Tag Archives: Toddlers (1-4 years)

Making Quality Time with Toddlers in the Holidays.

21/12/2017



child christmas“Look at me, Look at me

Look at me NOW

It is fun to have fun,  

But you have to know how!”  (Dr Seuss, the Cat in the Hat.)

 


Knowing how to entertain toddlers can be one of life’s challenges.  Their little characters are still growing and their span of concentration is very short.   You need to be prepared and have a few little tricks up your sleeve to know how to keep them happily occupied.   Dr Seuss always had some outlandish ideas for entertainment and just reading his books to your toddler will keep them occupied and engaged in the dialogue and the crazy pictures.  The cat always had something to pull out of the box and create fun and games. He called it – fun in a box.

“I call this game fun-in-a-box.

Said the cat

In this box are two things

I will show you now

You will like these two things,

Said the cat with a bow.

It’s a good idea as parents of toddlers to have a box of ‘tricks’ that are activities you can draw upon to entertain your toddler in the holidays.  Being prepared is the key.  Get a box of ideas together and then if you need some extra help you can invite a play date to join in the activities.  This is controllable and may even give you some quiet time as your toddler happily plays with an activity or another friend.  As charming as thing one and two are in the Cat in the Hat story their box of tricks would play havoc with your home!

A suggestion box of games and realistic activities makes holiday entertainment manageable…

So what do you put in your box?

It is mainly an ideas box so perhaps a good place to start is with the ideas written up on a list for you to follow and get the best out of each activity.  

Here are some activities using different facilities in your home.  Toddlers love repetition, so see which ones were favourites and repeat them.

Be prepared to use:

Kitchen utensils, storybooks, DIY musical instruments, recycled paper and fantasy play.

  • Kitchen utensils – What’s on the menu?

Play dough and biscuit decorating are firm favourites.

Play dough needs a good recipe that keeps so you have play dough on standby at any time.  Add in your cookie cutters, rolling pins and a board or plastic place mat and you are set to go for great play dough fun.  Kiddies cookie cutters and play dough sets are readily available and if you keep them in a container together you have play dough to use anytime.

What does play dough encourage?

Play dough is a great stimulator for little finger muscles and fine motor activities understanding about rolling, pushing, kneading, scrunching and pinching.  Great opportunities for some fantasy role play with tea time ‘treats.’

Simple play dough recipe –

1 cup of flour, ½ cup of salt, 2Tbsp cream of Tartar and a Tbsp. of oil.  Add 1 cup water and food colouring of your choice. Mix all together and cook on medium heat until it forms dough.  When it has cooled sufficiently knead and store in a sealed container to reuse.

Biscuit decorating. If you are energetic and love the kitchen you can bake your own simple plain biscuits and cut out different shapes to be iced.  If you want to get straight to the decor part then there are many brands of plain un-iced biscuits that will do the trick for decorating.  A simple glace icing is easy to mix and add some food colouring.  If you want the icing to be stiffer and dry hard then add a bit of egg white to the icing mix.  Use your kitchen spatchela and teaspoons as spreaders and then a sieve to sprinkle icing on top.  You can make funny faces with jelly sweets and liquorice or just go crazy with all kinds of candy decorations.

What does biscuit decorating encourage?

Fine motor skills, spreading pinching and putting in place with eye hand co-ordination and creativity and lots of finger-licking too!

  • Story books – keep some favourites in your box.

Story books offer a wealth of activities as you read the story, discuss the pictures, remember little rhymes if there are any and even act out a story if you feel inclined.  Some story books are such firm favourites the book has been memorised and if you try to deviate from the story you soon get put in your place.

What do stories encourage?

Language development, listening skills and concentration.  Stories open a magical world of fantasy and also give children the opportunity to explore places they have never seen and learn about the world around them.  There are wonderful pop-up books and flap books on the market that capture toddler’s imaginations.  Keep that special pop-up book in your fun box and it will always be a winner.

  • DIY musical instruments – bring in the band!

Make your own maracas.

You need some kitchen paper cups, some dried butter beans, and some tape and a dowel stick if you want a handle.  You can also use a plastic jar with some dried beans.

Marker pens, stickers and stars as well as wool or ribbon to add decorations if you have time before the ‘shaken’ begins.

Decorate the paper cups and then put in the beans.

(Best used with toddlers who  graduated from the ‘everything in the mouth stage’)

If you are having a dowel stick handle then push that through on cup at the bottom.  Tape the two cups together and you have your maraca.  Use a tin or plastic jar as an alternative.  Then get ready to shake things up.  Put on some favourite marching or dance music and away you go!

What do maracas encourage?

Noisy fun!!  Marching and moving to a beat that helps with the idea of counting and rhythm.  Use the sound and movement to help remember simple rhymes.  

  • Recycled paper – A chain reaction.

Making paper chains with paper strips cut from old magazines.  This is a great way to put up some inexpensive decorations and if you keep paper strips and glue ready and waiting in your fun box you can watch the chains grow and then have the fun of hanging them up.  Make strips wide enough for little fingers to work with and link up the chain as everyone joins in.  Paper lanterns are also a fun addition to the chain and effective as mock lanterns along the chain.

What do the paper chains do?

Learning how to glue the end and wrap the chain round to make a circle is very good eye hand co-ordination for a toddler.  Give help if necessary and show how the rings link together.  Talk about recycling and saving paper even if it is a bigger adult topic.  Paper tearing could be the initial part of the activity as you tear the pages out of the magazine.

  • Fantasy play – clowning around.

Toddlers love acting about and so a few dress up clothes especially funny hats are a winner item in your fun box.  Wigs, old handbags and funny shoes are also great dress up items.  Add in some face paint or some silly masks and you have a whole clown show in the making.

What does fantasy play do?

Fantasy play and dressing up allows children to let go of their inhibitions and freely laugh at themselves.  Acting out can get rid of frustrations and feelings of being restricted. Fantasy and make-believe are important parts of creativity and self-expression.

Now you have it – a box of fun and creative activity ideas. You won’t need to perform a mountain of tricks, you won’t like the Cat in The Hat have to…

“…hold up the toy ship,

And the little toy man

And look with my tail

I can hold a red fan,

As I hop on the ball,

But that is not all,

Oh no,

That is not all…

That is what the cat said –

Then he fell on his head!”

BUT…with your box of fun tricks, it will be said,

Have a great time without standing on your head!

Lets Play – Ideas for Play with my Toddler

20/08/2017



Ideas for Play with my Toddler1Whether you are a stay-at-home parent, or a working parent, there comes a point at which you would like to spend some quality time with your little one and have run out of ideas with regards to what to do with them. It is often difficult for parents to get down to the toddler’s level and follow their lead in terms of play. So here are a few ideas for how to play with your toddler the next time you have some quality time together.

Do some jobs together. Toddlers love to mimic those around them. They learn from watching others and doing what they are doing – most especially they love being like their parents. Give your little one a broom, or a mini-tool and get busy together. Spend some time sweeping the patio, or “fixing” the wooden blocks together. You will be surprised at how involved they become in these activities.

Get moving. As you would have noticed, toddlers don’t stop moving. They love running, swinging, sliding, rolling, jumping and anything in between. Put together an obstacle course with pillows, sturdy coffee tables, chairs and toys to climb over and under together. Show your little one how to do it and try get as involved as you can. Another way of encouraging movement is to sing action songs together – Hokey Pokey, Ring Around The Rosies, London Bridge, If you’re happy and you know it… etc.

Go outside. Exploration is one of their most favourite past times so take your little one on an exploration in the garden or the park. Make a list of all the items you need to find and collect – a stone, a green leaf, an orange leaf, a yellow flower, an ant – the list is endless. While you are at it, and if you have some energy left, play a game of catch with a ball, or try blowing some bubbles and getting your toddler to catch them. You can add a variation on this by getting them to stamp on a bubble, clap on a bubble and even try to kiss a bubble.

Want more ideas on how to play with your toddler?

weekend-playtimeGet creative. Get out the arts and crafts, play doh, or pencils and paper. Collect toilet rolls, old cereal boxes and ice cream sticks. Gather up some paint and glue and create something together. Or you can cook or sew something together. Make it a joint effort and ask your toddler for guidance. You will find they love telling you what to do and seeing how you manage.

Pretend!! Children’s imaginations are amazing. Have some fun pretending to be different animals – making sounds and movements of the animal. You can also talk about where the animal lives, what it eats, what colours and sizes animals may be, etc. Other pretend play ideas include princesses, pirates, being on a boat or in a plane, police, explorers, going into space or deep under the ocean, or even everyday things like shopping, play cafe, schools, doctors or going to the carwash. Use dress-ups and props if you want, or just imagine those too!

Learning. Toddlers are learning new things every day and their curiosity is boundless. You can start to teach colours, shapes, sizes, numbers and letters with sorting games. Add alittle excitement with searching games such as hide n seek, or hiding an object and getting your toddler to find it. Guessing games can also be a fun way to help your child explore their sensory world – using a blindfold (most kids have trouble keeping their eyes closed) ask them to smell a variety of objects, or feel them in a bag, or set up a few objects that make sounds and help your toddler guess what is making the sound and find where the object is.

Want more ideas on how to play with your toddler?

weekend-playtimeGet creative. Get out the arts and crafts, play doh, or pencils and paper. Collect toilet rolls, old cereal boxes and ice cream sticks. Gather up some paint and glue and create something together. Or you can cook or sew something together. Make it a joint effort and ask your toddler for guidance. You will find they love telling you what to do and seeing how you manage.

Pretend!! Children’s imaginations are amazing. Have some fun pretending to be different animals – making sounds and movements of the animal. You can also talk about where the animal lives, what it eats, what colours and sizes animals may be, etc. Other pretend play ideas include princesses, pirates, being on a boat or in a plane, police, explorers, going into space or deep under the ocean, or even everyday things like shopping, play cafe, schools, doctors or going to the carwash. Use dress-ups and props if you want, or just imagine those too!

Learning. Toddlers are learning new things every day and their curiosity is boundless. You can start to teach colours, shapes, sizes, numbers and letters with sorting games. Add alittle excitement with searching games such as hide n seek, or hiding an object and getting your toddler to find it. Guessing games can also be a fun way to help your child explore their sensory world – using a blindfold (most kids have trouble keeping their eyes closed) ask them to smell a variety of objects, or feel them in a bag, or set up a few objects that make sounds and help your toddler guess what is making the sound and find where the object is.

When all else fails, simply follow your little one around and see what she asks you to do. When they notice that you are all theirs, they will be quick to take the lead and show you how to play.

 

Appreciating my Toddler

02/05/2016



It can be really exhausting when, after a long day at work, you come home to your demanding toddler. He wants you to fetch him a snack, then a drink….to put on the TV, now to look at his toe….to come sit with him, but now he is bored and wants to go play…and he wants you to come play too. All you want to do is sit for a few minutes and relax but the minute you decline his request he has a melt down with tears, falling to the floor and possibly even a scream for good measure. It can be difficult, in these moments, to take stock and appreciate the little being that is wreaking havoc in your home.

However, let’s take a moment to stop and admire a toddler.

Appreciating my toddler1

  • He has the ability to live in the present like no other. He is not thinking about the past, or the future. He lives only in the now – fully immersed in the moment.
  • She has yet to learn caution and fear. Her curiosity about everything propels her out into the world at full throttle.
  • He is brutally honest – with you, with himself and everyone else around him. He says it as it is, the way he feels it and thinks it.
  • She feels emotions intensely and has no hesitation in letting everyone around her know about it. One moment she can be devastated or furious about things we think are inconsequential. But just as quickly she is able to dust herself off and move on. Excitement and joy are almost tangible emotions that tend to be contagious, infecting everyone around her.
  • He is supremely confident in his ability to do things by himself and make split-second decisions, yet reserves the right to change that decision multiple times without questioning his self worth.
  • She has an amazing imagination and can turn even the most mundane things into something special.
  • He loves you unconditionally, forgives you endlessly, and wants to be with you 100 percent of the time.

For all of their demands and tantrums, toddlers bring joy into our lives with their flair for humour, their confidence, and their innocent curiosity about the world.  Next time you feel a little overwhelmed by your toddler’s intensity try to stop for a minute and recall all that makes toddlers so unique and special.

Appropriate Toys for Toddlers – Electronic vs Traditional

10/04/2016



toysThese days the shops are filled with an array of toys. Anything from child-oriented laptops to brightly coloured dolls and everything in between. There are gadgets, electronic toys and, if you search hard enough, you will find the traditional blocks, shape sorters and stacking cups. With so much to choose from parents are often confused with regards to the best toy choices for their toddlers.

Experts generally consider free play and imagination to form the building blocks for children’s development. As such, it is recommended that the majority of the toys we buy for our children should encourage this open ended play, communication and imagination. Further encouragement for this has been found in studies that show that, when playing with electronics as opposed to traditional toys, there are fewer back-and-forth conversations between kids and parents, children communicate less, and parents engage in fewer responses with their child.

Some of the essentials that parents can look at buying for their toddlers are art supplies, balls, construction toys, dolls, blocks, puppets, dressups, and cars. These encourage free play and the use of imagination. The games played with the toys are open-ended and facilitate conversation between those playing them.

Electronic toys on the other hand do not encourage the child to use her own imagination or foster communication. The games are usually goal driven and close ended. This is not to say that electronic games don’t have their place. Every parent who owns an iPad or Tab will know the relief that such an item can bring on a long journey in the car, or at a restaurant when there is nothing else to entertain the little one. Some of the games are educational and can certainly assist in acquisition of knowledge. However, don’t be fooled – an electronic puzzle will never be able to replace the real thing.

 

References:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stevanne-auerbach-phd/dr-toy-talks-about-trends_b_3260335.html

http://www.thoughtfulparent.com/2016/01/electronic-versus-traditional-toys-what.html

Toilet training – Where do we start?

28/03/2016



Toilet training is a big step for both toddlers and their parents. All children become interested in, and ready to toilet train at their own pace. If your child is showing signs of being ready, here are a few tips to try to get things set up to start:

potty

  • First decide if you want to use a potty or the toilet. Some children have a definite preference, others are fine to use both. Talk with your child about the use of the toilet or potty.
  • If using a potty, you and your child can choose a spot where to put it where it is within easy reach of main play areas as well as somewhat private.
  • Teach your child some words associated with toileting such as “wee” and “poo”, “potty”, “toilet” so they are able to express their needs verbally.
  • Some kids like to go out and buy their new “big kid” underwear with an adult. Wearing this underwear can also be an incentive to use the toilet or potty rather than soil their new pants. Training pants are also useful as they can be pulled up and down rather than secured like nappies.
  • Think about potential rewards for toilet training efforts. It may seem like an insignificant regular event to adults, but even sitting on a toilet or potty for a brief period is a big achievement for our little ones. Praise and encouragement, affection, high fives, thumbs up are all rewarding for kids in addition to material rewards such as stickers and small toys.

Some children can show an interest and seem motivated to start, then change their minds. This is ok – they will get it when they are ready. Try not to put pressure on your child. If there are other additional stressors that may be affecting your child, such as starting a new daycare, moving house, family tensions, parent returning to work, medical issues, or other unexpected events, it may help to talk with a psychologist to address these first before pushing on with toilet training.

Normal Behaviours

Resilience, Self Confidence and Self Esteem

05/05/2015



Being mindful isn’t going to change the fact my family is PURE CHAOS

One of the main points of Mindfulness exercises or Psychology Therapies is that one of the few things we have control of is ourselves. Basic. But the reason many people start looking for help is that they feel like things are Beyond their Control.

And yes, a horrible toddler tantrum at 5pm, or a teenager traumatised by the break up of One Direction* is not something you can easily put an immediate stop to.

Mindfulness exercises are like a regular workout for your brain and emotions so that in situations like that, you can react in an appropriate way, and reduce their impact on you, which will often lead to you being able to help everyone else deal with things better.

Mindfulness will:

  • Help lose the noise in your head
  • Make you more aware of your body and what’s around you
  • Help with relaxation and de-stressing
  • Slow your body and brain down
  • Help with concentration

If you’ve done a fantastic Yoga class and come home to your kids arguing and not felt the way it normally makes you feel, you get some idea of what Mindfulness can do.

It’s more than just relaxation, it’s being able to focus LESS on incoming negative things and not let them affect the way you react.

And with kids anything that can help you not yell back, not get pushed into a no win argument, react violently, give up and let them be awful because it’s just too hard, is going to help you parent better and keep your family a good place to be.

  • One Direction did not break up as of May 2015 despite losing a group member.. Do not read this article to your 10 year old daughter without this information 🙂