fun things to do with yr toddlers

Here is a list of activities you can start trying to help with their development. These activities are geared for 12-16 months. I had this list saved in a file so I can't recall where I got this information originally.

1. Babies love games at this age (Pat-a-cake, This Little Piggy, etc.) Try different ways of playing the games and see if your baby will try it with you. Hide behind furniture or doors for Peedaboo; clap blocks or pan lids for Pat-a-cake.

2. Babies enjoy push and pull toys. Make your own pull toy by threading yogurt cartons, spools, or small boxes on a piece of yarn or soft string (about 2 feet long). Tie a bead or plastic stacking ring on one end for a handle

3. Play the naming game. Name body parts, common objects, and people. This lets your baby know that everything has a name and helps him or her begin to learn these names.

4. Cut up safe finger foods (do not use foods that pose a danger of your baby's choking) in small pieces and allow your baby to feed himself. IT is good practice to pick up small things and feel different textures (bananas, soft crackers, berries)

5. Make puppets out of a sock or paper bag - one for you and one for you baby. Have you puppet talk to your baby or your baby's puppet. Encourage your baby to "talk" back

6. Tape a large piece of drawing paper to a table. Show your baby how to scribble with a large nontoxic crayon. Take turns making marks on the paper. It's also fun to paint with water.

7. Make an obstacle course with boxes or furniture so your baby can climb in, on, over, under and through. A big box can be a great place to sit and play.

8. Let your baby "help" during daily routines. Encourage your baby to "get" the cup and spoon for mealtime, to "find" shoes and coat for dressing, and to "bring" the pants or diaper for changing. Following directions is an important skill for your baby to learn.

9. To encourage your baby's first steps, hold your baby in standing position, facing another person. Have you baby step toward the other person to get a favorite toy or treat.

10. Arrange furniture so your baby can work his or her way around a room be stepping across gaps between furniture. This encourages balence in walking.

11. Let you baby help you clean up. Play "feed the wastebasket" or "give it to mommy or daddy."

12. Your baby is learning that different toys do different things. Give your baby lots of things to roll, push, pull, hug, shake, poke, turn, stack, spin, stir.

13. Give your baby containers with lids or different compartments filled with blocks or other small toys. Let you baby open and dump. Play "putting things back." This will help your baby learn how to release objects where he or she wants them.

14. Babies continue to love making noise. Make sound shakers by stinging canning rims together or filling child proof medicine bottles with different sounding objects like marbles, rice, salt, bolts, etc. Be careful to secure lids tightly!

15. Make a surprise bag for your baby to find in teh morning fill a paper or cloth bag wtih a soft toy, something to make a sound, a little plastic jar with a screw-top lid, or a book with cardboard pages.

16. Most babies enjoy music. Clap and dance to the music. Encourage your baby to practice balance by moving forward, around, and back. Hold his or her hands for support, if needed.

17. Loosely wrap a small toy in a paper towel or facial tissue without tape. Your baby can unwrap it and find a surprise. Use tissue paper or wrapping paper too. It's brightly colored and noisy.

18. This is the time your baby learns that adults can be useful. When you baby "Asks" for something by vocalizing or pointing, respond to his or her signal. Name the object your baby wants and encourage him to communicate again - taking turns with each other in a "conversation."

19. Play "pretend" with a stuffed animal or doll. Show and tell your baby what the doll is doing (walking, going to bed, eating, dancing on the table) See if your baby will make the doll move and do things as you request. Take turns.

20. Prepare your baby for a future activity or trip by talking about it before hand. Your baby will feel a part of what is going on rather than being just and observer. It may also help reduce some fear of being "left behind."