The great thing about the year between 1st and 2nd birthdays is that your baby is old enough to enjoy active and interactive games with you, but not so old that they get tired of doing the same thing over and over during the day. So we talked about the games you play between 12 and 16 months. So what are the games do we have for our 16 to 20 months old?
Roll the Ball
The ball is one of the more popular and easiest toys to manipulate for your toddler to play with and it’s another great way to improve hand-eye coordination as well as action-consequence. You don’t want a big rubber ball, but a small, soft – squishy ball that will roll is ideal. Sit down on the floor and spread your legs a part so that you create boundaries for both of you. Then roll the ball back and forth towards each other.
Rock Collectors
Do you like taking your toddler out for a walk? Carry a small bucket for them or let them carry a tiny one of their own so they pick up little objects along the way like leaves, grass bits, rocks or pine cones and let them carry it in the bucket. It’s a great way to let them explore nature and don’t be surprised when they empty out their treasures and start collecting them again. It’s a great way to work on dexterity too and it can make a short walk or even a long one pretty pleasant for both of you.
Sort and Stack
Go for some small or mid-sized blocks that are stackable and go for different colors if you can find them. Then practice building different stacks with the blocks and sorting them by their colors; it may take a while to catch on and they may very well want to do their own thing with their stackable blocks or boxes and that’s okay too – my daughter used to set up her little play toys on each block and hop them from island to island as it were.
What games does your toddler like to play?