Educational Games to Play With Your Toddler

Toddlers are full of energy and curiosity.  Once your child begins to walk, he will be ready to explore his surroundings in full force, using all of his five senses.  Through play, your toddler will process all the new things he discovers.  You can help his learning experiences at this age by participating in his play and initiating new games and activities to enhance his rapid development.

Peek-a-boo is still lots of fun during the toddler years.  Add lots of variations to this game as your child gets older, eventually evolving the game into a simple form of hide and seek.  Hide under towels or under the bed sheets and watch your little one shriek with delight when she discovers you.  When she hides under the blanket, help her learn the different parts of her body by finding an arm and saying, “Is that Susie’s arm?”  Do the same thing with her legs, her hair, and even her nose before pulling the blanket away and saying, “Is that Susie!?”

Sing songs and play rhyming games with your toddler to help him develop his language skills, hand and eye coordination, and many other essential skills, like cognitive thinking.  Set aside a time each day for reading.  Use a variety of picture books with your toddler.  Books about babies delight most children at this age and can help develop self-awareness.  Read books about everyday household objects, toys, or animals and let your toddler point to the pictures as you say its name.

Play animal games to enhance your toddler’s language development.  Look at pictures of animals, say the name of the animal, and make the sound that the animal makes.  The Fisher Price The Farmer Says See and Say is an excellent toy to play the game with.  Small animal figures or farm or jungle play sets are other fun toys that can enhance language skills through animal sounds.

Encourage your toddler to pretend play by making her favorite teddy bear or doll come to life.  Make the doll talk to your little one, let her pretend to feed it with a spoon, or make believe the doll is sad and play along with your child’s reactions.  Stage a tea party for older toddlers with a pretend tea set and plenty of stuffed friends.  Encourage your child to serve her guests to promote all types of development, including fine motor, social skills, and language.

Once your toddler has mastered walking, have fun exploring the outdoors together.  Take a walk around the yard or through the park and collect interesting things, like acorns, rocks, and leaves.  Talk about the items you find and discuss the way they feel and smell.  Sit back and relax with your toddler outside.  Watch the clouds and name cloud pictures together.  Listen to the different sounds you hear outdoors and talk about them.  Your toddler may not have much to say until her vocabulary grows, but listening to you enhances that development.

The toddler years are a fun time for parents and energy.  Toddlers grow and develop very quickly and their eagerness and curiosity help them learn new skills at a very rapid rate.  Make the most of these years by providing plenty of interaction through educational play.  

See Next Article: Educational Games for Babies 0 to 6 Months