I love playing with my 19-month-old son. Lately his favorite thing to do is basically destroy whatever I manage to build with his blocks. I try to make a tower and he knocks it down as hard as he can. I’m thinking someone would really love to play whack-a-mole…
But, it’s not realistic to play all day. There are things that need to get done around the house. At the same time, you still have to watch and interact with your toddler. What is the solution? I am a big believer in including your toddler in your everyday activities. There are tons of opportunities for teaching during the most mundane chores.
For example, sorting laundry is the perfect excuse to talk about colors, the concept of clothes belonging to a certain person in the family, and to identify different types of clothing. You might describe each item as you toss it into the basket. “This is daddy’s black shirt. This is mommy’s red sweater.” Make it a game by allowing your toddler to do the sorting. Hand him or her an item as ask them to put it in the appropriate basket.
Other little tasks are not only fun for your toddler, but are great ways to improve on their motor skills. When I sweep the kitchen, for example. I give a small dust broom to my son so he can sweep, too. He watches and mimics what I do with the large broom. He will even pick up the stray cheerios and put them into the garbage can for me!
Planned crafts and organized play time are important for your toddler’s development, but with a little creativity, the simplest of activities can be adapted to become learning opportunities as well. Be willing to take a little more time completing a chore so you can use that opportunity to teach your toddler something new.
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