn’t wait for your toddler to catch up and work out what’s going on. There are a few programmes, though, that do engage a toddler’s attention, and teach new ideas, songs and stories. He’ll enjoy them more if you watch with him and talk about what you see. Some DVDs become like favourite books and are watched over and over. Perhaps, not only because toddlers like consistency, it gives them a sense of security in the world, but also because they understand more of what’s happening every time they watch. TV and DVDs are a useful babysitter when you’ve got something you need to do, but they can’t beat the fun and learning that he gains from interacting with people in the real world – the best way for him to develop his language and social skills!

Outdoor play
A visit to the park is on the top ten list of many toddlers’ favourite things to do. Open space in which to practise those new skills of walking, running and kicking is exciting. And if he heads for the climbing frame, don’t hold him back. He wants to find out what he’s capable of. Encourage him, but stay close enough to catch him if he falls. Parks are good places to teach your child, too, about the difference between places where he can run free and places where he must stay close.
In this country, the weather isn’t always kind to energetic toddlers. That’s when baby gym sessions come into their own. Your child has the opportunity to play on equipment such as trampolines and climbing frames that few of us could afford, and he will learn how to balance, turn, stand on one leg, hop and jump in supervised safety.

Social time
Children usually settle more easily into school life if they have spent some time in a playgroup, nursery or preschool setting. In the toddler years, combining childcare with early learning becomes more important.
In a nursery or playgroup, toddlers learn some of the skills they need for school, but also how to behave in a group; sharing toys, having quiet times and playtimes, and getting along without mum or dad.
When you visit a nursery or playgroup that you’re thinking about for your toddler, look for these signs:
  • are the children happy and relaxed, enjoying themselves?
  • are the staff friendly and welcoming?
  • is the building and outside play area safe and attractive?
Help your toddler settle in:
  • visit several times before you leave him there
  • let him play while you are at the other end of the room, or helping to make the drinks in the kitchen
  • stay for just half an hour the first time
  • tell him that you are going and will come back
  • stay calm and positive yourself (however you feel inside)
  • come back just when you say you will.
Make sure your childminder or nursery knows his likes and dislikes and leave his favourite toy or cuddly if he needs it to fall asleep.

Reading
Many toddlers love to have the same book read to them over and over again. You can help him learn by pointing out what is in the pictures. Books with lots of objects to name or hidden things to find are popular, too. And the more you read to your child, the sooner he will take the step to reading for himself when he’s older.

Making friends
Making friends Most toddlers enjoy having other children around. Until the age of about three, he will play near them rather than with them, but will form strong attachments to children he sees regularly. At this age, toysharing isn’t an option; one or the other will have to have it, or an adult will have to take it away and keep the peace. Even the best of friends of toddler age can be hurtful to one another – social skills take time.
Between the ages of two and three, most toddlers enjoy spending some time each week in a group of children. They learn to make friends, but adults are on hand to organise activities, sort out squabbles and read stories. Check notice boards or ask your health visitor for details of playgroups in your local area; a couple of sessions a week could be just the social event your toddler needs!

For the next Your Toddler Guide Chapter, Tantrums, Click here arrow

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