Babies grow at amazing speeds, everyday they’re learning something new for the first time. As parents, we want to hone in on these emerging skills and help our little’s succeed with mastering them. The first step, is understanding what skills are appropriate for your child’s age, and then find activities to help your child learn and grow!
Cognitive activities to Try at Home
Developing Self-Awareness with a Baby Doll – Developmental time frame: Age 13-15 months
She may have discovered those cute little toes months ago, but now she is really only just beginning to understand that those toes are hers! this understanding will help baby be able to use those body parts in space, and start understanding the difference between “mine” and “yours.” there’s several ways to go about helping baby identify her own body parts. one easy way is with a life-like doll! you as the teacher can help point out each part on the doll, and then on baby. Soon enough, baby will be dancing to head, shoulders, knees, and toes all by herself! repeat the lesson daily to help baby understand concept and language.
Including Your Young Toddler in Household Activities
Sometimes I feel most successful as an OT when I can get my little to participate in “real-life” tasks. That’s what OT is – helping people across the lifespan complete their meaningful and purposeful occupations or activities of daily living as independently as they can! With young kiddos, their greatest occupation is play. They learn SO much through play and it’s important to their well-being to practice what they’ve learned in play in real-life occupations. Around the age 12-14 months, toddlers begin to understand some of these “occupations” in the home: washing the dishes, doing the laundry, sweeping the floors, etc. They want to help you, so include them!
- Ways your young toddler can “help” with chores:
- Take the laundry out of a front-loading dryer and put it in a basket
- Cut a mop or broom down to size (or purchase a child-sized item) and ask them to clean the floors (my kiddo is a HUGE fan of this – this is the one I recently bought her https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MCMDFRN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
- Fill a small watering can and have them water the plants
- Give them a duster and have them help you dust the furniture surfaces
- Give them a paintbrush and let them “paint” the fence or side of the house (with a tray or bowl of water)
What we are working on:
- As I mentioned above, practicing real-life skills is crucial to development. It gives them a feeling of accomplishment and belonging when they can be a contributing member to the family
- By completing these tasks your little works on balance, problem-solving, reaching, coordination, proprioception (perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body), and SO much more.
- For a detailed list of activities broken down by ages 14 months to 5 years, visit: https://www.mother.ly/child/age-appropriate-chores-for-your-toddlerfrom-14-months-to-5-years-old
Magnetic Fishing Game
GO FISH! Here’s a fun game that works well with a variety of ages from 14 months through kindergarten! You can buy several of these plastic magnetic fishing sets online for around $10, or if you’re crafty, you can easily make your own! (I’ll show you how below).
I was actually searching for a fishing net for bath play when I found this set on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0856WVS81/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
What you’ll need:
- Wooden dowel(s)
- String or twine
- Magnets
- Construction paper
- Paperclips
- Hot glue
- Scissors
How to make your fishing game:
- Wrap and hot glue string around the end of the dowel
- Hot glue magnet to the string
- Cut out several colorful fish shapes
- Attach a paperclip to each fish
- Write numbers or letters on fish for some higher level learning challenges (see below)
What we’re working on:
- Motor control: Your little has to work hard at controlling those upper extremity muscles to place that magnet right over the fish, and then your little will need fine motor coordination to pluck her fish off the “hook.” For older littles, have them decorate their own fish with colored markers for handwriting skill development.
- Cognition: This activity is huge for cognitive development! For younger littles we are learning to expand our attention to task, color recognition, following directions. Some prompts you might use: “See if you can catch the RED fish!” For older littles, try adding a sequence: “Can you catch the red fish, then the blue fish?” Add numbers or letters onto your paper fish for letter/number recognition, and matching! If you chose to purchase a set instead, you can always cut out letters/numbers of your own and tape them on your fish!
Developing Independent Play
Give them open ended toys
- allow your kid to be an active participant in their learning. Give a child entertainment at the push of a button, and they receive instant gratification. When that new toy loses its excitement, your little is quickly onto the next toy. And you start buying more and more flashy elaborate toys. Suddenly, nothing is holding your child’s attention anymore. Sound familiar? That’s because your child’s developing brain craves challenges! Does this mean to get rid of all those battery operated toys? Not necessarily, but limiting them will certainly help!
Avoid screen time
- CNN recently did a study that followed 3-5 year-olds who were exposed to screens more than the recommended 1 hour or less per day. MRI’s showed that the children who had more screen time had more underdeveloped white matter. “Studies have shown excessive TV viewing is linked to the inability of children to pay attention and think clearly, while increasing poor eating habits and behavioral problems. Associations have also been shown between excessive screen time and language delay, poor sleep, impaired executive function, and a decrease in parent-child engagement.” Read the full story here: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/04/health/screen-time-lower-brain-development-preschoolers-wellness/index.html
Understand that their “play” is their primary occupation or job
- It is crucial for parents to understand this. As an OT, we advocate for independence in daily life activities and occupations across the lifespan. For kids, play is where they learn and practice new skills. Giving workbooks and flashcards is a nice tool, but the real skill building comes in the form of making relationships, problem solving, motor coordination, critical thinking skills, etc through open ended play!
Let them be the boss of their play
- They’re the driver and you are the passenger! Follow their lead and be as passive as possible. This allows them to have to figure out the next step instead of relying on you to tell them what to do next.
Quality over quantity
- Less is more. When you provide a room full of toys, your child learns that when they’re bored, they can just move on to the next thing. They run from one toy to the next until none of the toys can hold your kid’s attention anymore. Giving your child only a selection of a few toys for the day forces them to think creatively and to use those toys in multiple ways.
Making the Bedtime Routine Fun
There’s probably going to be a time where you’re faced with a tantrum at bedtime. I’ve only been a mom for 16 months and we’ve had a fair share of disastrous bedtime blues. Sometimes it’s a sleep regression, or a growth spurt, and sometimes teething. Whatever it is, it’s no fun for anyone. As an OT, we want to encourage independence with self care skills with positive reinforcement. When littles have routines, and expectations are clear, it makes things go much smoother when transitioning to things they don’t always want to do. Part of a good bedtime routine, is making things “fun” so that our littles are more likely to drift off to dreamland peacefully.
One particular area I want to talk about today is brushing teeth. Toddlers hate brushing their teeth because they’re in pain from teeth erupting what seems like every other month. Caroline popped out 4 molars within 2 weeks last month. She cried and threw tantrums to get out of brushing her teeth. And while I understand why, she still needs to do it. We take a bath, put on jammies, brush teeth, and read stories every night. So how can I as a parent, help her understand that brushing teeth is an expectation?
We make it fun.
- Sing a song! We have our very own made up tooth brush song, at the end of the song, she knows she is finished with the task
- Dance in the mirror! Don’t be afraid to get silly. Seeing you smile instead of frustrated will help let your child know that everything is ok
- Let them try! I let Caroline “brush” her teeth (it’s more like she just sucks and chews on the brush). This gives her some control over the situation and gives her a sense of accomplishment and independence
- Monkey – see, monkey – do! Get your toothbrush and let your toddler brush your teeth while you brush theirs (see pictures below), not only is this super distracting for them, but they are still learning independence in self care tasks. Babies learn so much just from watching and mimicking us. Show your little that brushing teeth is fun and good to do!
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