“My baby is growing up fast and loves to try new things. Are there any fun activities that will also help in my kid’s development?”
If you are a parent, we’re pretty sure you’ve asked this question at some point.
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of toddler friendly games and activities that will become your kid’s favourite in no time. Excited to know what these fun activities for kids are? Let’s find out.
1. Story Time
Story time is hands down the favourite time of the day for most toddlers. Not only do stories introduce your kid to a whole new world of fantasies, but they also help them get familiar with sounds.
Moreover, hearing stories will help your kid get a grasp of the language, which becomes the first step to developing early literacy skills.
Start with storybooks filled with colourful pictures and slowly encourage them to read. This process also stimulates your child’s imagination and curiosity.
2. Rhyme Time
If you’re one of those parents who wonder about the activities for kids at home, rhymes may turn out to be a perfect option.
Rhymes, in a way, are bite-size learning activities for toddlers and positively impact their vocal development. Throw in a little bit of dancing and gestures, and your kid will fall in love with rhymes before you know it.
The open-ended play of rhymes also helps your toddler understand the patterns of language, making socializing easier for your little one in later stages.
3. Colour with Scented Markers
Want to help your little ones develop their senses while they have fun? Try introducing baby-friendly scented markers to them.
Every parent knows that keeping kids away from colouring is impossible. Scented markers are a great way to make a simple colouring game more fun with a quirky twist.
The different aromas aid your kid in learning distinct scents by stimulating their nose, and filling the walls with colours will help unleash their imagination.
4. Play-doh
Another fun activity for kids at home is play-doh. “But how will it help my kid?” Glad you asked.
Play-doh lets your kids experiment with different shapes and improves their hand-eye coordination. Not only that, practising with a play-doh also builds dexterity in your kids’ hands, which will come in handy while writing and drawing when they grow up.
5. Hide and Seek
Admit it or not, we all have played and loved hide and seek when we were kids. Guess what? Toddlers like playing hide and seek just as much. In fact, it’s one of the most fun activities for kids.
Initially, you can hide your face with a towel and then peek out to show the baby that you’re still there.
As they get older and is ready to start moving around, hide and seek is a great way to gently nudge them to crawl or walk around. In fact, kids inevitably always play hide and seek with their parents.
6. Treasure Hunt
If your kid’s favourite time-pass is also looking for things, you can introduce him to treasure hunts.
Treasure hunts are simple activities for kids at home that can be done with literally anything – candies, toys, pictures, or other goodies.
They will make your kid develop problem-solving abilities at an early age and will help him think outside the box.
7. Fort Building
If you’re looking for an activity that will help strengthen your bond with your kid, we’ve got the perfect thing for you.
Fort building is one of the most fun activities for kids before bedtime. Try building a pillow fort with your little one just before sleep time. This will teach them teamwork and organizational skills, which are vital in the later stages of life.
8. Simple Jigsaw Puzzles
Did you know that solving simple jigsaw puzzles at an early age directly impacts a child’s motor skills positively? Children with fine motor skills tend to find it easier to write, draw, and learn to play instruments.
While jigsaw puzzles are designed for every age, we recommend you to find one that doesn’t cause any harm to children.
However, it’s important that you start with simple puzzles of 3 – 4 pieces for your toddler. Choose colourful, familiar pictures at first to ease him into the concept and then slowly graduate to more complex ones.
9. Point to the Object
“Point to the object” is a perfect activity for kids at home who are just learning that everything has a name associated with it.
You, as a parent, can help your kid learn vocabulary by asking him to point at things he can’t name yet.
This not only is a wonderful way of spending some quality time with your little one, but also an excellent learning opportunity.
10. Name the Thing
If your kid likes playing “Point to the object” with you, he’ll surely fall in love with “Name the thing.” In this game, you ask your kid to name the thing you point to.
Toddlers spark up with joy when they name a new thing and become more tempted to learn more words.
Most importantly, this little activity is much more than a fun time; it also becomes the first stepping stone for your kid to learn speaking.
11. Eye Spy with Picture Books
Reading is a habit that we all want to cultivate in our kids, don’t we? But most parents struggle to generate their kids’ interest in reading.
“Eye Spy with Picture Books” is a fun activity for kids that introduces your child to the wonderful world of books. Pick up colourful story books with pictures and get the little one to spot a character or thing you call out.
This improves the child’s ability to scan through material and his observation skills immensely.
12. Balancing Beam
If you are worried about your baby having a hard time crawling, try playing “balancing beam” with him.
Now, to be clear, there’s no actual beam here that the child walks on. All you need is some coloured tape to stick to the floor.
Encourage your child to try and crawl/walk carefully over the coloured tape line. This can be a friendly contest too if you have more than one little one playing. Playing “balancing beam” is a wonderful activity for kids at home.
13. Make Story Books
Does your kid show an interest in words and pictures? Hurray! Now is the time to make him an artist by making story books for him.
Make up your own story, starting with a character your child loves. Collect a bunch of pictures cut-outs from newspapers, magazines, or old story books and ask the child to decide which character comes into the story next.
This fun activity for kids helps the child understand the basics of “plotting” and teaches him to think in a logical sequence.
14. Finger Painting
If you notice your kid playing with colours often, you may introduce him to one of the best activities for kids at home – Finger Painting.
Finger painting doesn’t need an official introduction. It’s a great way for kids to explore and develop their creativity while having fun.
Moreover, when you encourage them to finger paint, toddlers get a new way of expressing themselves with colours and patterns. You can use non-toxic paints for this activity which can be easily washed off after being used.
15. Play Magical Mama
There’s no kid on this planet who doesn’t love magic. Try to show simple tricks to your child and involve him as much as possible.
You can begin with the “three cups and a coin” trick. Put the coin under one of the cups and shuffle them slowly in front of your kid.
Let the little one guess which cup hides the coin, and see how he lights up with joy and amazement.
Now, do you think, we have given you enough choices to give a fun learning environment to your kids? We think, you do! So, it is time to have a fun ride with your children and give them a fun time.
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