For Your Mobile Toddler
The transition from a
crawling and rolling baby to a walking and climbing child allows your
toddler to be involved in an array of toddler games that allow him to
really get excited and have fun. If you’re after a toddler game or two to keep him busy, then you can look forward to him learning todance, drive his first ride on
a toy, and manouever through a tunnel.
Push Along
For
youngsters who are not yet walking a heavy-based push along will help
to give him balance. It needs to be carefully selected for children who
are not walking rather than more lightweight push alongs like prams
which will not support a toddler who is still attempting to walk.
Aiding Walking
Once
your toddler can walk she needs to refine her skills to be able to
stop, sit down and start again. Picking up items is a perfect activity.
You only need to provide a bag and objects to pick up.
She will soon
develop the ability to climb, jump, slide and jump. Plenty of practice
at your local playground on a low slide and swing will help.
**TIP-
Once your child is walking she will always be wanting to walk rather
than sit in a pram/buggy. Allowing her to walk at certain times will
keep her happy and allow you to keep a reasonable pace most of the time.
Perhaps she can walk the last block before getting home or from one
side of the park to the other. When in the pram she will enjoy spotting
games or having a toy to hold as a distraction from the fact that she is
not walking.
Ring a Ring of Roses
Children
love games where they get to fall down so any singing and dancing games
where the final action is ‘all fall down’ will be favourites. For this
one the children join hands in a circle and walk around singing the
tune. Each time they repeat it, it gets faster.
Ring-a-ring-o-roses
A pocket full o’ posies
Atishoo! Atishoo!
We all fall down!
The Farmer in the Dell
This
is another fun toddler game which starts with a single child – the
“farmer” – in the centre of a circle of children, all singing.
As a
wife is chosen the farmer points to someone who then joins him in the
center of the circle. The wife chooses a child and the games continues
until there is only one child left.
The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell
The farmer takes a wife…and so on
The wife takes a child….
The child takes a nurse
The nurse takes a cow
The cow takes a dog
The dog takes a cat
The cat takes a rat
The rat takes the cheese
The cheese stands alone..
The child who is the cheese becomes the farmer for the next round.
Sit and Ride
A
sit and ride toy will be the first experience your toddler has at
moving around on a vehicle. Sit and rides have low centre of gravity and
no pedals so the child propels himself along using his feet. Another
option is a tricycle which probably suits a slighter older child who can
manage the pedals.
Push Along
A
noise making push along (also known as a clacker) will be loved by
toddlers who are confidently walking. Push and pull along toys involve
her learning how to manoevre a toy, free the toy if it gets stuck and
further improve co-ordination and balance.
You can make a simple pull
along snake toy at home using rope and empty cotton reels. Noise forms
part of the attraction to these toys so you can add bells onto the end
or something else to form the ‘rattler’ for a rattle snake.
Tunnelling
Children
love confined spaces so will enjoy playing in tunnels and cubbies. You
can make a cubby behind the couch, or in a bunk bed and will find this a
great toddler game for a rainy day. There are tunnels which you can buy
that can be stored flat, and if you can’t find anywhere else you can
throw blankets over a row of chairs. All of these activities help with
spatial awareness and don’t worry how tight a squeeze it is, that’s half
the fun!
**TIP-
Children will fall quite a bit at this age but rarely hurt themselves
seriously. They still have a low center of gravity and soft bones. If
you find yourself saying ‘No’ all the time, try to simplify what your
child is doing, or give positive direction, rather than preventing her from exploring. If you are
having to constantly step in to help then she may not be learning what
she needs to.