The world can be an exciting, wonderful yet daunting place for toddlers and young children. Everything is new to them, and each day several new lessons are learnt without them or you (as their parent or guardian) even trying. As an example, the typical 1-year-old only knows about 70 words. But by 18 months, they learn one new word every two waking hours!
So, how do you structure these lessons? Incorporating learning into creative play is a fun and simple way to develop their emotional, physical, mental, and social skills. Here are some cool ideas to help you get started.
Creative development
With a little one in tow, you quickly realise that there’s no such thing as ‘rubbish’… Instead of throwing old cardboard or plastic away, why not give it to your toddler as arts and crafts material? This can encourage their creative development and give them a few hours of fun!
The cardboard box that housed your new microwave could be turned into a truck, and that juice bottle a robot! All you need is some craft materials, like paint and fabrics, and a safe environment for them to explore. Be sure to keep an eye on them at all times during this fun task…
Physical development
It’s fundamental you stimulate your child’s physical development early on, as doing so can build a healthier body composition, improve cardiovascular fitness, and help create better motor skills. To make it extra exciting and fun, turn to toys like electric cars for the ultimate fun physical development.
Companies like RiiRoo specialise in getting kids active with electric cars, jeeps, motorbikes and go karts. The perfect gift or treat for your child, this creative playtime will also serve fantastic opportunities to learn and develop their skills.
Musical development
Motivate their musical development by utilising kitchen utensils for sounds and movement. How fun! All you need is a saucepan, a wooden spoon, and some space to explore the art of dance. Performing a task like this will help your child develop a sense of rhythm and differentiate one noise (like a beat) from another (a tap).
If you have the technology, why not find inspiration from videos on a platform such as YouTube? Find kid-friendly dance groups and encourage your child to copy the moves that they see in the videos.
Emotional development
Emotional development is critically important to children’s success later in life. In fact, emotionally intelligent children get better paying jobs later in life and are more likely to go to college. That is why many parents are turning to social emotional learning programs to help their children gain these skills.
In addition, exploring puppet play is a great way to work on your child’s emotional development, influencing their self-confidence, empathy, and their ability to develop meaningful and lasting relationships. The sheer number of ideas for kid’s puppets is astounding, so, you won’t be left desperate for inspiration when it comes to first creating them with your child – that’s part of the fun, too!
Once you have your puppets ready, encourage your little one to use their imagination in creating storylines and situations to put your characters in. The possibilities are endless! Insist they think outside of the box – cowboy and horse, alien and astronaut, race car driver and car…
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