As your baby grows up and starts walking, running and climbing, the way he plays changes dramatically. As his physical abilities improve, the child from 12 to 24 months acquires a lot of new skills: talking, playing games, interacting and making friends. The game is an integral part of this development.
- Toddlers love to touch and explore . You can stimulate their creativity by arranging your home safely so you do not always have to say no. Placing banned items out of reach will help you avoid confrontations. Outdoor activities also offer children great opportunities to learn about their environment by experimenting, touching and discovering new things. Closely supervise your toddler outdoors.
- Toddlers move around the clock . Moving allows them to practice their new skills: walking, running, jumping, kicking and throwing. Every day, spend a lot of time playing outdoor activities so that your child can develop these skills and be active.
- Toddlers like to climb . To promote this skill safely while taking in fresh air, go to the neighborhood park or playground. Modular games must be age-appropriate and well maintained. There must be a type of safe floor to cushion falls. Always supervise activities at the playgrounds and stay close to your child when using the play facilities.
- Toddlers want to do what others do . Encourage your child to participate in the house by asking him or her to do simple tasks: pick up toys, fold clothes or broom.
- Toddlers develop their imagination . At 24 months, your child will start playing imaginary games. He could play with familiar objects or invent small stories about his cars, trains or dolls.
- Resist the urge to always run your toddler’s games . Sit and watch, and let him come to you when he needs you. Watch, wait and marvel!
Toys suitable for toddlers
At this age, your child begins to find his toys more interesting because he is now able to handle them well. Often, the best toys are the simplest: blocks, floating bath toys, pots and pans, or empty plastic containers. Toddlers learn how objects work and explore cause-and-effect relationships. They also love filling and emptying containers.
Your child does not need expensive or complicated toys. Here are some safe and attractive toys for children of this age:
- Toys that can be pushed and pulled (with short ropes)
- Trotters that can be moved with the feet
- Dolls or simple animals that can be dressed, preferably with Velcro or snaps (pay attention to parts or buttons that can tear)
- Simple multi-piece puzzles
- Toddler construction toys
- Large boxes of cardboard where doors and windows have been cut so that the child can climb and pass the head
- Toys that can be stacked and sorted, large boxes of plastic or wood with holes to enter blocks of corresponding shapes
- Big soft balloons that can be thrown and hit
- Musical toys (drums, maracas)
- Cars, trains and trucks that can be easily held in the hand
- Broom and dustpan child
- Scarves for playing “hello”, which can also be used as dolls, dance accessories or capes of superheroes
- Workbenches, blocks, toy phones
- Accessories for playing in sand and water (bucket, shovel, rake or sieve)
- Simple costumes, like a hat or shoes to mom or dad
- Accessories for making bubbles. Even if you have to blast yourself to make the bubbles, know that this simple activity helps your child to follow an object of the eyes (following the bubbles that move in the air), to understand the relationship of cause and effect ( the sound of bursting bubbles) and improve overall motor skills (running after bubbles and stretching to burst them)