Amongst my Tips on Toddler Play #1 is – Make play fun. Play is the way toddlers learn. Learn about their skills. Learn about the world around them. Learn about cause and effect. Learn vocabulary. Learn communication. Play is super important to toddlers in terms of learning. Come see how my toddler plays…
(Aside: it very atypical to see this toddler sit and play – he is an -on-the-go-sort-of-guy so I am always amazed when a toy is engaging enough to attract him to stay in one place). Here he is with Jake and the Never Land Pirates Hook’s Jolly Roger (no he hasn’t seen Peter Pan and thus doesn’t know Hook. Instead he calls this petit pirate “the man”).
I could see dear son discovering while he played with this toy. “Whad’s dat?!” he’d say as he pointed to the flag on the ship. Being a guy who loves things to be “FALLING” (yes he says it loud and long FALLLIIINNGGG!) he was excited to have “the man” fall through the trap door into the jail.
Geez, I love it when a toy gets his attention. Not just that he stays still (if only briefly) I love watching him discover. *heart melts*
A little while later I brought out this toy (Tips for Toddler Play #2 – Switch Up Toys…switch toys around so there is always something new to discover). This is a Race ‘n Chase Batcave which incorporates one of his most favourite toys: Wheelies into play. (No, he hasn’t seen Batman and doesn’t know the caped crusader nor The Joker – but he was happy to repeat “Bapman” and “Joper” after I introduced him to the new Wheelie friends.
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He’d place, roll, push and crash (lots of crashing…sorry Bapman) these Wheelies up and down the track.
He quickly discovers the two sides of play and moved up and down, left and right, standing and squatting to see where the cars went. #3 Tips on Toddler Play: present toys which encourage skill development. As a Mom, I like it when a toy offers gross and fine motor skill development – simply because I have an active boy that needs the physical challenges. Yes, it would be good if his vocabulary developed a bit more too (but really – it makes me smile to hear “Joper CRASH” – he’ll get the language eventually – right now his toddler tongue twists are just adorable).
To round out my Tips on Toddler Play I give you #4 Make Playtime Positive. Encourage your toddler to discover, play, laugh, move. Playtime shouldn’t be rushed. Or with a set outcome (sure we can play with a puzzle but I don’t expect the puzzle to be done perfectly like the picture on the box – he’s only 2!). Open-ended play is a great way for toddlers to have fun.
And having fun is an important thing to learn for anyone of any age.
Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own
Great post! I hide some of my son’s toys and bring them back after 3 weeks so that he doesn’t get bored of them. I love to switch up his toys!
I always mean to hide toys but by 5pm I’m too tired to even clean them up.
I loved reading this post — he must have had a BLAST with these toys! He does seem quite focused!
He sat for at least 10 minutes – which is an enternity for this child.
So many great toys, I can sit and watch the kids play for hours
Quality toys make for quality play n’est pas?!
I think it’s important to make make playtime positive.